The morning was misty with slight rain and limited visibility until after the rain cleared from 9.30am. There was a high tide in Aughinish for the start of the swim. Although the wind made the water choppy and swimming difficult, the early Southerly wind (10 – 15 Knots) would have been of most benefit to Wave 1 swimmers who started their swim at 8.30am. Wave 2 and Wave 3 swimmers would also have been assisted by the Southerly wind during the early part of their swim.
The wind then veered Westerly and increased to Force 4 (15+ Knots) from 11.00am onwards. There was an outgoing tide during the swim with low tide in Galway at 2.06pm. The Westerly wind and spring tides (4.1 metre change in height) created “wind against tide” conditions resulting in a 0.5 m – 1 metre+ (3ft) rolling swell in the middle section of the bay. Many swimmers commented on how challenging the conditions were due to the waves in the middle of the bay.
102 swimmers crossed Galway Bay – (55 solo swimmers, 15 relay teams (47 relay team swimmers).