Found in the Waves

Such variety from one week!

This week has been a whirlwind of variety. From sunny skies and a gentle gust on Saturday when I was kayaking with a small group to wild seas on Monday and then calm again today with more wild to come tomorrow.

Saturday saw me taking a small group from along the coast towards Alum Chine. These swimmers are usually pool swimmers so it was great to show them the fun of the sea.

Then on Monday daughter and I snuck in an extra swim. She'd come over for a long weekend and we had to find some time to get in the sea. We were hoping for a long calm swim to remind her how wonderful the sea is. The weather thought otherwise and we had a strong wind pushing us around and fabulous waves to play in. So much laughter it was restorative and quite wonderful. The sea however was a bit of a bully - it had beaten up the sea floor so it was soft underfoot and the pull towards Poole was incredible. So much so that we had to keep walking back up the coast and get in again and again to play. With the sea so warm it was hard to leave but mum and Arne was calling so off we went to see the Curlews. 🥰

By midweek the wind had dropped again and coaching was back on. I was working with one client on their technique so that they could join an Open Water swim group. Some Eureka moments that made such a difference to my clients confidence.

Lastly today we had potential troublesome gusts but they didn't materialise so we managed to work on my clients shoulders, focusing on how to change their stroke to take the pressure off the shoulder joint. Great to be back in the 'office'.🏊🌊🌊

The seasons, they are a-changin.

After so many dry, dry weeks it was lovely to get some rain this morning. The downside is that the sea will no longer be a calm playground and I have to brace myself for colder weather. No great hardship but it's always this time of year when you wonder - how do I get into the sea when it's cold, mid-winter and dark? It sounds trite but we just do. Friendship and laughter help enormously too.

Anyway, I'm not writing off this summer yet and as the sun rises later we're starting to get some lovely early morning skies. We've had calm seas with the odd cheeky easterly, then yesterday the wind got up a little and I was impressed to see one of my newer clients give swimming in that sea a go. When you swim so much in the sea, it's important to recognise that conditions can feel intimidating to newer swimmers. Suddenly breathing in front crawl is more challenging - maybe you have to breathe to your less dominant side, maybe you take in a mouthful of salty water. Your arms don't always clear the water as a wave may come and move it's entry position. It's a whole other water game. It's the variability of the sea that I love and sometimes you have to throw out your lesson plan and just change up what you're doing. Tuesday was an example of that. No point focusing on arm recovery with those waves so we worked on confidence and comfort in the water - finding a way to relax in an alien environment.

Every day, every lesson, every client is different - what a fantastic job I have.

Everyday is a beach day.

As the weather continues to be so calm and dry it's been great to get clients booked in and know it's likely to go ahead. However, this week we did have a day of wind which prevented one client getting their session. It's a tough call but I have to judge what our clients want to get out of the session with their experience and comfort in the sea and if the conditions will allow that.

Wednesday was a case in point. The wind was up but more importantly the gusts had the potential to create challenging conditions for a new client transitioning from the pool to the sea. So I postponed that client but agreed to check the conditions at 7am when I swam and reconfirm to a more experienced open water swimmer.

The sea at 7 looked calm enough but between the wind and the tide we found our return swim needed that extra bit of focus and effort. The breaking waves were starting to get bigger so I was happy with the decisions I'd made. It wouldn't have been right for a new open water swimmer but my client who is working for an Ironman and has done many events already could work on pacing and adjusting their stroke to suit the conditions.

All in all another fun week in the sea. Although dare I say that the early mornings had a feel of September about them and my brain started to consider how we get in through the winter! Nooooooo.

Lovely and calm coaching this weekend.

So lovely to be coaching this past week - the sea has been so calm it's enabled my clients to push that bit harder and get experience in the sea whilst having the consistency of the pool.

The first pic is hard to make out but that's a client working on a single arm drill using the tow float for support, It's fascinating how you can adapt to coaching in the sea, giving clients a chance to experience different things as they become aware of how they're moving in the water. This client worked on sighting and swimming in a straight line whilst breathing both bilaterally and unilaterally.

Then we had the Out to Swim group coming down for their first 2026 open water swim of the season. By using the kayak I could move around and support them all as they adjusted their strokes to the sea and learnt that sea water can be more of a shock than chlorine.

Finally this morning - a chillier morning with a slightly gusty wind. The sea was still calm but rippled so we worked on breathing and keeping the head flat to create a breathing space.

What a great way to spend the weekend - helping people build skills and confidence in the sea.

