Rough seas forced two Lewis men to postpone part of a double island charity swim. Colin Macleod and Callum Maclean aimed to swim from Harris to Scarp and back and then go back into the water to make the crossing to Taransay.
The pair successfully finished the first return swim after hiking over the hills from Hushinish to the start point. They were escorted on the return swim across the channel by kayaker Mark Stokes.
But high winds whipping up the waves made the second challenge too dangerous to complete on Good Friday. The duo hope for better weather when they tackle the second half of the fundraiser and swim to Taransay next month.
Callum has a family link with Scarp through his father but he had never been on the island before.
Colin said they first swam “into the current then swimming with it. This was the shorter channel but was harder due to the way the waves were going.”
He added: “It was an amazing swim across. Callum landed first, and you could tell his delight by the way his goggles disappeared.
“On Scarp there are a few holiday homes, and we were lucky enough to be invited into one of them by a couple how have owned their cottage for around 30 years.
“It was great to get an insight into the island culture, as well as having hot drinks and biscuits. After saying our farewells, the three of us headed to our next exit point.”
He explained: “This was a fund raising swim on behalf of The Leanne Fund, which helps children in the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland with Cystic Fibrosis.
“Willie and Chrisetta Mitchell, who set up the fund in 2009 are great people and
very supportive to anyone raising money for the fund. I had seen some of my friends
on facebook doing fun-
“Callum and I will be back to finish our challenge in the early part of May. Swimming from Horgabost to Taransay. Callum wasn’t supposed to be doing this swim, as he's only just got back into swimming in the last 4 weeks, but I managed to coerce him into doing it.
“All being well, we're hoping to do this swim on the first weekend in May. If you would like to sponsor us and help The Leanne Fund you can donate on our JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/Scaransay
The Leanne Fund was set up in memory of Leanne Mitchell of Garrabost, Lewis, who suffered from Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and died in 2009 aged 21 years.
The fund is open to all young people up to 25 years with CF in the Highlands and Western Isles and information can be accessed at www.theleannefund.co.uk.
It helps provide non-
Rough seas hampers charity swim 14/4/12
Fundraisers: Callum Maclean, Mark Stokes and Colin Macleod
