A fellow swimmer who has undergone Chemo & Radio therapy 3 times for ovarian cancer has talked me into being her safety buddy to swim along side her across the Corryvreckan (Gateway to Hell) after her original partner had to pull out. The more I read about the Corryvrekin the more I am convinced that I have made a mistake. Christine Howson is a remarkable lady who does not know the meaning of "quitting". Currently undergoing her 3rd year of Cancer therapy - last year she swam from the West of Scotland to the East through rivers & lochs - raising money for Charity. This year she intends to swim East Lothian from Musselburgh to The Borders in the North Sea. As warm up to that swim, she is swimming the Corryvreckan.

A landmark made entirely of raging, perilous water, the Corryvreckan whirlpool can confidently claim to be one of Scotland’s most dangerous tourist attractions.

Famously described by the Royal Navy as unnavigable, the Corryvreckan lies between the isles of Jura and Scarba in the Inner Hebrides, though adventure tours frequently pass the maelstrom.

The unique geological structure on the seabed - essentially, an underwater mountain - creates the whirlpool, the third largest in the world. Water rushing in towards a 200m pinnacle of rock in the narrow Jura strait, the peak of which sits only 30m from the surface, creates the violent phenomenon.

Over the centuries, the Corryvreckan is thought to have swallowed scores of sailors caught unaware by its ferocity, particularly in bad weather where standing waves of 15ft have been reported. Writer Martin Martin’s description of the whirlpool’s dangers is unequivocal.

“It yields an impetuous current, not to be matched anywhere,” wrote Martin, “the sea begins to boil and ferment with the tide of the flood, and resembles the boiling of a pot; and then increases gradually, until it appears in many whirlpools, which form themselves in sort of pyramids, and immediately after spout up as high as the mast of a little vessel, and at the same time make a loud report heard 15 miles away.”