It took 15 minutes of being immersed in the cold, dark, jellyfish filled Irish Sea for me to stop questioning myself. Until that point I was riddled with doubt and trepidation that I was going to fail, that I would let down the team. I had listened to the nay sayers, the jokers and the unambitious. I was scared. But once I saw my team hold up the first ’15 Minutes’ sign I had already realised that I, as part of the HMS Oardacious Channel Swimmers, was going to finish this swim from Northern Ireland to Scotland. What’s more, I was going to enjoy it.

Jumping in a boat at 4am to swim from Northern Ireland to Scotland isn’t normal, I had only met a handful of people who had even considered it yet here I was, as part of a relay, trying. I have often accepted challenges, though I rarely sought them out, to try things beyond the normal because I have been surrounded by others who have made them seem so achievable. Inadvertently those wonderful role models have made me feel like an imposter and my only cure has been to dive in feet first and try my best. So it had taken 15 minutes in the water to normalise the exceptional, just 15 minutes to take the challenge of swimming the North Channel off the pedestal I had created for it in my mind. Over the rest of the day, as we meandered our way to the Scottish Coastline I was able to think about what is normal and what is exceptional.

As I had greased myself up with goose fat wearing only swimming trunks and a swim cap I had already come to the conclusion that this was not a normal Tuesday, but then again neither is putting 6 months of rations in a submersible nuclear reactor, kissing your family goodbye and foregoing natural light for the best part of a year. Neither is leaving your new wife of 2 weeks to sail into the high north and stand on a flight deck moving F35 Lightning II fighter jets all summer, autumn and winter long with Arctic sea spray freezing on your exposed skin as you count down the minutes until your oppo relieves you on deck. What we expect of our sailors, airmen and marines is exceptional! But we normalise it.

HMS Oardacious has showcased that our people can achieve the exceptional. Rowing the Atlantic is not an easy feat, nor is stripping off to dive into the English or North Channel, and I think that both our fellow service personnel and general public appreciate that. But the routine tasks of the Royal Navy also take incredible effort, determination and sacrifice. All too often our people normalise the exceptional things they do on a daily basis, and by not stopping to reflect they miss out on the pride they are entitled to take in their daily grind.

There was relief to be back in the boat after my first hour in the icy water, I knew that despite my uncontrollable shivering that I would continue to take my place amongst the team. It was at this moment that I came to fully appreciate the advice I had been given before the swim, that I had to be prepared to care for my teammates, and I was truly thankful for their preparedness at that moment. Teammates would prepare each other for changeover, we would towel dry the exiting swimmer from head to toe and get them wrapped up as quickly as possible, we would dance for the swimmer in the water to provide morale, the team would even throw snacks ahead of me in the water! Caring and support enabled the team to deliver on each individual’s preparation.

I had the honour of the final push to Portpatrick, the quant little harbour town on the Galloway coast. I swam harder than I had in years so that the rising tide didn’t sweep us southwards. We got the finish we wanted. After I touched the harbour wall the rest of the team jumped in and we swam to the town’s picturesque, sheltered beach. Locals were ringing bells as we were the first team of the year to complete the challenge in the town and it added to the joy of our celebration on the shore together. But I felt a little underwhelmed.

This exceptional challenge had felt normal, a few hours in some cold water wasn’t the test I had expected and I was initially haunted with the imposter within again. Two weeks later and I’ve rationalised some of these emotions and thankfully I’m now filled with pride and have allowed myself to celebrate but this is caveated with the feeling of ‘what’s next?’ that I haven’t had in a while. I’m excited. It has taken me 2 weeks to realise that the underwhelming feeling was due to being forged by 18 years of regular and reserve service in an organisational that normalises and demands the exceptional.

Written by Lt Cdr Niall Copeland - HMS Oardacious North Channel Swimmer 2026

HMS Oardacious North Channel Swim - our reflections