The pre - Channel Swim essentials test run... or swim as it were!

I would say that the worst time to have a kit or euipment malfunction is just before, or during a swim. Whether it’s costume, of which I have had one that I would consider to be in the completely mortifying category, and won’t ever be repeated, thanks to me learning my lesson, and on the back of it have incorporated a pre-swim rigorous checking regime, or whether it’s a piece of equipment you have planned to use, especially if it was for safety purposes. 

In the pool, for example, if my goggles suddenly started leaking, or I broke my cap (on more than one occasions), I usually have a spare to hand and carry on, or I would get out early and be frustrated with myself for NOT having a spare one to hand when I know better…added to that, if the equipment I used in the pool wasn’t in good working order, it also wouldn’t compromise my safety. The worse would probably happen was I become entangled in my own hair!

 

But swimming in the sea was a completely different animal because in there, having a malfunction could mean there was an increased safety risk, not ony for me, but for the peole I was swimming with. For our Channel relay, the risk of having a malfunction whilst swimming could only be either costume, goggles, safety light, earplugs or cap, as that’s all the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) allowed you to swim in, but I would have a spare (or several hundred spares) on the boat which I was alongside. 

 

Before the actual swim though, I still needed to check that these were all fit for purpose in the first place, after all, there were so many other things I would be worrying about, like had I packed enough food to sustain me for the swim, and probably into the following week as well, and had I packed enough warm clothes to sustain me in case a freak Arctic blast happened in the middle of the English Channel mid swim, and was the boat actually big enough for all my excessive stuff, because you could be sure that as much as I had packed, the swim buddy would have twice as much as I, so I didn't want to be worrying about things like would my costume would break on the day. To make sure, I swam these training swims in the same kit as I would take with me for the relay, with the addition of my tow float, because basically whilst on a training swim, I didn’t have a boat next to me that had spares in it, or could rescue me in the event of an equipment emergency, or indeed a large, grey fish with lots of sharp teeth type of emergency also, and so needed to not only be seen, but to also hold some of my personal belongings, rather than leave them on the beach. 

 

These training swims turned out to be really invaluable. They afforded me the time to iron out any issues, check that my equipment was working correctly and learn some valuable (and sometimes expensive) lessons before my big day. Examples of which were:

 

1) the swim buddy had bought some relatively expensive sun lotion that included a jelly fish repellent. We both tried it, and both got stung. Some (me) more than others (her). Initially, she decided that it was just a fluke, and would give it another try (unlike me, who called it a day after one fail), I admired her determination, but was only after the 3^rd training swim, where Shark had been stung on her neck, arm and leg that she decided it seemed to be attracting them, rather than repelling them, and it was most definitely not worth the king’s ransom she had paid for it, and nor the pain she was in! 

 

2) trying out the safety lights as soon as I bought them, meant that I knew they weren’t working in the first place… and whilst I didn’t have enough time to get some replacements for the first training swim, I did have time to get some for the second one… leading on to point 3.

 

3) don’t wear your new goggles (£20) and your new, working, safety light (£15) on top of your swim cap when the waves are successively rolling in, sending you back towards the beach that you were swimming away from. My equipment, and I were to never to be reunited with each other again, after we were separated by one particularly large wave. I spent a lengthy period of time dedicated to looking for them both afterwards, but alas, this maiden voyage was to be our first and last together.

 

4) make sure the waterproof bag you have put your dry clothes in doesn’t have a hole in it, because if you don’t, you will go home wearing wet pants!

 

5) don’t be over-zealous with your Vaseline, whilst it does a great job, it also can get everywhere, including the lens of your goggles if you’re a bit slap dash like I am, a large smear will leaving you unable to see so well – *note to self- pack disposable gloves. 

 

6) Sometimes stuff works when you set off, but malfunctions can happen at any time… like mid-swim for example, as was the case with my trusted tow float became broken. This could have been caused by the quick succession of 4 waves that I really should have anticipated because I’d spent the previous 30 minutes trying to swim in/through/around/over/under. The exact moment I realised it had broken was when I saw it overtake me on the way back to shore without me attached to it. A massive scrabble to get it back followed, because basically it had in it my car key and a small towel. The day could have ended with a long drive home on the 840 Coastliner bus had I not inelegantly launched myself on top of it like I did! 

 

 

Thankfully I’ve had time to replenish my faulty/lost at sea equipment. I have new (different make of) lights, and thanks to the CSA (channelswimmingassociation.com/shop) for the speedy delivery. I also needed to get yet more goggles, despite having a gazillion pairs at home already – just in case… as well as a new tow float (there are so many now!), and I thank www.drybags.co.uk for not only pointing me in the right direction of a floating dry bag that, not only had a clasp that remained closed after some stringent checking, but was also large, and bright enough to be seen pretty much from the moon (basically, I established that only a tow float the size of a barge would be large enough to carry ALL of the clothes that I liked to bring to the beach with me, so opted for one that was a bit like the Tardis as it turned out, had held more than I could have hoped, big enough to hold some of my personal belongings (car key, phone, credit card (for post swim coffee), small towel, a hat and if I'd wanted probably lots more), so that IF the clothes I had brought to the beach with me to change into were taken, at least I would be able to drive home again, with the heating turned up to full, in just my costume and hat, which was infinitely better than the bus option! 

