From Retirement to Rottnest: Reflections on a Rottonest Channel Solo Win.

by Andrew Donaldson

Flying Scotsman Andy Donaldson crossing the line

Foreword

There’s nothing quite like that moment when your toes touch the sand after successfully completing a 19.7km Rottnest Channel Swim solo. All that training, dedication and hard work becomes worth it in an instant as you surge up that ramp to a chorus of cheers and reunite with friends, family and loved ones. You’ve done it. You’ve swum to Rottnest. And to describe it in a word, it’s unforgettable!

On Saturday 20th February 2021, I was first to experience that feeling as I crossed the line in a personal best time of 4:04:30. It was a result beyond my wildest dreams as I'd swum faster than any other solo, duo or team that day, and I'd posted one of the quickest crossings in Rottnest Channel Swim history.

But at the time, I wasn't thinking about any of that. I was taking in the moment and thinking of all the people who had helped make it possible. It was pretty surreal! Overwhelmed with emotion, I threw my arms in the air and let out the biggest of roars. This was for them. And it was for one of my greatest supporters in life, my Grandpa!

One year on, I still get goosebumps when I think back to it all. The Rottnest Channel is a swim like none other and the achievement of successfully crossing it will sit with you forever. Though the way I see it, what you'll remember most is not the time or the end result, but instead everything around it. The journey and the people that were on it.

My own path to the podium was a little different to what you might expect of a winner. Having grown up as a swimmer in Scotland who then switched to Open Water after moving to Perth in 2013, I was no stranger to racing. Though less than a year before Rottnest, ideas of a solo could not have been further from my mind. I was happily retired, the sport was behind me and I was instead on the other side of the world, sliding down the hills of Nicaragua as a Volcano Tour Guide, running away from life and all forms of responsibility.

However in March 2020 that all changed, as the Covid pandemic swept across the globe. Amid the chaos and confusion, I abandoned my travels and scrambled my way back to Perth. With no job or direction, and having spent the best part of the last year backpacking, I didn't know what the future held. It wasn't until a chance meeting on the beach with Martin Smoothy and Chrishan Jeyaratnum on my first day out of quarantine, that my path changed. They asked me to get into the water with them.

Although badly out of shape (it had been almost two years since I’d last swum a lap) I loved being back in the water again. Our ocean swim catch-ups continued and it was not long that we were talking about life and exploring ideas to help get more adults into swimming. I began to regain form and other areas of my life started to flourish. Eventually, I felt the time was right to revisit one of my biggest unfulfilled dreams: to win the Rottnest Channel swim solo.

What followed was quite a journey, one which I never thought I'd sit down to write about. I learned a lot in that year, particularly from others, so I've tried to share some of the great advice that I received, and the different insights I gained along the way. Hopefully it helps or can inspire you in some way. Ultimately, my message is that with the right help and support, anything is possible, and I believe it's never too late to chase your dreams. To everyone swimming, best of luck. You can do this!!

Listen to Andrew talk more about his marathon swimming in this Torpedo Swimtalk Podcast episode

It might be a solo swim, but it’s a team effort win!

If there’s only one thing that you take away, let it be this. The Rottnest Swim is not a solo, it’s a team effort and you cannot do this journey alone. By this, I mean there are so many people involved in the success of your swim and without them, none of it would be possible.

Breaking it down, on the water you have your skipper, paddler, and crew. And on a wider scale, you have your coach, training partners, friends and family who all form a tight knit group to support you day-in day-out on your journey. Never under-appreciate their input, their support and the vital role each play.

And so here is my first insight: Seek advice from others, create a highly positive support network, and surround yourself with the right people.

Seek Advice

When I committed to racing Rotto, one of my first moves was to find people that could help me prepare for the swim. I sought advice from friends, coaches, nutritionists, and even former winners. I asked them everything: how to train, how to eat, how to best fuel myself on the day, how to prepare in the week leading up to the swim, and how to race on the day. Equally important, I asked them what didn’t work and what they would avoid.