Channel Relay Part 3:

And so to our 5th hour of swimming. As we headed closer to France we could see it looking so close but knew that we were working with the tides and relied on the pilot to do their job to bring us in. Seeing France can be a difficult psychological challenge for swimmers as it never seems to get any closer. Having started the swim in the light we could reflect on how Dover had seemed so close for so long as we swam away. Through Ali's first and second swims the cliffs just looked like they'd barely moved and yet we knew we were making progress. We held onto the same thoughts as we closed in on France - hold the belief that we were making progress.

Bodies were getting tired, shoulders were aching and we were still seeing jellyfish drifting by but we kept focused and turned those arms over, and over making what progress we could. The WhatsApp group was keeping us entertained with friends and family, wittily just asking us to turn right and head to the coast now whilst we knew we had a few more hours to swim.

At this point the debate opens as to who is going to land the swim - this is not something we can control and is literally down to time and who happens to be in the water when we get close. Alison's 5th hour went well and then it was Jason's turn. We wondered if he could land it but his shoulders were hurting and we were stuck in the tide with the conditions making headway hard work. So suddenly I was due in the water and the pilots reckoned I'd land it. That felt like an enormous responsibility especially as we were heading to a rocky headland. The pilots reassured me that the conditions would ease as we tucked into the coast so I knew I had to fight for a while and look forward to making land.

I knew I had to work hard but equally I had no idea how long I'd be swimming so I had to find a consistent pace that didn't tire me too quickly. I found my fighting pace working with the waves and trying to breathe to the left without taking in water but still seeing the boat and where it was leading me. I also knew that at some point the boat would stop and the tender would be put into the water to guide me in.

France didn't get any closer, those rocks just stayed tantalisingly ahead. The crew were amazing, cheering me on as I swam. It was emotional and I had to focus not to tear up. Suddenly I could see movement on board as the pilots got the tender out. So exciting and terrifying all at once. I waved goodbye to the crew and headed onwards without them.

The tender guided me in and finally, finally the rocks got closer. The conditions had eased so the swimming was easier and I could see shadows on the ground which confirmed it was getting shallower. Then I hit the patches of water far too hot and water which felt much colder. I pushed onwards wondering what the rocks would be like and how easy it would be to stand up.

Then the pilot on the tender told me he was staying put and I had to get up and out of the water but to be careful as the rocks could be sharp, Through the seaweed I pushed, suddenly I had to pull myself along trying to find a stable rock to stand on. I stood up, and then fell back down, much to the amusement of the crew on board.

Then I saw a flattish stone with quartz on top and managed to slip and slide to stand atop. Then the horn went off and we'd landed in France. Cue cheers and crying then back to business to get back to the tender. I pulled hard towards the boat and rammed myself into a rock - deep breaths and trying again I got to the tender and the fabulous pilot helped me up into the boat. Off we set back to the Viking Princess II.

A truly memorable day with fun, laughter, hard work and a fantastic team. Will I do it again? No, not this time. I've done 3 channel swims now and enjoyed everyone one. This one in my 60th year was excellent proof that everything is possible when you train well and have a good team with you.

Channel Swim Part 2: Settling into the routine

Each swim was different as we settled into the pace and dealt with the changing tides and winds.

After each swim we have to coordinate a change over - this involves the excitement of the pilots coming to the back of the boat to get ready to change swimmers. One of them opens the side gate and the other lowers the lift (yes, we're lucky enough to get lifted out of the water). When you're swimming it's hard to judge time passing as we don't wear our watches. We do this so we're not clock watching but just focusing on moving forward. On the first swim I could tell the time based on how my hands chilled. Once the top of my hands were getting cold and numb I knew I'd been in nearly an hour. After that my body never gets as cold for future swims so it was harder to gauge the hour.

My second swim was delightful - calm waters, the sun just warming me and only a few jellyfish drifting by. I'd asked Emma to show me when I had 10 mins to go but that 10 mins felt like forever so I didn't want to repeat that torture.

The third swims saw us hit the jellyfish big time. Jason seemed to like to swim into single jellyfish and drape them down his body to get the full effect. Alison, had the misfortune of swimming into a patch of seaweed and jellyfish and got the full electric shock feeling. Somehow she managed to keep swimming and completed the hour - impressive focus, I'm not sure I would have been able to put the fear aside. Even so it was hard getting back into the water after seeing the pain she was in but it seems that she'd hit the worst of it and we went back to single jellyfish drifting by.

The French side often seems to be rougher with the wind and waves getting up. That meant that our fourth swims were much tougher, working with the swell and chop to push onwards. We've all been seasoned, year round sea swimmers so we're used to swimming in waves and whilst it was harder it was also a fun change and a dare a say it a lovely challenge. It meant changing breathing patterns as it was harder to breathe towards the boat without taking in a mouthful of water.

And so the fight to land in France started...