In 1930 Mercedes Gleitze became the first person to swim the 100 miles around the Isle of Man. Later this year a film will be released ‘Vindication Swim’ showcasing her historical swims.
It would be an absolute injustice to the team behind Vindication Swim, and Mercedes Gleitze herself, to keep this piece short.
So get a brew, sit down and enjoy the unbelievable achievements of Mercedes Gleitze.
The film thats been directed by Elliott Hasler will be released on March 8. Filming began in 2019 but was delayed by the Covid pandemic.
100 mile swim
Carole Laporte set the new record in 2020, but unlike Mercedes she didn’t keep her family in the dark about her feat.
For 90 years the Gleitze family were unaware of their ancestors achievements; only finding out after her death upon stumbling across an archive she’d kept documenting her swims.
Not only the first person to swim around the Island but the first woman to swim the English Channel and the eight mile Straits of Gibraltar. After her extraordinary triumphs she became the face of Rolex.
Mercedes Gleitze
June 10, 1930, Gleitze warmed up at the Henry Bloom Noble swimming baths in Victoria Street, Douglas. This by no means was an ordinary warm up as she broke her previous endurance record by swimming continuously for 37 hours.
Three days later she set off from Douglas Bay, her attendants that joined her along the way being local: Miss Purcell and Mrs M. Black, both from Ramsey and Miss Cleator from Ballakeil.
The next day was a shorter stint only lasting from 2:30pm to 5:45pm, yet she still covered a distance of eight miles. Incurring an injury to her eye from the buffeting of the waves, mixed with damage from the sun’s rays led to her wearing a veil for the swim that day to the Point of Ayre.
Known for it’s treacherous tides she battled against the sea but it proved too much and a decision was made to take her out the water on east side of The Point.
Onwards to Peel
June 15, she made her way to Peel, after a bit of struggle Mercedes managed to navigate away from the Point of Ayre – at one point asking the crowds to sing ‘Ellan Vannin’ to help her through.
Later into the day gales were building and sea’s roughening and there was no sign of her, worry was starting to build. At midnight she reached Peel and the breakwater was full of supporters, she was kindly accommodated for the night at Peel Castle Hotel.
At the entrance to The Sound the sea was frothing and waves were rolling through at a fierce speed. It would’ve been suicidal to attempt to go through the Sound. With great difficulty, Mercedes was taken out of the water at Kitterland and spent the night at the Golf Links.
The next day she set out at noon for the penultimate stage of her swim and Gleitze successfully made it past the Sound and reached Langness.
The last swim leg
Sunday, June 22, she made her way to Douglas. From a point at Santon she could not be fed, and from Port Soderick at times she could not be seen.
The waves were dashing over the yacht and fears were felt for her safety, as it would have been impossible for the pilot boat to pick her up.
Setting and breaking records wasn’t Mercedes’ only legacy. Known for her generosity she went on to use her prize money to set up a homeless refuge in Leicester during the Great Depression. The Mercedes Gleitze Relief in Need Charity continues to this day.
“Sea swimming is a beautiful thing, in fact an art – an art whose mistress should be not the few, but the many, for does not the sea and its dangers cross the paths of thousands? Nay, millions! What could possibly speak more for man’s prowess as an athlete than the ability to master earth’s most abundant, most powerful element – water, no matter what its mood,” Mercedes Gleitze.
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