Epic Swim co.

23/09/2026

Rhys McNabb – Escape from Flat Holm. September 2026.

Rhys contacted me mid-season, wanting to take on the iconic escape from Flat holm route. Luckily I had space, and with a round a month to prepare, Rhys doubled down his training and preparation.

We waited for the weather window to clear, and the gods were kind to us! A great high pressure came in, and the swim was on.

We had a very respectful afternoon start, with Rhys leaving Flat Holm Island just after 2pm.

We made great progress across the shipping lane in near perfect conditions, making our way towards Lavernock point, where the current turned and created some healthy chop in the water around the point.

From then on it was all-aboard the Bristol Channel express, flying past Sully Island (in some more choppy water), before heading across the Bendricks towards Barry Harbour.

At this point, we changed plan and decided to head to Whitmore Bay instead of Jackson’s, as it looked like there was a chance that Rhys might break the record for the fastest time for this route. Rhys trains in Whitmore Bay, and was more than happy to finish the swim there.

Head back down, up a gear, and Rhys came around the point and headed into the bay where his family and friends were waiting.

An awesome swim, Rhys landed in a time of 3hrs 46 minutes, just missing out on the record by 10 minutes, but becoming only the second person to complete the swim in under 4hrs.

Rhys absolutely smashed it, didn’t miss a beat, and held great style the whole way. The big question is, where does he go from here? 🤣 😉.

Congratulations mate, a great day out and hope to see you soon. 👊🏻



Swim Wild Wales Epic Swim co

01/09/2026

Q - What to do on your day off?
A - Go on a mini EPIC swim with your 12-year-old. 🌊

Jackson’s Bay to Watchtower Bay, against a pretty fierce headwind with wind-over-tide chop the whole way.

Was gonna head to the pool today, but Ember, (who trains about 6 days a week in her various sports), had a day off and decided she fancied an adventure around the points in Barry instead of chilling at home! 🤣

For anyone who knows this stretch of water, it’s a very lively spot, which is pretty much always lumpy! It’s a bit of a right of passage for most local Open Water Swimmers, and one of the first routes I take people on in our local guided swims who are looking to Break-out of the safety of the bays, build confidence and experience, and go on an adventure.

It was a cruise-y 2.5k in 45 minutes… with a healthy dose of face-slapping chop.

Fair play to the girl… she loved it, staying on my toes the whole way, with the occasional excited “Whoop” through the bounciest sections 😂

Get in touch if you’d like to swim this route… or any other South Wales point to points. This is what we do.

Everyone has their own EPIC. 😎

01/09/2026

28/08/2026

Susannah and Isobel - Penarth to Clevedon, August 2026.

BIG News… Another record broken (actually 2) aboard King Twbi of Epic Swim co (subject to ratification).

Last year we were contacted by Hamish who is running a fantastic open Water and channel Swimming program for Young swimmers from a school in Taunton. Hamish is coaching and enabling young people to take part in Channel Swim relays, and also Channel Swim solos! What a legend!

This week we had the pleasure of guiding Susannah and Isobel, both 14 years old, on a tandem solo swim attempt from Penarth to Clevedon, with both of them breaking the record consecutively for the youngest ever Channel Swim in the Bristol Channel (subject to ratification).

We had a very civilised swim start at 11am from Penarth. The girls set off side-by-side, following Channel Swim rules which involve no touching the Boat, assisting each other, and in regulation swimwear.

Hamish was on board supporting the girls, with Ken on observer duties.

The girls were in sync from start to finish, matching each others speed perfectly, with neither girl ever creeping in front of the other.

We made great progress over to flatholmisland , across the shipping lane, turned with the currents and followed the Coast up towards Clevedon.

The girls took a fantastic line, showing strength through emotions, and resilience through sickness, with Hamish offering support every step of the way.

The conditions were fantastic, and the girls cruised in towards Clevedon slipway in a time of 6hrs 28 mins. Isobel, being the oldest, exited the Water first, becoming the youngest ever Bristol Channel Swimmer. Her record lasted around five seconds, when Susannah exited the Water to become the new youngest Bristol Channel Swimmer.