From these discussions, I looked for the trends and patterns in advice. This was because many people had their own thoughts or ideas of doing things, with advice sometimes being polar-opposite to what others had recommended! I discovered that nobody was necessarily right or wrong with their approach, but that I'd need to find what would work for me.

Race Plan

With these insights, I created a robust eight-page document with everyone's suggestions, and I added my own thoughts or ideas on how to prepare for and tackle the swim. Was this overkill? Perhaps. Though getting it down on paper helped, and it gave me the utmost confidence in everything I’d do. I'd done my homework, I knew my plan, and so on race day I could simply turn up and execute my swim.

Squads

The next step after this was to join a swim squad. I'm someone who needs structure to get to a goal and I felt it was best to surround myself with others also striving towards targets. After all, you are a product of your environment. For this I re-united with my old training group, Perth City Swimming Club, coached by Eoin Carroll and Jason Evans.

On one of my first sessions back, I sat with Eoin to talk about my goals and I proposed this idea of trying to win Rotto to him. His response was honest. It wasn't going to be easy, but with the right planning, preparation, and full commitment, there was a chance. That's all I needed to know. We agreed to go for it, committed to the process, and got to work.

Training Partners & Support

After I got back into a squad, I thought I'd try encourage some friends out of retirement to come train alongside me. Jarrad Lawford, Travis Nederpelt, Paul Laver and Brad Smith responded to the call, and they joined our group alongside existing City swimmers such as Alec Mander, Simon Huitenga and Jonney Sammut.

It became a crew of great swimmers and we had a fantastic environment where everyone had fun and would push each other. The Rottnest idea quickly became a goal everybody felt part of, and not only were we training hard, but we were keeping each other encouraged, engaged and accountable.

Tackling Self-Doubt

During my preparation, I experienced a few dark days with bad swimming, exhaustion and overwhelming self-doubt. There'd be voices in my head asking: What am I doing? Am I good enough? Will I embarrass myself? Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Do I even stand a chance against such and such? I certainly felt them, and they were tough.

Though I tell you, no matter how good or experienced a swimmer you are, everybody goes through this. We are often our own biggest critics, but at the end of the day we're all human. It's ok to have bad days or to fail, and it's ok to not be feeling it. However it’s how you respond in those moments which matters most, and from experience, having good people around who can lift you up is priceless.

In my case, I was incredibly fortunate to have guys like Jarrad Lawford around me who never seemed to lose faith, even when I'd lose faith in myself. He'd know exactly what to say exactly when it was needed, and could help me push through when I simply wanted to stop. Support like that is something you can’t place a value on, and to Jarrad and the guys who were there for me, I could never have done it without you.

Support Crew

When it came to the day, I chose some of my closest friends for crew and to paddle. My team of Brady Knight, Heidi Gan, Simon Le Couilliard, Warren Raymond, Jacquie Rough and Alexandra Rough were all people who understood me well, were well versed with my plan, and had been behind me almost every step of the journey.

They call it the ‘twelfth man’ in soccer when backed by home support, and I believe the same applies for Rottnest. For me, their presence that day was priceless. With non-stop support from the very start, their cheers throughout the swim were always uplifting, and hauled me across the line when everything hurt.

What's best was that with everybody there at the finish, we could share that moment as a team, celebrating all who had contributed so greatly to the success of the day. I’ll always be grateful for their efforts and support, and never at any stage did I feel alone.

Key Takeaways

1. The journey is always better when it’s shared.

2. Join a squad or find other swimmers doing a solo to go train with.

3. Be part of other people’s journey and invite others on yours.

4. Seek advice from those with knowledge of the swim.

5. Ask them how to prepare, how to feed, what worked, what didn’t.

6. Look for trends in advice and tailor it when creating your own plan.

7. Never underestimate the value of your support crew and paddler.

8. Ensure they are prepared and that they have capacity to help you for the day.

9. A crew can be the difference between gold and silver, or a successful and unsuccessful day.

Hard work gets you somewhere, but smart work gets you further

As a youngster growing up in the west of Scotland, I used to pride myself thinking I was the hardest working trainer in the pool. I would race warm-ups and thrash down the pool to be first to the wall, even if it meant exceeding the efforts written on the board. Put simply, I was someone who wanted to race everything.

