Wind chill factor

I awoke at 7:07am having reminded myself the night before that I should make an effort not to oversleep. Having spent a further couple of minutes debating with myself as to whether it was really Tuesday or Thursday, I realised the awful truth - it was Wednesday. Roll over and get another 30 minutes in bed, or put on a wetsuit before submersing myself in the cold sea. Decisions, decisions. I was momentarily persuaded that the chicken dippers manning up the Duvet Chapter did have the correct idea all along. Tough one. Somehow I managed to get to the beach by 7:30 where, in the half-light, I had expected some more enthusiasts buoyed up from the shenanigans on New Year's morning. I was disappointed to discover that the event had swelled our ranks by exactly zero! Instead, the sight that greeted me was those two stalwarts Joan and Sara limbering up like a couple of boxers in their dressing gowns. Oops! Too late, they have seen me, no point running now lest I be accused of cowardice. The wind was a lot stronger and colder than in previous days, exacerbated by a virulent wind chill, and the sea too was looking rough and uninviting. I could not really discern what Joan and Sara were saying to me, plugs in my ears and nose coupled with the wind made it difficult to hear anything. So I just nodded and shook my head at various intervals, seemed to be OK, just hope it wasn't safety instructions. So, the three of us went into the sea (lowish tide) and made the best of it. Sara did well, swimming in and around the groynes. I felt the cold quite intensely today, so just bounced around riding the waves, making little effort to do any swimming. Joan, as always, acted as though conditions were tropical. The current was quite pronounced, running east to west. I lasted just under 10 minutes, Sara stayed out a bit longer which, given the conditions, was impressive. The red cloudy sky suggested that bad weather was yet to come although the sunrise was spectacular. Just wish I brought my camera. As an aside, I have found the swim hats a useful topic of conversation at the David Lloyd in the Marina, where I swim several times a week. A couple of triathletes Kurt and Natalie (both friends of Russell) have promised to swim with us, and encourage a few others to do likewise when the weather improves, or just gets warmer. Should be a fun Summer ahead.

Time in: 7:43, Time Out: 7:51

Swimmers: Joan, Sara and Paul C

(written by Paul)