Wild Dart Swim and Aquathlon 2025

The Wild Dart Swim takes place on Saturday July 26th, 2025

This year, after consulting with the harbourmaster and Friends of The Dart, we have decided to finish the swim at the Dolphin Boatyard in Galmpton, which is approximately 4km downstream from Stoke Gabriel. 

4k swim and 15k aquathlon 8.00am

4k swimmers and 15k aquathloners will start their swim by heading downstream, from Stoke Gabriel.

Aquathloners will start alongside the 4km swimmers and exit at Dolphin Boatyard, then move to a nearby transition area, before running a six miles circuit through Greenway Woods via public footpaths, which finishes back at the boatyard.

We have confirmed transport arrangements with Bob The Bus, who will pick up swimmers from the Dolphin Boatyard at 7am. Only thsoe who have purchased a ticket for transport, or who had previously booked this option for the cancelled June swim, will be permitted on the bus. We've been working closely with Friends of The Dart to publish the most reliable and up-to-date data on water quality and FOTD will be present on the day of our swim to talk about water quaity and their campaign for better quality water.

Key facts

• The aquathlon course suits road shoes.
• All normal swim run kit will be permitted, including tow floats except for flippers. Hand Fins only are permitted but people using them will not qualify for podium prizes. 
• We will take your clearly labelled drop bags to the transition area at Dolphin Boatyard from registration.

15k Aquathlon

The 15k aquathlon includes:

The 4k swim to Dolphin Boatyard

A 10k run run along wooded footpath at Greenway and quiet country lanes in Galmpton, finishing in the Boatyard.

All 4K swimmers will need to bring a drop back for the finish.

How will it work?

There will be one start wave for 4k/aquathloners and aquathloners

Start times:

The new start time for the 4k swim will be close to High Tide at 8.00am. 

We expect the first 4k swimmers to finish in just over 1 hour as they will be with the tide for some of the way. Aquathlon entrants will leave their clothes/shoes in a colour coded & numbered bin bag, which will be taken to the finish.

All 4K swimmers will need to bring a drop back for the finish.

Catering will be provided at the finish at Galmpton.

Safety measures

There will be a team of safety kayakers, rescue boats and crews on hand throughout the swim.

No one should be more than 200m from a safety vessel 

We will be working closely with the safety team to ensure swimmers exit at the Dolphin Boatyard jetty one at a time.

In the event of the water temperature falling below 11.9ºC, a reduced swim course will be considered.

Wetsuits

We will be allowing participants to swim without wetsuits, if the temperature is above 14 degrees. However you do so at your own risk.

If the water temperature is above 22 degrees Celsius, wetsuits will be banned. Competitors will be notified of this at registration and in advance of the event where possible.

The event crew will use manual timing to time each swimmer. Participants will be set off in two waves, which will be decided in conjunction with the harbourmaster’s office and the water safety team.

Registration, Post Swim and Ki

Registration will be held beside The Shack in Stoke Gabriel from 7.15am. All swimmers will be able to collect their swim packs containing race number, and swim cap. All participants will be able to leave their kit at the start in an attended area. We will also encourage supporters to be on standby ready with warm garments.

What’s Included:

• Manual timing
• Swim caps
• Full water safety coverage
• Prizes, where sufficient numbers allow
• Transport to start from finish (optional purchase)
• Finisher’s medals (optional- or a donation will be made to Friends Of The Dart)
• Camping

**If the event has to be cancelled due to poor water quality, we can offer full credits to another date, either in the same year or the following year. If it has to be modified or rescheduled then we can not offer this, as our event resources will have been used up. No refunds can be given under any circumstances- sorry.**

Swimmers are reminded of safety protocols in the water:

Wear a wetsuit (min 2mm)

Flush wetsuit before race start to acclimatise to temperatures

Sighting every 7 strokes to aide direction

Be alert to buoys and aware of other river users

Avoid swallowing water

Tow Floats are allowed

Swimmers will receive a full race briefing on how to alert the safety team in the event of getting in to difficulty.