Then one day, a senior Scotland Team swimmer tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Andy, you work hard. That will always get you somewhere. But smart work will always get you further”. Those words always stuck with me and would go on to form the crux of my approach to the Rottnest Channel Swim.

When Eoin and I sat down to discuss the idea of racing Rotto, we had to be realistic. I'd been out of the water for a long time, and I'd spent much of the past year partying whilst on my travels. Quite simply, it wasn't the ideal base to work from!

I was also going to be racing against an incredible field of swimmers in the Champions of the Channel. Guys who were fit, fast and were gaining selection for Australian Dolphins teams. It was going to be tough, and we knew to have any chance of success we’d have to be smart.

Patience

As a start, we felt it important to not rush straight in. The natural instinct could have been to go hard from the start, particularly when fired up and keen to get back into shape. But I'd seen this before (think of all those New Years Resolutions!). I felt that such efforts and motivation might be hard to sustain, or could result in injury or burnout.

Moreover, Eoin and I had one condition that we'd do this swim with no regrets. Swimming was to be enjoyable and to compliment life, not take over it. Therefore starting in October 2020, I gradually got back into squad swimming. I started with 5x two-hour swim sessions per week through till December, and I tried to do things right by focusing on technique.

Mileage

At that stage, I knew my mileage was far less than others, but that was ok. Swimming mega-kilometres straight off the bat would have killed me, and I'd likely have grown bored with the training. I am by no means advocating doing no work through till race day. You can’t swim across a 19.7km channel without getting the miles in somewhere! But what I suggest is to swim quality miles, train with purpose and to ensure everything you do counts.

After building myself a strong foundation, I introduced an extra couple of sessions two months out from the swim. The gains were seismic. I was fresh, my technique was sharp, and I was in a place where I could push myself in a great run up to the event. The timing was perfect.

Purposeful Training

When it comes to Rottnest, it’s worth understanding that this swim is unique compared to most swims out there. For starters, there’s no pack and no drafting, it’s just you and your paddler as you swim almost 20km to an island out at sea! Every 15-20 minutes you guzzle down liquids to keep yourself fuelled, and some might even have a snack along the way. These are not normal aspects of a swim, so it’s key to practice them!

Swim with your paddler, trial your feeds, practice taking them, and ensure your stomach can handle them during an intense workout. Ultimately, train the way you plan to swim. If you swim in a busy lane, lead the lane and don’t draft. You’re not able to do this in the swim so why practice that way.

A word of advice given to me was that “Rottnest only really starts after the 10km mark, so do everything you can to prepare for that”. If you have swum a solo before, I think you will appreciate this. It’s that feeling of load and fatigue in your arms that you'll feel after that 10km mark, particularly as you approach that final stretch from Phillip Rock.

The smart swimmer will prepare for this, finding ways to replicate the load, and they will attempt to manage it whilst maintaining good stroke and composure throughout. Our approach was to train after an open water race or after an aerobic circuits’ session. Both worked well, though I’m sure there are plenty of other innovative ways. One coach even suggested that I try swim with a t-shirt and tights on. I'm not sure if he was pulling my leg!

Prepare Smart & Plan

Thus, my second insight is this - prepare smart and train with purpose. Devise a plan to get you to Rottnest and become part of a squad who will help you get there.

When it comes to squads, there are plenty of good ones out there with good, experienced coaches capable of getting you to Rottnest. Groups like the Positive Swim Squad, eSwim, Perth City Masters or where I swim at Perth City Swimming Club. The list could go on. But I suggest that you plan with your coach, and outline a pathway from where you are now, to where you want to be.

