Sea Swimming Blog #28

Day 67 Sea Swimming.

#28 of the blog.

Plans changed again today.

I was thinking of a midday swim due to the tides but having seen Jason’s iPhone shot of Havre des Pas on the Salty Sea PUPS WhatsApp group at 7:30am this morning I thought bugger it, let’s go there.

I got to HDP at 9am and was greeted by a crisp, flat, glassy view of the pool which instantly made me happy… plus, as far as I could see from my drive past, there was no one else there.

I parked up, grabbed my swimming and camera gear and walked across the walkway (taking a quick pic) then noticed a guy getting changed back into his dry gear… ‘good’ I thought… that meant I’d be able to get a few cool pics and make the most of the beautiful reflections in the water without it being disturbed by any movement.

I said hello and ended up having a good chat with the chap named Shaun who was telling me how cold it was in there… he showed me his watch which had recorded a temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius! That is cold! He then showed me that the other morning it had recorded a temperature of 4.8 which is technically known as ice swimming! Now, I don’t know how accurate his watch is… but rest assured it’s chilly around the…

Chat all finished, I took a few photos of the pool & the reflections and tried to figure out the best spot to set up the tripod to get a ‘selfie’ - I’m a bit of a hypocrite as part of me despises the selfie generation we live in yet here I was doing my own version… I’d like to think it’s a little cooler than the norm but perhaps you can be the judge of that (I really like it!)

Shot in the bag, I walked round the edge of the pool to take a few more photos, then… wooooossshhhh and crack! I slipped, camera in my right hand held high in the sky to avoid it smashing, leaving my left elbow to take the brunt of the impact.

I should have known better… Shaun had warned me it was extra slippy today & there’s quite a few signs around warning you to be careful but I wasn’t ready for the ice like conditions underfoot and paid for it with blood… now that’s suffering for the art I thought as I got back up to my feet whilst hoping that no one had seen me fall on my arse (and elbow).

Unsurprisingly, I thought it best to put the main camera away and go for my swim whilst still in one piece however I did grab the waterproof camera as I packed the DSLR away.

It was pretty clear in there today but I found my main obstacle in getting a good look at the underwater world a few metres below me was my buoyancy. The neoprene hat, gloves and boots I wear not only keep the harshest bite of the cold away but they also provide some floatation which is hard to counteract whilst try to spot a composition and press the shutter of the camera.

I took a few photos then realised I’d been in the water for a little while - remembering the temperature I’d seen on Shaun’s watch - I thought I better hurry up and do a few laps before hyperthermia kicked in!

“Look in the mirror.

That is your competition”

- Eric Thomas