Rory Kaye swam it in 12h 24m on 24 August, ratified 1 September, the rare Scotland-to-Ireland way. Now he, his dad and his coach tell the story in their own words.
A 16-year-old from Macclesfield has had a North Channel solo swim entered on the official register. Rory Kaye crossed between Scotland and Northern Ireland on Monday 24 August in 12 hours, 24 minutes and 53 seconds. The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association ratified the swim on Tuesday 1 September (ILDSA swim record 26141).
The North Channel is one of the Ocean’s Seven, the marathon swimming set that open-water swimmers treat as the equivalent of the seven summits. Rules bar wetsuits. The ILDSA’s recorded route distance is 35 kilometres.
What the register records
The association’s entry for the swim gives the following:
- Start: Salt Pan Bay, Scotland, at 07.58 BST on 24 August
- Finish: the railings at the Gobbins cliff face, Islandmagee, County Antrim, at 20.23 BST
- Time: 12 hours, 24 minutes, 53 seconds
- Water temperature: 14.8C to 15.8C, starting at 15.2C
- Observer: David Smyth. Pilot: Connla Conway
- Crew: Nikki Pope, listed as coach, Phil Kaye, listed as dad, and Jennifer Fitzgerald
The observer’s log on the record describes a sunny day with more swell for about three hours around halfway, jellyfish stings that did not trouble the swimmer until the finish, and feeding on the move except at what the log calls treat time.
He swam it the unusual way round
Almost nobody swims the North Channel from Scotland. The crossing is normally made from Donaghadee or Robbie’s Point in County Down, finishing on the Galloway coast near Portpatrick.
The Macclesfield Times downloaded the association’s full solo register, which holds 205 entries going back to Tom Blower’s first crossing in 1947. Of the 106 one-way solos with start and finish positions recorded, 102 ran Ireland to Scotland. Four ran the other way. Rory Kaye’s is the most recent of those four (ILDSA North Channel solo swims).
The age claim, checked
The announcement sent to this paper described Rory Kaye as the youngest Englishman to swim the North Channel. We checked it against the register rather than take it on trust.
The register carries a date of birth for 112 of its 205 solo entries. Rory Kaye’s is given as 24 September 2009, which made him 16 on the day, a month short of his 17th birthday. No English swimmer with a recorded date of birth was younger at the time of their crossing. So the claim holds on the association’s own data, with one caveat worth stating: the register does not carry a date of birth for the other 93 entries, so it cannot settle the question for those.
He is not the youngest overall. Oscar Black of Lurgan swam the North Channel at 15 in July 2025, and was given a civic reception for it (Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council).
The money goes to Mencap
The swim is one of four challenges Rory Kaye is doing this year for Mencap, the learning disability charity. His fundraising page had raised £4,408.65 plus £330.63 in Gift Aid from 43 donations when we checked on 4 September (JustGiving).
His page says last year’s money paid for a swimming programme for under-fives with special educational needs and disabilities. Two challenges are still to come: the 20 Bridges solo around Manhattan, which he puts at 48.5km, and the Catalina Channel in California.
The Beech Hall connection
The coach recorded on the boat, Nikki Pope, coaches the English Channel relay squad at Beech Hall School in Macclesfield. The school’s teams swim the Channel for Mencap under the name Mencap Marvels.
Phil Kaye’s own fundraising page says seven Beech Hall relay teams have raised £85,000 for the charity since 2019, with a target of £100,000 (JustGiving). An earlier page for the squad describes winter training in seas and lakes at temperatures as low as 4C, and breaking ice on a pool (JustGiving).
In their own words
Updated 5 September. After the swim was ratified, Rory, his father Phil and his coach Nikki Pope answered The Macclesfield Times’ questions in writing. Their answers are printed here as they gave them.
Rory Kaye
Take us back to the moment you set off from Scotland. What was going through your head?
“I think I had a lot of nerves. I had a bit of a cold and was worried about it holding me back, so I was over-thinking: is my breathing OK, is everything OK, and things like that. I actually cut my feet quite badly on the rocks but didn’t realise because I was so pumped with adrenaline.”
What was the hardest point of the crossing, and how did you get through it?
