An inset of a man sea swimming in Guernsey's bathing pools with a beanie hat on. His photo is superimposed over an icy scene. Ice mostly covers a river by Pikisaari, in Oulu, Finland.

What was your first trip abroad? For some, it will have been a family holiday to France when they were little. For others, a sun-soaked week with school friends in a Spanish resort after their A-Levels.

But for one Guernsey man, his first time outside the British Isles will be to Finland – so he can swim in ice-cold seawater.

Luke Bihet (26) is part of a team of 10 representing Guernsey at the Winter Swimming World Championships in Oulu – just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

A young man with glasses and a beard stands in front of a large seawater bathing pool on a cloudy day. He's wearing a towling robe and a blue woolen beanie hat. A seagull flies overhead.
Pictured: Finance worker Luke Bihet has never been outside the British Isles before.

The finance worker admitted the prospect of a three-legged flight to the Finnish port – via Heathrow and Helsinki – was “terrifying” as he had “never had a passport before” and had to get one specifically for the competition.

‘Mental and a bit weird’

The water temperature in northern Finland is expected to be between freezing and 2c – a “slight difference” to the relatively balmy 8C water Mr Bihet is used to in Guernsey during the winter.

He told Express the air temperature in the city – which also hosts the Air Guitar World Championships and is 2026’s European Capital of Culture – is currently -15C during the day and as low as -25C at night.

“Luckily, when we go it warms up a bit and it will be -12C during the night and -5C in the day,” he said, “So it’s lovely and warm.”

A large metal statue of a slightly-squat policeman in a snowy market square in Finland. He's wearing a blue European Capital of Culture T-shirt and surrounded by tourists.
One of the main attractions of 2026’s European Capital of Culture is a statue of a policeman in the market square.

“Everyone thinks I’m mental and it’s a bit weird – I see their point,” he added.

‘I would have laughed’

Mr Bihet started sea swimming just after the Covid lockdowns, when he was encouraged to try it by a colleague.

He now swims with the Guernsey Blue Tits and thrives on the social aspect of the tight-knit group, adding: “We are all very socially awkward”.

“It’s all about finding weirdos to do it with you… once you’ve got them, you sort of forget the fact that this is bonkers.”

Mr Bihet said he probably “would have laughed” if he knew when he joined the group he’d end up at a world championships.

Despite the freezing weather, Mr Bihet said he was looking forward to chilling with his teammates in between races, exploring the city, and getting a photo by its renowned policeman statue.

Shards of ice

The Blue Tits were inspired to field a Guernsey team this year, after founder member Marina Burr (58) went with three others to the last championships at Tallinn, Estonia, two years ago.

Five women and a man - all wearing green dry robes with a Guernsey flag on as well as woolen hats. They are smiling and raising their arms as they stand in front of an outdoor seawater bathing pool on a wet day.
Pictured: Marina Burr (back row, second from left) said she wanted to break into the top 10 in the world for her age group to prove to herself she could still compete.

The medical receptionist, and former Guernsey swimming team captain, finished 11th and 17th in her age group in the two 25m races she swam in 2024.

Mrs Burr told Express: “I was worried after my first race because I was covered in blood, and I thought ‘Where is this coming from?'”

“It was shards of ice that had cut me whilst I was swimming.”

Camaraderie

So with freezing temperatures and memories of ice cutting her skin, why is Mrs Burr going back?

“I’ve got a world ranking of 11th in the world for my age group for 25 metre breaststroke,” she explained, “I want top 10 – not that I’m competitive.”

“It’s also the camaraderie,” Mrs Burr added. “There were 40 different countries there, from Mongolia to Argentina to Guernsey and the UK – everybody was there for the love of the cold water.”

Two men compete in a swimming race in a narrow, two-lane pool cut out of sea ice, with lanes separated by a lane rope.
The pool in Finland will be cut out of the sea ice.

She said competitors shared “respect”, adding: “It’s not about what time you do, it’s genuinely the fact that you are conquering the cold.”

World record attempt

Mrs Burr explained that the pool in Oulu would be “cut out of the sea ice” and that the Guernsey team will also take part in a world record attempt while they are in Finland, for ‘the most people to take part in a swimming relay under 5c’.

Mrs Burr is already a world record holder – having been one of nearly 900 people to take part in a relay in Tallinn – but said in Finland they were aiming to have more than 1,000 people take part.

“If we break that record, the Guernsey team will all have a world record certificate, which would be incredible!”

Strict rules

With potentially life-threatening conditions, the competition has strict rules to ensure safety as well as fairness, Mrs Burr explained.

A man in a drysuit sits on a chair next to a swimming pool as photographers surround him. Behind snow and a Winter Swimming World Championships 2016 sign, from Tyumen, Russia.
Pictured: While lifeguards are allowed to wear protective dry suits, swimmers are not allowed to wear any neoprene.

Competitors are not allowed to wear neoprene gloves, boots or wetsuits, but the races are shortened to minimise the amount of time spent in the water.

Swimmers are also banned from putting their head underwater for more than five metres.

They must go into a special warming tent with a sauna after the race to bring their body temperature back up safely, while medical professionals observe them.

The Guernsey team fly out to Finland on 28 February for the competition, which lasts from 2 to 8 March.