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Alan Boydell, son of Jessie Boydell, formerly Seònaid Morrison of High Borve, is a keen swimmer, having taken part in several triathlons including one in the River Seine in Paris. He has also taken part twice in the Bosphorus swim in Istanbul and the Rottnest Channel swim in Western Australia. In 2014 he swam from Luskentyre to the Morrison ancestral home on Taransay, and he is a volunteer lifeguard on Sydney beaches.

Alan, who is 46, has just successfully completed the English Channel swim. He travelled all the way from Australia to take part, and it is a culmination of many months of disciplined training, including a qualifying swim in cold water conditions in Melbourne. To encourage him, Rémi, a former colleague from Paris was in the accompanying boat, as well as Dave, a friend from his student days at Heriot-Watt University. Having to contend with currents, tides, and sea shipping lanes meant that his swim lasted over 15 hours and he covered 57 km.

The English Channel is considered something of a "grail" in open water swimming with only 2500 successful swimmers since Captain Matthew Webb's first successful crossing in 1875. For comparison, many more have successfully climbed Mount Everest.

He was going to fly up to Lewis this week to celebrate with the family, his aunties Anna and Lyna had the marag dhubh all ready for his visit, but sadly the visit had to be called off because of covid in the family.

Successful Channel Crossing

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