🔗 Share this article

Every seven days, ex- Scottish sports star Scott Hastings returns to take a dip in the coastal area where his wife Jenny took her life.

He says the practice brings him comfort and enables him to continue her legacy by embracing her passion for swimming.

A little more than a year ago, the sixty-year-old disappeared in the water at the Edinburgh bay after taking a swim. She was recovered in the region a short time after.

"I miss Jenny every day," he shared. "She had an incredible connection with people and probably concentrated on other people's health more than her own mental health."

They believed in the therapeutic benefits of physical activity and even led socially distanced aerobics classes for their neighbors during lockdown.

On the day of her vanishing in September 2024, Jenny had been visited by a mental health practitioner after her depression worsened for the more severe.

Scott had arranged to join her in the afternoon for a swim in the local waters at her preferred location in the bay.

In her dark days, he said it was a "sanctuary" for her.

But when he noticed he couldn't see her and instead saw her buoyancy aid tethered close by, he contacted the coastguard for help.

Jenny's body was located five days later, on the their wedding anniversary.

She had lived with mental health challenges for two decades before she passed away, and Scott said there had been multiple scares before.

Going back to Wardie Bay has become a regular practice and allows Scott space to remember the couple's long-lasting relationship.

"Knowing that we swim where she went for her last swim, it's very reflective and meaningful," he said. "I won’t hide the fact that it's tough at times."

Now just over a year after Jenny died, his ex- Edinburgh Rugby teammate Iain Sinclair is taking on an extraordinary feat to collect funds in her memory.

He begins an effort at traversing the 60-mile length of the Scottish waterway which links the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

He is the first person to try to navigate the canal which traverses the Scottish region, from the western shore at a town near a location to the eastern shore at the city.

As a result, he will be in the chilly temperatures of the waterway, which connects constructed channels and freshwater lochs, everyday for up to several hours.

He stated Jenny had "bravely fought" her mental health challenges and motivated many through her passion for open water activities—"a sport she excelled in."

Although other individuals have completed individual lochs along the way, he has been given special permission from the authorities to navigate all of the canal gates.

"In my view it'll just be about maintaining the body in good condition," he remarked. "At my age, not younger, and I think trying to do 10km—equivalent to a endurance event—everyday for the next ten days will be the demanding part."

A portion of the money raised will be donated to a mental health charity, in memory of Jenny.

He is also raising money for Crohn's disease and colitis, following his own personal medical struggles, and for the British Heart Foundation after the sudden death of his close friend Colin Maguire.

Iain will be backed by a support team which includes Scott, who mentioned he may jump in to swim with Iain for a short distance along the way.

"In my opinion it's great because it raises wider awareness," noted he. "He's been an motivation for me and it's just continuing that tradition onward."

"Jenny would've loved to have seen Iain doing what he's doing and would be extremely pleased of him. I look forward to get onto the support vessel to support him."