Technique

Where possible, have your coaches look at your technique because it forms the foundation of everything. If your coach can’t do this, spend time with somebody who can. I can’t place enough importance on technique because the scope for gains are truly immeasurable.

Even as a 31-year-old who has swum competitively since the age of 7, I still have my stroke corrected on a day-to-day basis. So it’s important to learn, and important to implement what you learn as you swim, particularly when you are fatigued. This is because when you tire during the swim, your stroke will revert to what you have practiced, and when that’s applied over 20km, it makes a difference!

Train For Your Own Swim

Remember, everybody will have their own particular approach to tackling Rotto. Therefore I encourage you to prepare for your own swim, and race your own race. By this, plan out your own preparation and race plan in consultation with your coach. Train to your cycles, not somebody else’s, and on the day, you have your plan. Stick to it!

Key Takeaways

1. Prepare for your swim with a smart plan.

2. Consult with others for this and ensure your plan maps out how you will get to your goal.

3. Train purposefully and try to replicate what you will do on the day.

4. Join a squad and find a coach who can support you on your journey.

5. Ask them to assist you with your technique. The outcomes are immeasurable.

6. Implement good technique when you are most fatigued. That is when it matters most!

7. Prepare for your own swim, and race your own race.

8. Advice from others is key, but it's not necessarily a one-size fits all.

9. Find out what works for you, create a plan and stick to it.

Andrew with older sister Hannah

Swim for something bigger than yourself

There’s a Friedrich Nietzsche quote that goes something like this: “he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how”. Or in other words, those with purpose can bear almost anything. When I think about this, I feel it holds particularly true in sport. I see people running marathons to honour their family, and when everything hurts, they somehow push on. Or exhausted athletes on the last day of an Olympic campaign, finding a way to step up and squeeze out that little bit more for a relay-team and their country. It’s incredible!

Charity

When it came to Rottnest, my something bigger was mental health and the Kai Eardley Foundation. Set up by Claire Eardley following the tragic passing of her son, the Kai Eardley Foundation is a charity that supports mental health initiatives and workshops for young adults around Perth. With myself and the Swimclan crew of Jarrad Lawford and Jonney Sammut (Duo) and Brad Smith, Paul Laver, Travis Nederpelt and Nate Saunders (Team of Four) all entered and targetting respective category wins, we felt we could use our swims to raise awareness and much needed funds for this incredible cause.

Mental Health

Moreover, this was a very personal cause to me. Through life, I’ve known many great men that have had battles with depression. One of my greatest supporters and inspirations growing up, my Grandpa, was one. To me, swimming for mental health, and in a roundabout way, swimming for Grandpa, was one of the most meaningful things I could do with my life. I knew that with purpose and with him in mind, I could push myself through any sort of pain barrier, even if I had nothing left. It kept me going, and the hurt never mattered because to me, I knew I could do him proud. Crossing that line, everything stopped and I knew he was smiling. To be honest knowing Grandpa, the result wouldn't have mattered. He’d have simply been delighted that I’d tried my best.

With this in mind, the next insight is simple, yet immensely powerful - have a reason to swim.

Your reason may be external, for example swimming for charity or for a loved one. Or it could be to tick off that goal that you’ve always dreamed of. Or perhaps like me, it's a bit of both. Either way, with purpose comes drive, meaning and accountability.

And when you have it, I suggest that you share your purpose and intentions with others. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but in return you will receive encouragement on those days you feel down, and the occasional reminder from peers on why you’re doing this.

Key Takeaways

1. Those with a why, can bear almost any how.

2. Find a reason to swim.

3. Whether it’s a loved one, a charity, or a personally defined goal, purpose gives you drive.

4. Share your purpose and intentions with others.

5. You may feel exposed or vulnerable at first, but in return you will find support and another mechanism to help you keep on track.

6. Navigating choppy waters

Preparation tips and race-day minutia

As mentioned before, there are a lot of different ways to prepare for and race a Rottnest Channel Swim solo. It can be hard to know which way to go. When asking for help, I suggest you be open to advice as nobody's necessarily right or wrong. Take it all down, and through trial and error find out what works for you.

