NINE swimmers are planning to launch the first attempt to swim from the Outer Isles to St Kilda this weekend - depending, of course, on the weather staying fair.
Taking it in turns relay style they reckon it will take them 40 to hours to complete the 60 miles from Hushinish, on Harris to Hirta, the main island in the St.Kilda archipelago.
But strong tides on the crossing will mean it is more like 80 miles.
The idea of the St.Kilda Swim came about during the Big Minch Swim in 2012, from Ullapool to Stornoway which raised around £23,500 for the RNLI.
Colin Macleod, 41, the Stornoway-based team captain said that after that they had to look for a bigger challenge. Five of the St Kilda team were from on the Minch swim.
He said the choice was obvious - St Kilda - the dual world heritage site which he describes as a beautiful and mystical place, where the local inhabitants left the island in 1930 after decades of hard living.
Each swimmer will take it in turns to be in the water one at a time for 45 minutes of front crawl. This was the approach they adopted for the Minch.
They are from all walks of life, including a civil engineer, teacher, journalist, fireman and telecoms executive. Most come from the Western Isles but also from Easter Ross, Aberdeen and Lanarkshire.
The swimmers will be supported by three kayakers and a cabin cruiser. They are braving the seas to raise money for three charities - The Fishermen's Mission, Yorkhill Children's Charity and the Leanne Fund which provides funding for special treats for young people with Cystic Fibrosis in the Highlands and Islands.
If the weather is right they will leave around 8.30pm this evening or 11am on Sunday morning.
St Kilda is the remotest part of the British Isles, lies 41 miles west of Benbecula.
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