A serious attempt at swimming

Now look people, there appears to be some confusion of late as to what does, and does not, constitute "a serious attempt at swimming" as evidenced by today's shambles.

To recap: enter the water, shoulders under and face in. Then, swim out of one's depth (feet not touching the bottom) followed by a minimum of two widths, although this distance can be reduced depending on temperature and sea conditions.

Furthermore, patrons of SSF are strongly encouraged to avoid wetsuits, drysuits, gorilla suits, tri-suits and inflatable devices during the swim season: 1st April and 31st October.

The awards currently available:

Platinum (Hons) Award - 60 consecutive non-wetsuited months
Platinum Award - swim to Rottingdean, non-wetsuited, through 12 consecutive months
Gold (Hons) Award - TBA
Gold Award - swim 12 consecutive months without a wetsuit (including snow)
Silver Award - 12 consecutive months without a wetsuit
Bronze Award - Tombstoning from the groyne
Brass Award - 1 circuit of the buoys
Big Girls Blouse Award (for Men) - Persistent use of the duvet or wetsuit or non-swimming once in the water
I can't do that, I might break a nail Award (for Women) - Persistent use of the wetsuit during August

So today, we almost had a full winter complement - except Pete. The air felt heavy, wind not as bad as it has been. Squally showers. Tide more out than in. Ollie summed it up by commenting that this was going to be a "strange one". And indeed it was. The five of us got ourselves into the water to about waist height, but that seemed to be as far as we progressed as the group began its annual conference. Ollie then informed us all that he felt he deserved a Gold Award for not wearing any gloves through the winter.... I then swam out to deeper waters, at least that is what I let the others think as they came swimming towards me. Actually I was still able to stand, so I was just a little bit suspicious that they were pretending to swim with arms flailing and legs walking. Gold award, tsk!!!

Hildi and I set off to the groyne on the west side before turning around and heading for home. Ollie and Alex were already a long time out of the water and up under the promenade, clearing concerned about all that rain that wasn't falling. I don't know what's happening, in the old days SSF used to be a group for champions. Where have they gone?

Time In: 7:10
Time Out: 7:20 to 7:26
Swimmers: Paul, Ollie, Alex, Hildi, Joan
Conditions: Showers, overcast, changeable