Race Strategies & Execution

When it came to planning my own race strategy, I looked to Sam Shephard's solo winning performance of 2019 for inspiration. Sam, a former Australian Dolphins open water swimmer, had also come out of retirement for the swim, and he was to be up against a great field including the Rottnest Channel solo record holder and a World Championships medallist. He took the approach of swimming strong from the start, taking the lead, and raising the bar once again to be in firm control by the 15km mark. By the time he reached Rotto, Sam held a commanding lead of almost 10 minutes, it was incredible. This was in my eyes, the best Rottnest performance ever, and it was an approach that I wanted to try emulate.

Again, this style wasn't for everyone and a few coaches told me not to try it. It would require a great deal of bravery to start off hard, conditioning to hold, and willpower to finish. But in my eyes, this was the way to do it. I felt that many of the best Rotto wins involved swimmers leading from the start: Jarrad Poort, Solomon Wright, Sam Shephard, and I believed it was an approach that could play to my strengths. As my old coach once said, "sometimes you have to put your balls on the table". I felt this was the time to do exactly that.

On the day, I put it to the test, and set off the beach at pace. I linked up with my crew, and swam out in front towards the clear water. We were in the lead! Maintaining a firm pace to halfway, I was still sitting first but not by much. What's worse, I remember thinking to myself that I'd used more juice than I'd have liked, but there was no time to complain. I knew that if I wanted to control the race, it was time to attack. I kicked up the gears and pressed hard.

In swimming, they talk about the 3rd quarter being where a race is won or lost. For us, it was exactly that. I'd pushed hard, and used up almost everything by 15km, but it had worked. We had lost all other boats from sight, and we had a comfortable lead as we approached the island. I knew that a large gap in the final stages of the swim is near impossible to close and that it would only happen if I completely blew out. Therefore I conserved my energy, swam smart, and took my time to enjoy that final stretch into the finish.

Regardless of the approach you choose for the day, I suggest breaking your swim into segments and identifying how each of these will be swum. For me, these were 1-1.5km, 1.5km-10km, 10-12km, 12-15km, 15-19.7km each with their own stroke rate, target pace and purpose. If you are racing or chasing a time, I think this is important for you. Map out your strategy, and give it to your crew so they can hold you to it.

Training & Lead Up Ideas - What Worked

In no particular order, here are a few things that helped me during my preparation for Rotto.

1. Mixing pool sessions with open water swims + paddler.

• practice feeds, pace and paddler positioning.

• practice how you will communicate together for the day (short instructions etc.).

• paddler must learn to recognise your stroke so they can pick you up at the start on the day.

2. Take big swigs of fuel in training so stomach gets used to it .

• this is very important, as this replicates what feeding will be like on the day.

• practice with what you will drink on the day (you'd be surprised at how many people don't).

• practice during intense workouts, ensuring your stomach can handle them.

3. Do a 5km in the pool before or after open water races / do back-to-back open water races.

• this is to make the swim as hard as possible by racing with load & fatigue.

• this is to replicate the load you will feel at the 15km mark. Learn to cope with it.

• you can do something similar with swim sessions (e.g. circuits prior to a session).

• this approach may see you failing to win many races (I didn't win a single one that summer), though with your eyes fixed on the long term goal, I assure you it's worth it.

4. Finishing the end of sets with band only / pull & band.

• this is to replicate the feeling at the 15km mark (sinking hips and change in body position).

• using band only / pull & band will force the upper body to compensate as you cannot kick.

5. Pick up timing chip on the day before.

• this turned out to be a simple, yet hugely effective tip.

• picking up the chip the day before gives you one less thing to worry about on the day.

6. Hydration and recovery.

• both hydration and recovery are hugely important.

• I had massages fortnightly through my training block, including the Thurs before raceday.

• I made sure to be on top of my fluids, particularly during hot summer days to help maintain performance and promote good recovery (particularly during the week leading to the swim).

