Whitby Training Camp - organised by the swim buddy.

With only 2 months till our Channel relay window we decided that we really needed to get some sea swimming practice in. The swim buddy and I hadn’t done any at all this year, and knew it would be very different from the lake. The reason wasn’t only to get a practice swim in, but to also to try a few things that we needed to use on the day of the swim – Nothing new on race day, as the saying goes, for example Shark had bought some very expensive sun lotion, which included some jellyfish sting protection and we needed to check that we didn’t have a reaction to it, and also that it worked… I meant in its sun protection capacity, but read on… 

Also, I had bought a couple of green safety lights, recommended by the Channel Swimming Association to use during the relay, and although not complicated at all to use (basically you press a button to turn it on and then press it again to turn it off again), as we were required to socially distance on the boat, I would need to be completely self-sufficient, so wanted to check I had got the gist of where I would put it on the back of my costume and how it fixed on. I would have undoubtedly had been able to get a better idea as to whether it had worked if only I had actually worn a costume that was CSA approved instead of the non-CSA approved one I chose to wear!

The forecast was sunny, and so anticipating it being busy we decided that we should set off at the crack of dawn so we could get parked. We arrived very much ahead of any rush and had indeed beaten absolutely everyone else that would arrive for a day in Whitby. On another plus side, it gave us over an hour and a half to find a café in this small seaside town, and also, with safety being paramount, time to search for the RNLI lifeboat station and check that the vessel was firstly substantial, and secondly, only a stone’s throw from where we would be swimming... just in case. Satisfied that this was the case, we found a café directly across the harbour from it, and spent a good hour delighting at how calm the water was and how lucky we were to find ourselves with such favourable swimming conditions. 

Before we got in, we went for a walk along the pier, we soon realised that the calm water in the harbour was not actually mirrored in the open sea, and whilst it was still relatively calm, it wasn’t the millpond we had spent the last hour visualising ourselves swimming in as we drank our coffees. 

We (well, the swim buddy really) had arranged to meet up with Whitby Wild Swimmers group member Ally, who understood the tides and talked us through our route and anything we should be aware of, including rip currents and stuff under the waterline. After Ally had contacted the Coast Guard to let them know we were swimming, and a bit of faffing about looking for a lost earbud that I already had in my hand, we set off with tow floats and green lights and smothered in sun lotion, on what promised (if the labelling were to be believed) to be a jellyfish sting free swim.

 

The water was a balmy 14oc, and actually only a little choppy. I was delighted that I only managed to swallow a couple of nasty mouthfuls before I adjusted my breathing and found a rhythm with the waves. The water was so clear, and aside from a brown blob – assumed seaweed, that went past, rather randomly under my arm, I didn’t see a single fish, shark, seal, jellyfish or anything at all for that matter, but I admit this didn’t stop me from swimming nearer to the shoreline than the swim buddy, in fact all of the other swimmers. And if I were being completely honest, despite telling her that this was sheer coincidence, this probably wasn’t entirely true... If we were going to be chased, I wanted a fighting chance at getting to the shoreline before everyone else. 

 

By the time we got back to the beach we were very reluctant to get out, however after almost an hour, I was starting to feel the cold, and I felt that my swimming costume had been rubbing under my right arm. This was new, as it didn’t usually, but put it down to perhaps salt water, and decided that I should bear this in mind for the day of the swim. It was only once we were out that I realised that it wasn’t that my costume had rubbed, but instead I had been stung by a jellyfish. 

The swim buddy immediately went into nurse mode and rushed over to check I was okay. Her lack of any medical supplies for a sting was a testament to her faith in the sun lotion, and in a bid to help in any way she could, or perhaps just out of guilt, she offered to wee on it for me! 

Now had it have been a sting from a Portuguese man o war, I would have been prepared to try anything, even the swim bud weeing on me, but as I was 100% confident that the small round, brown object that I saw, and initially thought to be seaweed, but now knew differently, was absolutely definitely NOT a Portuguiese man o war, I decided that I would instead use some cream that the other nurse in our group had thankfully brought with her, just in case we had such an occasion to use it.

In the meantime, Shark then discovered she too had several (much smaller) stings, and before I was able to return the wee offer, was having them treated with the cream instead. Rather ironically, the only 2 of us that had applied the sun lotion with the jellyfish sting repellent in it, were the only two that also happened to get stung!?! 

 

Once we had dressed and compared wounds, we left the sea and straight into a chip shop, and to pick the brains of a fellow swimmer that had already swum in a Channel relay, before heading off in search of coffee… and some cake (for the shock).

 

Despite the sting, I absolutely loved the swim, and learnt a lot from it. I’d like to say a huge thanks to Ally for looking after us all so well, and thankfully we didn’t need to call on the services of the RNLI for anything. We decided that we do need to do a couple more sea swims, for more trials and to gain more confidence, and so Shark and I have already invited ourselves back in a few weeks time. On reflection, I think THE most important thing I learnt from this swim was that whilst I have already planned for a lot of eventualities that might happen mid-Channel relay swim, I was not one bit prepared for a jellyfish sting to happen, and so Shark and I have discussed trying a different sun lotion, one that might actually work, as well as being more post-sting prepared, and so next time we swim in the sea I will be, along with everything else, armed with some vinegar, a pair of tweezer and some antihistamine, which incidentally, I have since read works a lot better than wee!  

Finally, if you'd like to see some videos of our jaunt to Whitby, then head over to the Open Water Woman Facebook group page.