Ripley Davenport, Totally Alone Along The Kenmare River
Ripley Davenport completed his 42.8 km Kenmare River Adventure Swim, a solo self-sufficient adventure swim without escorts or boat support in the Kenmare River in 11 hours 47 minutes on April 10th.
Fully geared up, Davenport had to negotiate across a tidal range in the Kenmare River with 1.5 to 3 knots of tidal speed. Kenmare River is a very tidal inlet of the Atlantic Ocean where Davenport encountered many large seals.
“The seals are native to Ireland and huge populations are present along Ireland’s coast,” describes Davenport. “It was very scary as they are very curious and tend to swim awfully close, under and around. The conditions were good at the start, but got worse with high winds and a constant rather messy swell of 6 to 10 feet. I was totally alone.
The 10 foot waves were over shallow ground which I avoided and next to cliff faces. Kenmare River is lined with cliffs and rock. The swell is strong. Average wave height for my swim was 5 to 6 feet that made the towing of a kayak very challenging.”
For more information on his accomplishment, visit Irish Mirror here.
Copyright © 2008 – 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