7. I received solid nutritional advice for Carb Loading and devised a meal plan up to race day.

• a key point was not to overeat to the point of being uncomfortable or unwell.

• rather, focus on eating quality carbohydrates and the right things (get veggies in!).

8. Feed planning.

• I received nutritional help and feedback when constructing my feed plan for the swim.

• prepare your feeds the day before and label them clearly (this helps crew identify feeds).

• be sure to prepare enough spares (I made the mistake of not preparing enough).

• if adding gels / caffeine tablets etc. ensure it's mixed well and is no longer fizzy.

• my feeds were all liquid and I did not eat any solids during my swim. This might not be for everyone, but I did not want heavy foods sitting in my stomach or gut during the swim.

9. Planning a session with your crew

• meet with your crew once you have a good idea of the weather conditions for raceday.

• - set your plan for meet ups in the starting channel e.g. north or south.

• - consider placing things on the boat to help it stand out (e.g. we had a big Scotland flag).

• - iron out the logistics for both before the swim and after (how you & paddler will get to Cottesloe Beach / how everybody will meet on Rottnest and manage the kayak).

Training & Lead Up Ideas - What Didn't Work

Here were some ideas that sounded good in principle, but didn't work for me.

1. Underwater headphones for long swims.

• I received Sony u/w headphones at Xmas. I can't tell you how excited I was to use them.

• however as they're not allowed in the swim, I didn't use them in the end. The message: don't practice with what you cannot use.

2. Speakers on the kayak.

• another idea that I wished could have worked (I really do like my music!!).

• when practicing in the river, I couldn't hear my paddler's communications and couldn't hear the music either. It wasn't worth the trouble.

3. Feed sticks.

• this was an idea pitched by a friend who'd had good experiences using one of these to receive his feeds during his own solo win.

• having practiced with the stick, I found that I preferred taking my feeds by hand from my paddler, and not overcomplicating the process.

4. Organising an evening with friends the night before.

• in theory, this sounded good as a way to stay relaxed and take my mind off the swim.

• in reality, it turned out to be too hard to organise, and I just wanted a quiet night to relax.

Raceday - What Worked

In terms of race-day, here are a few things that helped.

1. Beach prep

• lathering up with vaseline around the major chafing areas of neck and arm pits.

• putting lanoline (anhydrous wool fat) on major body organs and muscle groups.

• have someone else do these for you (use gloves / do not get on goggles).

• sea sickness tablets + non-drowsy antihistamine + adequate sunblock.

• bring spare cap, goggle and suit to the beach.

• give spares to your paddler if they are not needed on beach (in case needed in first 1.5km).

• your paddler can give these to the crew on the boat if they are not needed.

2. Paddler pick up.

• save your energy from sighting and let your paddler pick you up on the start.

• they should be able to spot you better than you can spot them, plus if you swim as planned, you should be where you both agreed to meet.

• let the paddler guide you to your boat (again, save your energy and let them be your eyes).

• my paddler had practiced with me and the boat so knew what to look out for.

• my paddler had her phone on loud speaker to chat with the crew on the boat to help her find where it was (nominate one person on the boat to look out for this call).

3. Follow the rhumb line.

• each skipper under the sun will have their own 'best course' for the swim.

• some will advocate big banana swings and some will aim to maximise the currents.

• we kept it simple and took the most direct route along the rhumb line.

• ultimately, trust your skipper as they should be in the best position to judge the course.

• if you happen to be leading at the end, stay directly in front of second place. This will eliminate any luck with the currents, and it will ensure it remains a race of swimming.

4. Paddler to swimmer communication.

• your paddler is the most important person in your swim. They are your co-pilot.

• ensure your paddler is someone you trust and can keep you encouraged and motivated.

• your paddler should keep you informed of everything that's going on (e.g. distance covered, position in the field and whether you need to pick up the pace).

• positive talk is key from the paddler. They have to be able to fire you up!