The girls are best friends, and the support they showed each other was incredible before, during and after the swim.

What an absolute pleasure to be a part of their journey, so inspiring to other young swimmers who I hope will follow their path.

Big thanks to Hamish and Ken, it was a great day on the boat and hopefully look forward to working with you again.

26/08/2026

Check it out! A great day in the office! More pics to follow… 😎

12/08/2026

Jo Hardill – Penarth to Clevedon. August 2026

Jo was the second Swimmer in line for this neap tide, and made the trip over from Guernsey to take on her longest swim yet.

Jo was joined by her friend Sharon as feed and support crew, and Ken for official observing duties.

Another early morning with a 0515 swim start from Penarth slipway. The sunrise didn’t disappoint once again, and cast some beautiful reflections over the calm water, making the first couple of hours a joy to be on the Water.

Jo made great progress over to the island, skirting around the south side of Flat Holm, through the shipping lane with ease, and over towards Weston.

Jo swam consistently, feeding every 45 minutes, with little fluctuation in her stroke rate.

The easy weather made being on the boat very relaxing, and time passed quickly with great conversation with the Crew on board.

With the tide behind us, we sailed smoothly along the coast towards Clevedon, and before long we were guiding Jo towards the slip, where she landed in a time of 6hrs 30mins.

It was absolutely clockwork, one of the smoothest swims this season. Congratulations to Jo for absolutely smashing it. Some healthy nerves at the start of the swim, but consistency paid off and you swam beautifully throughout.

Hope to see you again soon 😊

05/08/2026

Richard Jones – Penarth to Portishead. August 2026. Brand-new swim-route alert!

This was the most brutal alarm clock wake up we’ve had this season so far with a swim start of 0320! 😴

Richard looked surprisingly chirpy for such an early start, and set off from Penarth slip, following the Boat for two hours in the dark. We made great progress over to Flat Holm Island, with the sunrise creeping up just as we skirted around the back of the island.

The swim was like clockwork up until that point, when, as the current turned and the wind picked up, we struggled to make our way over towards the English shore, getting pulled by the strong currents in the shipping lane for about two hours. We communicated with a dredger coming up the channel who kindly gave us a wide berth, and even sent me a photo of us afterwards (thanks Mike).

At this point, it was starting to become apparent that we would struggle to make Clevedon. It was a combination of speed, conditions and a strong tidal streams keeping us in the middle of the channel.

However, the goal is always to swim from Wales to England with the final destination being less important. So, with that mindset we decided that we were on an adventure, and let’s see where we end up!

We slowly made progress towards the English Coast, passing Clevedon, and into new territory. On the boat, we estimated where we were going to hit land based on our track, and searched the Maps for a suitable landing spot where Richards family could welcome him to shore.

Bingo, we found a great little beach by a lighthouse at Gordano Round, just on the south edge of Portishead, and with some last minute phone calls, guided the welcome party to our intended final destination.

Richard cruised in to the beach in a time of 6hrs 30mins, clocking a distance of 35k, and creating a new EPIC route with a great story!

Huge congratulations to Richard, a great achievement and a really fun day out trailblazing. Big thanks to Nick and Wayne on the boat for great company and crewing.

It doesn’t always go to plan, but sometimes the result is even better. 😎

29/07/2026

This one is a special one!

Tracy Carlson – Penarth to Clevedon, July 2026.

I’ve known Tracy for around 6 years, when we started swimming long Open Water routes together from Penarth to Rest Bay and everywhere in between.

Tracy is an adventurous soul, who approaches Open Water with a healthy degree of caution. I find it amusing, because she is an absolute beast in the water and can be a challenge to keep up with. She is someone I would happily get into a scrape with while swimming in challenging conditions, as I know she is a solid partner.

I was so stoked when she said she wanted to swim the channel, and couldn’t wait to guide her across.

I could tell she was slightly anxious leading up to the swim, but she turned up on the day in great spirit ready to take on the challenge!

