June 23rd 2008
Following my victory with the YeAbbas in Dundee I felt quite inspired and at first I got straight back into the pool. However life at home was very busy with weddings and community events so things went a bit hay wire after that........ It was easy to think that the swim had been a bit of a fluke and I started thinking to myself that it was tidal assisted so very difficult to measure my time and my ability in the water. Harry and I found it difficult to find time to get to the ocean, but one Friday when the weather was perfect I was able to escape and we had the moat wonderful swim at Sandhead heading towards Stairhaven for about an hour and a half. Harry H also managed to get there and it was funny seeing the boys having such a great time in the kayak while I puffed and spluttered along beside them. Thanks to Yonni and Marnie and Pauline and her Mum who came to cheer me on but soon got bored as I disappeared into the distance. When I landed....nobody in sight as they had retired to the pub. Oh well the thought was there.
Work was also busy as a dear colleague became seriously ill quite suddenly and had his foot amputated mid calf. Pressure and worry for my pal caused things to be challenging. I certainly haven’t been bored and I like challenge, and also the extra hours meant that at times I could escape for a quick dip!
July 7th 2008
We managed to get to Port Logan one Wednesday after work, and when I left Stranraer the weather was sunny and still. By the time I got to Port Logan, Ian was in the water and Harry and his grandson Nadav were in the Kayak. By the time I changed, the wind was howling and the rain had started. It was cold as I waded into the water to catch up with them. Ian had been in the water for at least half an hour and was feeling the cold. We set off towards to fish larder building across the bay and I saw a couple of jelly fish. After one round I had been in about 40 minutes and Ian got out. Harry also said he was cold but that Nadav was willing to do another circuit with me. As I swam round waiting for Nadav, I felt a slight sting on my arm. In preparation for Coniston Seniors I was only wearing my swim suit and hat and goggles. I seemed to be coping with the extreme cold, but the sting made me feel that we should give up for the day.
Three days later the stings came out fully and my left arm was stung badly. I also had been stung on my feet. I met with Harry and we discussed the jelly fish and realised that this is a major hazard. A fisherman I know said that the Jelly fish were really bad at this time of year. Harry and I began to discuss the possibility that I may do the swim in June 09 which is 3 months earlier than planned. This means I will have to get in the ocean in April to become acclimatised.
Harry and I went to Sandhead a few days later and I was taking no chances. I wore my aqua skin and tarbies on my feet. I must have swum through 60 jelly fish that day. They got my wrists but I coped and we had a long swim.
Sunday July 20thThe swim at Coniston Lake on July 19th had taken a lot of planning. Our friends Claire and Jacqui were coming up from Berkshire on their way to stay with us for a week. Also Ruth had come from Sheffield for the weekend. EB and I had booked into the Black Bull which was famous for its beer which with hindsight may not have been wise....
We arrived on Friday night and Saturday was spent walking around Coniston and checking out the lake. We spoke to the guy who was in charge of boats and he seemed a bit stressed by the whole thing. He confidently told us that the boat called ‘Pat’ was the easiest rowing boat to manoeuvre. He seemed to think that all the rowing boats were being towed to the start which was the other end of the lake in a private water park. It all seemed a bit confusing to us, and we also had fallen out of touch with our boatman Jim. We realised that Jim was probably not coming and so EB and Jacqui were the boat crew whether they liked it or not! It was great to see Ruth who said she was there to spread her wide knowledge of swimming technique having been practicing the Alexander technique on her living room floor....thanks mate, I couldn’t have done it without you.
Saturday morning brought a moment of magic as I forced down a heart attack breakfast while feeling the stirrings of serious nerves. I remembered a little ditty from Jonah -Man Jazz (Michael Hurd 1966) about a boatman. It starts ....’I need a boat man, that’ll carry me away, and how I hope, man she’s sailing today’ Ruth put in some impressive harmony, and Claire contributed percussion with her famous squishy hand technique. We thought it was magic, but the breakfast room seemed to empty quite quickly.
We gathered at the Bluebird Cafe and there were over 40 swimmers. The atmosphere was quite tense and I saw some very nervous looking people, especially EB and Jacqui. We gathered at 9.30am for all the briefing information and they emphasised that the water was cold today. Probably temperatures which I am used to but I have never swum these distances so this was going to be very challenging for me, and possibly beyond my reach.
