Ye Amphibious Ancients Bathing Association and 140 years of cold water swimming joy

Wild swimming might be having its moment but for one hardy lot, they are taking on the cold water of the River Tay with a club that soon marks its 140th year.

When John Barrowman moved to Dundee to manage a branch of the Co-op in the late 19th Century, the River Tay soon called him.

It wasn’t long before he had 60 people joining him for a dook in the morning before work with the club meeting close to Broughty Castle by the rail line where coal came in by locomotive.

As the pursuit took hold, Ye Amphibous Ancients Bathing Association was born with a changing room on the pier created from a tin hut – called Ye Bunk – and John Barrowman appointed Chief Ancient.

A former president of the club, who was called Ye Chief, at the helm of one of the club's support vessels which guides swimmers across the water. PIC: Contributed.

Today, Ye Bunk still stands – albeit in more modern form – with the club to mark its 140th anniversary in the New Year.

"I really don’t think there is another club like us,” said Joyce McIntosh, who has served as president of the club for the past four decades.

In the years that followed Barrowman’s first outings in the river in 1884, there were reports of “deafening applause” of large crowds who gathered on the piers to watch swimmers set off across the water. Welcome donations of a ‘shivering bite’ to the swimmers, with favourites including a shortbread round, were sometimes made.

The club quickly developed a large following of spectators after its members first took to the Tay in 1884. PIC: Contributed

By 1905, some of the club members were forging reputations for their strength and daring, with William Blair crossing the water in 30 minutes and then, to the surprise of spectators, returning back to Broughty Ferry in just another 33.

Blair became known as the “Tay Swimmer” and the “Swimming Confectioner’” given his work at a nearby bakers, and became the star of the club’s gala day in 1907, not least after he was dropped in the river in a sack.

“Besides being prominent in displaying his aquatic abilities throughout the proceedings, he allowed himself to be tied into a sack, in which he was dropped over the pier. He lost no time in appearing on the surface free from his trammels, and received an ovation,” a newspaper report said.

The club has its HQ and clubhouse next to Broughty Castle. PIC: Contributed.

Topsy Johnson, of Perth, was the first woman to make the crossing with a time of 42 minutes and 34 seconds with her swim in “very choppy waters” paused for a minute or two given the swell of the waves from a passing steamer.

Today, Ye Amphibious Ancients continue to celebrate their roots and successes – while operating in very different waters and safety constraints than those faced by its earliest members.

Now, swimmers won’t get to cross the Tay unless they have swum the mouth of Broughty Ferry harbour 36 times – and climbed up the ladder at the end – and swims won’t take place if the water temperature, which is checked by a referee, falls below 13 degrees Celsius. A fleet of 14 support boats are owned by the club with features including GPS and flags to alert other river traffic to swimmers in the water.

Mrs McIntosh, 78, said : “I can’t see any place in the country, in the UK, that has got what we have. I think that is what makes us so unique. You have got Ye Bunk sitting on the pier head and you just go out and into your swimming pool – which is the River Tay.

The annual club dook on New Years' day 2017. PIC: Contributed.

“It is also about the knowledge we have – the safety knowledge.”

Mrs McIntosh said the club, whose members are called Phibbies, “disassociated” itself from the trend for “wild swimming” given the strict regulation around the safety of members .

“What we do is just so different and the differences are first and foremost the safety aspect. With wild swimming, some people don’t know the run of the tide or where to go to swim safely.

“People now have these flotations behind them so that people can see someone is in the water but that is not going to save them if they have a heart attack, or if they get cramp or they are hit by a log coming down the river. Some of the debris can knock you out.

"It is all very well to say ‘wild swimming, we jump in this, we jump in that’ but with regards to the depths, people sometimes don't have any idea what they are jumping into.”

Members of the club, which is affiliated to Scottish Swimming, can’t wear wet suits but can have two brightly coloured swim caps on their heads. Swimsuits cannot be made from neoprene, which is popular among some wild swimmers given its insulating properties. Men's trunks must come above the knee.

Members of Ye Ancient Amphibious Bathing Association, which is based in Broughty Ferry, has been embracing the joy of cold water for 140 years. PIC: Contributed.

The swimming times of early members such as William Blair and Topsy Johnson have been dramatically reduced, with the mile crossing from the south wall at Broughty Castle to Tayport Harbour completed now in an average time of 15 minutes and 11 seconds, given greater understanding of tides, time and routes.Despite her long experience navigating the Tay, Mrs McIntosh said that “every day is a school day with water, every day is a learning day with the Tay.”

She added: “With all the rain and climate change we have had there is more water, tides are higher now, there is more danger now, there is more debris. You don’t become complacent.

"Even after 40 years, you do not know that river. I know if I was sitting in a boat, I know the routes and how to get people across but you can never legislate for the environment.”

Mrs McIntosh said the Tay could be “bleak” on some days but like the Mediterranean on others – with a fair bit of mental preparedness required ahead of a crossing.

“You are fighting the elements. It could be piddling with rain but you are not going to call it off because you are going to be getting wet anyway.”

The club will start the celebration of its 140th anniversary on New Year’s Day, when more than 200 people are expected to attend its annual dook on January 1.