• laminated signs helped with this (we had signs for distance covered, a thumbs up, a 'go faster' sign, and a 'slow down' sign).

5. Feed well and frequently.

• in my swim, I fed as frequently as every 15 minutes with each feed being 400ml.

• we front loaded the hydration intake, and never rushed the consumption of feeds because we believed it was better to have more in the system than less.

• losing a few seconds whilst taking a feed was more ideal than getting hypothermia or 'blowing up' from blood sugars dropping, a lack of fuel or a lack in hydration.

• the strict advice was to never skip feeds in order to chase.

6. Focus on your own swim.

• this is a big one which is tougher than it sounds (particularly when competing for the win).

• if you have a strategy, don't change it based on what somebody else is doing. Rather stick to your plan and race as you have prepared.

• ignore attacks as they likely won't be very fast or too fast that they're not sustainable.

7. Mental tenacity.

• Rottnest is a mental race. Have a few sports psychology tricks up your sleeve to help you.

• positive self-talk is key. If you're hurting, so is everybody else. If someone's ahead of you, tell yourself you're coming for them. Find ways to help you squeeze out that little bit more.

• if you blow out, be tough. It comes down to tempo and will-power, not speed or strength.

Raceday - What Didn't Work

Just like in life, not everything goes according to plan. Here were a few challenges that my team and I faced. Some were unavoidable (e.g. Perth was placed into a snap-lockdown one month out from the swim). All you can do is choose how you react to them as they unfold.

1. Poor sleep the night before.

• - this is one that I think many will have experienced before. The pre-night jitters.

• - when prepping for Rotto, I was aware there'd be a good chance I wouldn't be able to sleep the night before. Therefore, I prepared as best as I could mentally for this to happen.

• - sure enough, I awoke at 1am on the morning of the swim and couldn't get back to sleep. It would have been easy to panic, but I instead kept calm and tried not think about the swim. My body would still be 'resting' and a few hours of no sleep wouldn't do that much damage.

• - I got up out of my bed at 4am, and luckily I felt awake and raring to go.

2. Kayak issues.

• - for my swim, we used a Hobie Mirage Passport 10.5 kayak. This was a foot peddle fishing kayak which my friend had recommended after his own great crossing experiences with it.

• - in principle, it was a great idea. With the kayak being hands-free, the paddler could pass drinks to me with ease and use her legs (bigger muscles) for all the propulsion.

• - unfortunately on the day, it didn't quite work for us. My paddler often had trouble steering the kayak due to the choppy conditions, and at one point she fully 'T-Boned' me.

• - I do feel that the fishing kayak does have it's benefits and could work for someone who's experienced in using one. Unfortunately this was only the 3rd or 4th time my paddler had used it and we probably hadn't trialled it enough in choppy waters. It was a lesson learned.

• - my recommendation is to have your paddler stick to what you're used to or have practiced with, whether that's a sea kayak, a fishing kayak, or even a rescue board.

3. The paddler must stay calm.

• - it's essential that your paddler remains calm throughout the swim, regardless of issues or challenges that arise.

• - this is because your paddler is likely the only person you will see for hours on end, and if they are stressed, it will flow on to you.

• - following the 'T-Bone' with my paddler, I could see she was flustered and I'd be lying if I said it didn't impact me. I also felt bad because I'd yelled 'what the hell' at her (something I instantly regretted because at the end of the day, she was just trying her best). Moreover, yelling or becoming aggrevated unnecessarily burns energy. Try to avoid these at all costs.

• - try to take things in your stride, and ask your paddler to do the same.

• - ensure that your paddler slowly and clearly provides instructions to you when you communicate because stressful yelling from your paddler will not help either.

4. Running out of feeds.

• - I'll admit, this one was my fault as I failed to prepare enough spares.

• - in the second half of my swim, I fed more than I'd planned in my feed schedule.

• - instead of preparing with flexibility, I hadn't made many spares and we ran out of feeds.

• - luckily, my team had personal Gatorades on board, and kindly prepared extras on the go.