“The start of the swim was mentally tough because I knew I still had so far to go. I just kept swimming to the next feed, which is every hour, and tried not to think about the whole swim. It was also agony getting stung by the jellyfish, and I was terrified because I saw hundreds of them below me beneath the surface.”
How does a Macclesfield teenager end up training for a North Channel swim? Where did you train locally?
“A lot of pool training, but I also swim outdoors wherever I can. There is a watersports centre in Liverpool docks, I swim in the Lake District and on swim camps. This year I went to Cork Distance Week, where lots of marathon swimmers go to train. I also train a lot with my Beech Hall swim squad friends.”
What did it feel like reaching the Irish coast?
“I felt very excited to have finished, but exhausted and hungry, so I was thinking about pizza and Coke. For some reason I always like a cold Coke after a long swim. I ended up having my pizza whilst taking a bath!”
What would you say to other young people in Macclesfield who think something like this is beyond them?
“I’d say a few years ago I would never have dreamed I could swim the English Channel or North Channel, but you just have to work hard and believe in yourself.”
Phil Kaye, Rory’s dad, who crewed the boat
What was it like watching from the boat?
“Rory was using speed-feeds, flipping onto his back, having his feed, then continuing with his swim, so we don’t actually speak with him that much. However, there is a lot of interaction in other ways. We’d practised hand signals, like OK, and it’s important for swimmers to let crew know they are urinating regularly, as being unable could be a sign of a health issue. We’re watching carefully for any signs there could be a problem, for example counting his stroke rate. Combined with that, there is an enormous sense of pride. There were lots of people tracking his progress and sending kind and positive messages of support, which we tried to relay to Rory when we could.”
Was there a moment you were worried, and what did the crew do?
“I was worried for the entire time until he finished the swim. Anything can happen with the weather, with Rory’s physical or mental condition, or marine life. One of the biggest challenges for the North Channel is the water temperature. It was between 13 and 15 degrees centigrade for the duration of his swim, which has a big impact on the body, especially over an extended period like 12 hours. The North Channel is also known for its lion’s mane jellyfish, which are unavoidable over the distance, so Rory suffered a number of stings. Fortunately, Rory came through all of the challenges. His feeds were made up of a warm carbohydrate drink, and it’s become a tradition for him to enjoy a doughnut later in the swim!”
What has the training routine looked like for the family over the past year?
“Rory has followed a programme set by his coach Nikki Pope, who heads up Mencap Marvels. It’s a combination of pool-based swims to practise technique and work on speed. Pool training is usually 90 minutes a few times in the week and a longer set at the weekend. He dreads 100 x 100m or 10 x 1km. He also trains with outdoor swims to condition himself for the cold. The whole family gets involved in outdoor swims: my wife Vicky and daughter Tess enjoy this, but I have to admit I hate it and am always first out, something the rest of the family enjoy teasing me about.”
Nikki Pope, coach
What made you believe Rory could do this at his age?
“Rory is exceptional both inside and outside the pool. He is already a very strong swimmer with tons of physical stamina, even having been labelled a ‘machine’ by his team. But what really sets Rory apart is his mental resilience, work ethic and attitude. Even during the toughest moments Rory always stays cheerful, never doubting his ability to achieve what he has set out to do. Taking on this kind of challenge requires true grit and perseverance, and Rory has proven time and time again he has this by the bucketload!”
What was the biggest technical challenge in preparing for the North Channel specifically?
“Truthfully, having seen Rory nail his English Channel swim last year, I had little concern about his ability to undertake this challenge. The North Channel is quite a bit colder than what Rory is used to; however, his and the crew’s commitment to proper preparation ensured that he knew how to stay safe and keep himself as warm as possible. I never realised Rory would become the youngest Englishman to swim from Scotland to Ireland. The real question is not how he has done this, but what can he do next?”
What it means for you
- The donation page is justgiving.com/page/rory-kaye-3. Mencap is registered charity 222377.
- If you want to check the swim yourself, the ILDSA publishes every ratified crossing at ildsa.info. Ratification is not automatic: this one was submitted on 27 August, reviewed on 1 September and signed off the same day.
- Open-water swimming in the Macclesfield area is not the same proposition. The North Channel is piloted, observed and crewed. Nothing in this article is an argument for swimming unaccompanied in a river or reservoir.
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