... the sum of the square of the other two sides. Or something like that. Anyway, having studied this particular conundrum at school, today we all decided to do the practical.
A semi-overcast morning, temperature dropped again, the winds return to south-westerly after an extended period of easterlies. The first sight that greeted us all was the algae bloom stretching across the breaking waves. Whilst it has the visual characterisic of effluent, it is actually a good thing, because it will only appear once the sea reaches a certain temperature. I felt encouraged.
I arrived in the middle of a fearsome debate about measurements and the distance between buoys. There was no firm consensus, although Ollie and Joan felt they were not in the same location as last year, which makes any timings a little more challenging this time around. Pete headed off across the beach in an attempt to measure the distance between groynes - but I cannot remember the answer! Anyway, discussion about the algae then ensued - was it dangerous? No, perfectly harmless, and basking sharks love the stuff? What? Sharks? Talk of this coupled with the usual stiff breeze did little to incentivise me. But in we all went, determined to do two full circuits of the bouys - clockwise. We all ventured past the algae bloom without incident and met up at the first buoy. Ready, steady .... gooooooooo !!! And we were off.
Ollie quickly set the pace. There was more of a swell than we are used to, which made breathing and sighting a little more challenging than usual. The buoys bobbed with the waves and it was not always easy to spot them. So instead I sighted off Pete's swimhat which, conveniently, was the same colour - yellow. Although this proved to be a temporary strategy when my goggles misted up and I couldn't see anything....... Back to the action. Second buoy reached, then up to the third. Quite tough along the backstraight but all safely to the fourth buoy then back to the first.
We decided this was proving to be a little more difficult than anticipated so instead of doing the second circuit we swam the diagonal from first to third. It was tough, with Pete and Sara opting to head to France, and myself (Paul), taking an equally curved route in the other direction. Only Ollie managed to swim in a straight line to complete the triangle. But we all linked up again safely. Finally, a sprint to the shore, with myself and Pete getting involved in some race shenanigans. I still had sharks on my mind.
The sea noticeably warmer than usual, no shivers, although the distances will have to improve if we are going to go for the 8K in August.
Time In: 7:17
Time Out: 7:59
Swimmers: Ollie, Sara, Pete, Joan and Paul
Air Temp: 15C
Sea Temp: 12-13C
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