A guest appearance by David Walliams

In a change to published listings, SSF convened - for the first time - on a Tuesday morning. Whilst sunnier than yesterday, sea conditions were not a whole lot different. Low tide and strong waves together with a stiff inshore wind. It was going to be a cold one.

Just the three of us today, myself, Pete and a guest appearance from David Walliams who seems to have lost a fair bit of weight since his last trip down the Thames. Pete is first in, demonstrating fearless self-abandon as he heads towards the deeper water. Myself and .. er, Hildi folllowed him in, with me wondering whether going into the water was actually mandatory given that it was a non-sanctioned swim day. Well, in we did go, although the trip across the sand was anything but easy, with Hildi stumbling upon every outcrop of rock in her zig-zagging path. Where is Joan? She is always good at navigating a safe path through the minefield. Perhaps Joan didn't get the e-mail? Anyway, back to reality, we all three are eventually in and under the water. Hildi instructs us all to put "your faces in" which kinda reminded me of some of my earliest swimming lessons at school... A strong current heading east, which suggests the tide was on the way back in. Good to know. I do like these conditions, as I feel the playing field is levelled and I am less likely to be shamed by the Hildi Exocet leaving me floundering in her wake. So I headed West into the current - it was bloody hard work, but not impossible, eventually reaching the far groyne with Hildi close on my shoulder. The swim back was a lot quicker, but just as the sun was coming up and blazing harsh white light onto the grey seas before us, we were presented with a vision. Yes people - a vision. Pete had risen up and was now walking on the water!! He looked angelic, albeit an angel with a wetsuit striking the pose of a male ballerina, or something similar, his silhouette was giving nothing away. Well, that stopped us in our tracks before we realised he had probably located one of those earlier rocky outcrops we were previously snared by. Still, it looked impressive and would have made for a great Kodak moment.

We swam bad to the east groyne, the current threatening to take us a lot further, so with this we decided to call it a morning. Water temperature reasonably good, cannot be too much longer before the tropical specialists return to the fold. Hildi has been admirably donning the coveted yellow swim hat for the past couple of weeks, will our leader return tomorrow? Will Tuesday become a regular date for SSF? Tune in tomorrow for these answers and many more.

Time In: 7:12
Time Out: 7:26
Swimmers: Hildi (David W), Pete, Paul
Sea Temp: 9ish.
Air Temp: Coldish