Day 343 - Saturday 24th September 2011

An 11.45am BSC swim today.  About 12 of us took part and luckily the sea was calm and the air was dry and the tide, whilst fairly still, was not against us.

Dressed in our finest swimwear we walked from the arch up to the road, along to the Volks railway and purchased tickets to the marina.  There were some interesting looks from seafront visitors as to why a dozen semi naked men and women were queuing up to get on the old electric train.  With exact fair in hand we made our way to the seats and enjoyed a leisurely ride to the marina.  Whilst this was going on poor old Fiona was on the kayak and making her way across the ocean to the marina so we had a guide/helper in case of troubles. 

Having reached the marina we disembarked and headed down the beach and lined up against the marina wall awaiting Fiona’s instruction to dive in and swim swim swim.  This was NOT a race; I was a swim to get from the marina to the donut groin on our beach in under 14 degrees; approx 1.5mile swim. 

As this was NOT a race; then why was my heart beating 100 miles and hour and why did I spend the whole swim worrying about being last as usual!  This is exactly why I don’t swim fast, because I am so tense in these situations. As it turns out I wasn’t last, however I also wasn’t near the front!

The swim itself was hard as the pier seemed miles away and you always felt totally on your own; assuming everyone was already back having coffee whilst you were only half way back.  It seems pretty much most people felt alone during the swim.

I don’t know how long it took me, but I would guess about an hour, maybe a little more. 

Later that night at the Starr Trust Barn Dance (which was a rip roaring success) my shoulders certainly knew I had been swimming!