• - therefore always over-prepare because you never know what will happen on the day.

5. Mistaking the referee's vessel for competition.

• - this one's a bit silly and may not apply to you, but was a mistake that two different solo winners made in their swim (myself being one!!). We did not recognise the referee's boat.

• - at the 12km my strategy was to be in the lead and attacking. After communications with my paddler, I knew I was sitting first, but I did not know how large the gap was.

• - moments later, a boat appeared. Who was this I wondered? I thought I had a good lead. How did they catch up so quickly! I did exactly what I should not have done... I reacted!

• - I put the jets on and swam furiously to try get away from this boat. Little did I know that I was in fact comfortably in front, and it was only the referee in his boat coming to check in.

• - I looked to the crew on my boat and everybody had their arms in their air waving away. Oh good, my team are cheering me on. Let's go! In reality, they were trying to slow me down!

That last one turned out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise, as I increased my lead during that phase of the swim. Though what I am trying to convey here is that mistakes are bound to happen. The weather may not be ideal and things might not always go as planned. But that's ok. Ultimately, all we can do is try our best and look after the things in our control (e.g. our planning, our preparation and our response on the day to different challenges).

First to the island, letting it all out!

Enjoy the journey

Finally, the journey to swimming a Rottnest Channel Swim solo should be one that’s enjoyed. That word enjoyment is so pivotal in the journey. For me, enjoyment with swimming started in lockdown after returning from my travels in 2020.

Following that chance meeting with Martin Smoothy and Chrishan Jeyaratnum, we started swimming along the coast of North Beach to Sorrento each morning. Swims in the cold, out in the elements at the crack of dawn alongside two of the greatest guys I’ve grown to know. These swims re-ignited a passion I had for swimming and ultimately changed the course of my life. They led to a healthier lifestyle, balance, good mental well-being, to the creation of Swimclan, and ultimately, led to swimming the Rottnest Channel Swim. How awesome!

And when I try to look at the Rottnest Channel Swim objectively, where else in the world would thousands of people swim out to an island 20km off-shore in crystal clear waters, in a fun, safe, and well organised event every year. How cool is that! We are incredibly lucky to have this opportunity on our doorstep and as a swimmer who never grew up with white sandy beaches, surf club, or hot summer days by the ocean, it’s something that I implore us all to never take for granted.

So enjoy what you have and enjoy the day. If things happen to go wrong in your swim, or not quite to plan, that’s ok. In fact, I guarantee something will happen, and it happens to all of us. As you saw for me above, I slept maybe 4 hours the night before, I collided with my kayak numerous times, and as prepared as I was, I still ran out of feeds before the finish! But my team and I kept on going, tried not to stress, and in the end it didn’t matter. You can plan everything to the minutia, but when you’re faced with the city being plunged into a coronavirus lockdown less than a month before race-day, there’s very little you can do. So prepare well, and prepare to be adaptable. That’s the best you can do.

Remember, swimming is there to complement our life, not take over it. If you find yourself overtraining or not enjoying the journey, it’s ok to take a step back. Allow yourself to rest, reset and come back fresher. Ultimately, have fun and once again enjoy the journey.

Key Takeaways

1. Have fun with your swimming.

• - It's there to complement life, not take over it.

2. Remember things go wrong and sometimes, things are out of your control.

• - If you have prepared well, you should be ready for the unexpected.

• - Accept what has happened, and move on.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Andrew Donaldson

Andrew grew up in Scotland, but now lives in Perth, Australia. He rediscovered his love for swimming during Covid, with a chance meeting with some guys on a Perth beach - and what would become an ongoing love for marathon swimming.

He has won the The Rottnest Channel Solo Swim in 2021 and the Ausbil 27km swim in NSW, as well as breaking the record for the Derwent River Swim in 2022. Andrew has many more goals on the horizon.

He co-founded Swimclan, which aims to be a swim program designed to help adults from all walks of life.

https://www.swimclan.com.au/