We then drove to the start and stood on a rocky outcrop for what seemed like ages. The first thing we saw was ‘Pat’ being emptied of water as she seemed to have a hole......Finally the 15 minute warning went off and suddenly EB and Jacqui rushed off for a pee!! That minute it was announced that boats should be in the water!
When we set off there was a flurry of activity as everyone sorted themselves out. The water felt ok to me and eventually EB and Jacqui caught up with me. They were smiling broadly to the point where I thought they must be having a ball! The reality was that they couldn’t steer the boat at all due to a faulty oar, and she was seriously leaking. I thought I was winning as their faces and thumbs up were so enthusiastic.
The reality of the swim was very challenging and probably the most difficult things I have ever done. The water seemed heavy and dead compared to the ocean. There was the odd weed and rock, but it was dark and murky all the time. I couldn’t see anyone or anything most of the time, but soon I fixated in a couple of swimmers and I thought if I could keep up with them that would be good. I stopped a couple of times for a drink but this did not go at all well. The bottle didn’t have a good top and I had trouble getting any liquid at all and also I started getting cramp while treading water. It seemed to me that I was gradually over taking a couple of people but I was very unsure of where I was going and what would happen at the end. I wasn’t convinced that I would know when I got there! Sounds silly I know.I reached the end after just over 3 hours and I had experienced a great deal of pain in my back and my shoulders. I felt very cold and I had been aware of cold about half way. I met a tall man when I landed who I remembered from the start and he was so warm and friendly and said I had swum a good race. This turned out to be Des Griffiths and there is more about him later. I also saw another man who made positive noises and he told me this was his 65th Coniston. I told him it was my first and he said I did well to finish. 6 swimmers did not complete due to the challenging conditions. He said the wind and weather made it a difficult year. Claire was there looking worried with my biggest fan, Dudley the border terrier and of course Ruth who greeted me with a very welcome flask of hot tea.
I was very concerned to see a man called John who I had bonded with at the beginning being taken into an ambulance. It turned out that he had completed the race but had suffered terribly from the cold and collapsed at the end. He recovered well and we had some contact afterwards which reassured me that he had made a full recovery.
I came in 26th and if you follow the link to the BLDSA website you can see the results on the swim reports link. This race was the Coniston Seniors
We went home almost immediately as we had a long drive and my core temperature rose hugely once we ate a curry on the way. It tasted great.
Sunday August 4th
Funnily enough I felt very unsure of my capabilities following the Coniston Seniors race. I didn’t think I had done very well and I felt tired and that I had been pushed to my limit. It seemed like quite a costly and gruelling effort for all concerned and there was doubt in the camp as to the wisdom of repeating the exercise. I was due to swim in the Coniston Senior event on Aug 3rd and I had very mixed feelings about entering.
However on Wed 23rd July I had a day off and Jacqui and I decided to take her Kayak out with Harry. It was beautiful weather and we headed off to Sandhead. I was definitely taking no chances and Jacqui and Claire had bought me some superb swimming gloves. So this time I had my aqua suit, ankle boots and gloves so the little blighters had no chance of getting me this time. Ironically I only saw 4 jelly fish this time!!
Harry and Nadav were in his Kayak and Jacqui in hers and Harry said we would swim out towards a yellow satellite buoy. It was the most beautiful occasion and a huge seal came to join us. It took about an hour and a half to get to the buoy which is huge.
On the way back the tide turned and it became challenging to get back in. I was beginning to feel the effects of the cold and I was feeling tired. The beach just did not seem to getting any closer and suddenly my vision was totally obscured by what I took to be a large jelly fish. I yelled and tensed which caused my left leg to go into major cramp. Jacqui said that one moment she was enjoying the peace of being out in the ocean and listening to the soporific sploosh sploosh of the oars and my arms, when suddenly all hell broke loose! I was yelling ‘DO SOMETHING HARRY!!’ as I had never experienced pain like it. I hung on to the front of the kayak as Harry and Nadav paddled me ashore as quickly as possible. It took longer than I expected and I had a severe attack of the shivers. Probably my first real crisis and lessons learnt. Thanks to Marlene for persuading the local shop to open up so I could have emergency mars bars!
