Upon arriving, I saw a whole bunch of wuss-suited individuals standing in the centre of the beach, I assume thinking of reasons not to go into a very lively sea. Come on people, this is June!!!!! Get that neoprene off and get your Vitamin D .... Anyway, I spent a moment or two scanning the faces of those present, half expecting to see the Wolverine which would mean the warm-up run, for me at least, would not be optional. Fortunately, no-show.
It was this day in 2010 that Ollie and I embarked on our first swim together, out to the first buoy and back. Just the two of us in those days. Then it was sunny, warm and the seas were calm and blue-green. Today, the only thing that was the same was the tide going out. The waves really were big and the sea rough. Swimming out to the buoys was probably the only realistic target for the morning, and even that was going to present its own problems. My real concern was getting out of the sea afterwards, as I have experienced a few "washing machine spin cycles" on Brighton beach of late so was keen to avoid the howls of laughter and ridicule that follows from those watching.
So with the gang all suited and booted, we headed down to the water. Joan provided us with the necessary data: tide going out, wind gusting to 26 - be careful. And Joan also decided to be lifeguard which, given the conditions, made perfect sense. Pete was first in, throwing himself in the oncoming waves. Unusually, I decided to go for it and dived straight in and headed off to the right hand buoy, the others went left. My intention was to repeat the swim of 2010, but alas I stopped around 10 meters short as the wind was dragging me menacingly eastwards, plus the outgoing tide was snatching at me every time I dipped into a wave trough. So I callws it quits and head back in. Between waves, I could see that the others had reached the left hand buoy and were now also on their way back. The sheer length of the wave field was quite disconcerting as I bobbed over each and watched its long roller-coaster ride to the shore, where it would then hammer onto the beach. Suddenly none of this seemed a very good idea and I could begin to appreciate the merits of wearing a wetsuit after all. Fortunately, the others reached the shore before I did so gave me something to aim for, and getting out wasn't the problem I thought it would be. Pete stayed in and frolicked around in the waves for a few more minutes, periodly disappearing into a wall of water, but bobbing up again, seemingly unperturbed.
Back at the ranch, we noticed that new girl Annika had arrived, although wisely chose to pass on the swim. Joan, unimpressed with my previous disagreements about sea temperature suggested I take the reading today. It is noticeably warmer by the water's edge which, I believe, was beceause Joan had sneakily emptied Sara's hot water bottle into the sea to distort the reading. Ha! Well, we'll see about that. So I decided to subtract a couple of degrees from the 16C to remove any possibility of gloating. This time last year it was a healthy 16C for sure, the early winter and snow have certainly taken their toll.
All back safely, packed up and off the beach, Sara dreaming of the day that her friend Lenny would finally agree to be her muse and be the star of a new tryptic. Or something like that, I still had a fair bit of seawater in the ears so couldn't be sure.
Well done to everyone who completed the River Arun swim. Sara wins with a very creditable time of 1:07. Certainly the one to watch.
See ya Friday, with a promised guest appearance from Ruth, and a cameo from fellow founder member Anita.
Time In: 7:11
Time Out: 7:34
Swimmers: Joan, Hildi, Pete, Sara, Annika and Paul
Air Temp: 14C
Sea Temp: 15C
Wind 22kph, very wavey. Tide in, going out.
For Sara
ReplyDeleteIT'S LEMMY!
Pete