We had an early start from Penarth, with a beautiful sunrise welcoming her into the swim. She set out a strong pace, aiming for a quick time, and led us on a fantastic track towards the inside of Flat Holm island.

Unfortunately, a couple of hours in, Tracy was seasick. It’s something she has experienced before, but the tablets decided not to play ball.

She carried on swimming, and was sick another four times over the next four hours. It was taking its toll on Tracy, as she was struggling to keep feeds down. Nevertheless, she powered on, held her consistency and strength, and bullied her way to Clevedon in a time of 6hrs 55mins.

It wasn’t the time she was hoping for, but for me, the time is irrelevant. She battled through an incredible mental challenge, as swimming while seasick is no joke. It was a true show of strength and resilience, way more impressive than just speeding her way across the channel with no drama or adversity.

Congratulations Tracy, and thanks to Katie and Peter for the great company and support on the Boat. Pom-poms were a highlight!

On to the next.😎

22/07/2026

Matthew Todd – The Epic Swim co 6-hour challenge

Last year Matthew completed the Penarth to Weston channel swim with us, a very challenging swim that he completed in around 8hrs 20 minutes.

This year he has a few big goals he is training for, and wanted to get another long swim in as part of his training calendar. He decided to take on the EPIC six hour challenge (swim as far down the Welsh coastline as you can in 6hrs). 💪🏻

We started at 0815 from Penarth slipway, half an hour before high tide, straight into a challenging force 4 North-easterly wind.

The first hour was lumpy, No easing into the swim unfortunately, but Matthew dealt with it really well. Once we were around Sully Island, the currents turned with the wind behind us, flattening out the water a little.

Around the 2 1/2 hour Mark we passed the knap in Barry. It was a big spring tide, so as we headed into the third hour, the current really showed up! We were absolutely flying along the coastline at a speed of around 5 knots.

Over the next few hours we cruised past Aberthaw Power Station, St Donats, Nash point Lighthouse and Monk Nash Beach.

The current slowed down just as the six hours was finishing, and in the final 100m swim to the beach. Matthew actually started going backwards. Great timing!

It was an outstanding swim, Matthew battled sea sickness at various points, but pushed through and finished the swim really strong. Huge congratulations! Matthew completed a distance of approximately 18.9NM (35km).

The six hour challenge is simple. The only rule is you start at Penarth slipway, and you swim six hours of the outgoing tide to swim as far as you can. Once the six hours is up, you swim to shore, and we mark your position for the leaderboard. Skins and wetsuit all welcome. 💪🏻

Please get in touch if you fancy the challenge! 😎

15/07/2026

Nicola Naunton - Penarth to Clevedon, July 2026.

After a break from marathon Swimming for around seven years, Nicola contacted us to book an attempt to swim from Penarth to Clevedon.

Nicola has ticked off some Big swims over the years, has battled a few injuries, and wanted to challenge herself once again.

We met around 0500, locked out at 0600 and started the swim at 0615 from Penarth slipway with a friendly send off from the Dawnstalkers Sea Swim Club ☀️

We had beautiful weather once again, starting out with a very atmospheric sea mist, which slowly burnt off into booming sunshine all day with light winds around 5mph.

Nicola made steady progress over to the island, battling a little bit of seasickness which she assured us was normal. She continued feeding and swam consistently, cruising past the flatholmisland , across the shipping lane and over towards England.

Around five hours in, Nicola had some doubts creeping in, very normal when undertaking such a mammoth task. Her support Crew encouraged her to swim to the next feed, and then assess how she felt. Nicola put her head down and put in another great shift for an hour, getting us into a great position which built up confidence that it was actually going to happen!

Before long we could see the slipway in the distance, which was a huge boost for Nicola, her smile returned and she cruised the last hour into the slipway, landing in a time of 7hrs 23mins (official ratification pending).

Huge congratulations to Nicola for battling through her Demons and finishing the Swim in great style. It was a pleasure working with you and Mark, all the best for your future missions. 😎