Aug 3rd
So, I entered the veterans Coniston on Aug 3rd and met up with some old friends. Des Griffiths was there with his partner Sharon and they greeted me like long lost friends. I really loved their enthusiasm and passion for swimming. They thought I had done really well at the Senior Coniston race as many gave up and struggled with the conditions.
Jim came up trumps this time and we made a fantastic team. Jim and Nicola welcomed me into their home and I enjoyed meeting their beautiful 3 month old son Jake.
I finished the race 3rd in the womens race and 7th overall out of about 26 swimmers (see website) Jim and I may have been blown slightly off course but we worked really well together and Jim was astonished to witness one of my famous tantrums 20 minutes into the race. ' Jim I'm last' ' No you're not' 'I know I am and I can't do it' With Jims encouragement and bemusement I carried on and thank goodness I did. My demons are really strong at times and I just can't fathom it at all. Harry and Marlene came too and we had a great weekend. Harry tried to emphasised that we were not in it to win it. This was a training swim........ok? But I think I have realised that I may be quite good at this, especially when I realised that I had beaten Sally the winner of the race at the Coniston seniors 2 weeks before....fancy that?!
Funnily enough I felt very unsure of my capabilities following the Coniston Seniors race. I didn’t think I had done very well and I felt tired and that I had been pushed to my limit. It seemed like quite a costly and gruelling effort for all concerned and there was doubt in the camp as to the wisdom of repeating the exercise. I was due to swim in the Coniston Senior event on Aug 3rd and I had very mixed feelings about entering.
However on Wed 23rd July I had a day off and Jacqui and I decided to take her Kayak out with Harry. It was beautiful weather and we headed off to Sandhead. I was definitely taking no chances and Jacqui and Claire had bought me some superb swimming gloves. So this time I had my aqua suit, ankle boots and gloves so the little blighters had no chance of getting me this time. Ironically I only saw 4 jelly fish this time!!
Harry and Nadav were in his Kayak and Jacqui in hers and Harry said we would swim out towards a yellow satellite buoy. It was the most beautiful occasion and a huge seal came to join us. It took about an hour and a half to get to the buoy which is huge.
On the way back the tide turned and it became challenging to get back in. I was beginning to feel the effects of the cold and I was feeling tired. The beach just did not seem to getting any closer and suddenly my vision was totally obscured by what I took to be a large jelly fish. I yelled and tensed which caused my left leg to go into major cramp. Jacqui said that one moment she was enjoying the peace of being out in the ocean and listening to the soporific sploosh sploosh of the oars and my arms, when suddenly all hell broke loose! I was yelling ‘DO SOMETHING HARRY!!’ as I had never experienced pain like it. I hung on to the front of the kayak as Harry and Nadav paddled me ashore as quickly as possible. It took longer than I expected and I had a severe attack of the shivers. Probably my first real crisis and lessons learnt. Thanks to Marlene for persuading the local shop to open up so I could have emergency mars bars!Aug 3rd
So, I entered the veterans Coniston on Aug 3rd and met up with some old friends. Des Griffiths was there with his partner Sharon and they greeted me like long lost friends. I really loved their enthusiasm and passion for swimming. They thought I had done really well at the Senior Coniston race as many gave up and struggled with the conditions.
Jim came up trumps this time and we made a fantastic team. Jim and Nicola welcomed me into their home and I enjoyed meeting their beautiful 3 month old son Jake.
I finished the race 3rd in the womens race and 7th overall out of about 26 swimmers (see website) Jim and I may have been blown slightly off course but we worked really well together and Jim was astonished to witness one of my famous tantrums 20 minutes into the race. ' Jim I'm last' ' No you're not' 'I know I am and I can't do it' With Jims encouragement and bemusement I carried on and thank goodness I did. My demons are really strong at times and I just can't fathom it at all. Harry and Marlene came too and we had a great weekend. Harry tried to emphasised that we were not in it to win it. This was a training swim........ok? But I think I have realised that I may be quite good at this, especially when I realised that I had beaten Sally the winner of the race at the Coniston seniors 2 weeks before....fancy that?!
.JPG)