Sea Swimming Blog #22

Day 61 Sea Swimming.

#22 of the blog.

Another early start as I met up with Jason, Will, Ben and Sam for another Salty Sea Pups adventure, back to Bouley Bay for an 8:30am meet up where we were met by the rain and the grey of another winters day - but also a high and relatively calm sea.

As I’d arrived a little early I took a few photos of the windy hill (not windy - just discovered that these two words are known as Heteronyms if you’re interested… spelt the same but mean something different… we’re always learning)… with the morning drizzle appearing like mist and draping the tunnel of trees which extended down the hill towards the coast, adding a sense of mood to the landscape before me.

Will had said that he was keen to jump off the sea wall and into the water with Ben, so once changed, I quickly grabbed the waterproof camera and jumped in ahead of them, trying to position myself whilst the waves and current bobbed me about.

In retrospect it would have been nice to capture some of the sea in this shot(!) but Will was in a rush as he was already a little cold from the pissing rain and chilly breeze so I had less time to think than I probably needed, and simply fired off one quick shot.

Having got rid of the camera back on shore, Jason and myself swam out to a couple of buoys that are dotted around in the area.

You can see Jason’s data from his Garmin watch showing the distance he covered… I did a bit more but not in competition with him… if anything we’re competing against ourselves, and to see the progress he’s made in the past few weeks (having initially struggled to find a rhythm to his breathing) he’s now miles ahead of where he was which is an impressive achievement and one which inspires me to be more than I am right now.

I’ll need to be as in the last week I’ve signed up to swim a 6 person relay across the English Channel in July 2021!

Much more on this to follow.

“Great things never come from inside your comfort zone”

- Lewis Pugh