 With my
International Space Station approved
tow float 

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Alternative ways of rewarming after a cold swim - on a boat, in the middle of the English Channel...

In the last 2 weeks it feels like Autumn has well and truly arrived. The water in the lake has become cooler. In reality it has dropped only a couple of degrees, and yet I’ve been getting out feeling quite chilled. I soon realised, through chattering teeth, that no amount of wishing it would give us the Indian summer I would like for our Channel swim, and I’d just have to get on with it.

 I’ve learnt a lot these last couple of weeks of cooler temperatures, some of which has been invaluable. For example, on Saturday, I spent a chilly hour thinking about the cold, which could be thought of as counter intuitive, as many suggest thinking warm thoughts to help take your mind off it, however actually I actually wanted to think about it. To remind myself of how my body responded to it, and make sure that I had all the kit I needed afterwards to get me warm again, because for me feeling cold would be unavoidable, and so whilst I needed to get comfy with being cold, I also needed to make sure that I was prepared afterwards, and had all the resources I needed on the boat to deal with this. 

 

And so after our swim last Saturday, the swim buddy and I decided, over a socially distant coffee and cake, that we needed to do one of my favourite things- compile a list. This included what you might expect: hand and feet warmers, hot water bottles, Swimzi XK, hoodie, leggings, hats, scarves, gloves, thick socks, fur lines crocs (my contribution and I will not be embarrassed by this, and actually Shark had banned the whole crocs and socks combo, so this was as near as I could get), thermal vests, salopettes (the swim buddy’s contribution – I don’t own any now. They were confiscated by some friends that I went skiing with several years ago, after an incident involving my ski and a snow plough at near enough 0 feet above sea level caused mayhem, and brought one French ski resort to a standstill for 40 minutes!) and a sleeping bag.

In addition to this, Shark had already confirmed with Andy, our Skipper, that there was a kettle and a microwave on the boat for hot drinks and certain food, but refused to ask as to whether their kitchen also included a deep fat fryer for the chips we loved to have after a cold swim. She told me that she was terrified he would think that he had a boat full of divas. I didn’t say a word, although I did look to see if JustEat or Deliveroo was an option, surprisingly, it wasn’t! 

 

We decided that really it should be belt and braces. We couldn’t risk forgetting something important, and so we set about researching alternative ways to keep warm on a boat whilst crossing the English Channel. A good half an hour later we reconvened to see whether some of our findings were actually viable…

 

First, heated camping chairs. I Googled to see if they were a thing, and I admit I was feeling very hopeful that they were after Google revealed 6,500,000 results. I can confirm that heated camping chairs ARE a thing, but there are not 6,5000,000 of them! Shark pointed out that the length of time we would be on the boat, we would definitely need a battery recharger… which would probably be huge and take up half the boat.

 

I did wonder if this was a little – extravagant, and whilst I didn’t rule it out altogether, I carried on searching, and after not very long the search took on a different direction, when completely by accident I found a recliner and, wait for it, a double camping chair (pretty much a sofa then), which when wrapped up in a sleeping bag would probably be pretty cosy, I showed the swim buddy, who immediately reminded me that we were not swimming with a super yacht as a support boat, and also that we would still be socially distancing, and me selfishly rocking up at the harbour with pretty much a three piece suite would leave less than the government’s recommended 2 metre social distance rules… 

 

In our quest for warmth Shark had a top find - fur lined leggings, and just like that, we thought we'd found the ultimate item of clothimg to keep us toasty warm. The hunt was over! And as we were thinking we had pretty much cracked it, I was sent a Tweet informing me of an alternative, and much better option – actual heated clothing. I have to admit, I was sorely tempted by this, and voiced my excitement to the swim buddy, who immediately banned me from getting one in case I blew up. She explained that a) if I was injured by said item of clothing they would pull the swim or b) (she didn't want to frighten me but...) if the boat caught fire because of a malfunction caused by electricity and water, we would all be doomed, or worse would have to jump overboard to save ourselves, and probably into the jaws of multiple sharks that had sensed our panic stricken selves in the water. 

 

We also agreed that a patio heater idea was most definitely dangerous. We finally concluded, after our second coffee, that our searching had become rather outlandish, and our suggestions were rather ambitious and not actually viable after all, and we should really stick to our original list, although there was one other thing that we touched on during our discussions/cake fest. Shark also mentioned the need to warm up on the boat before we each got in. I assumed she meant some stretches (as we would be short of space – especially if I were to be bringing the 2 seater camping chair that I hadn’t altogether ruled out as an option), however the swim bud had a much, much better idea.. to watch 'Mr Motivator in da House' from YouTube and do that instead. Literally THE best suggestion by a long mile…fingers crosses the boat has an internet connection! 

Finally, here are a couple of previous blogs I wrote about hypothermia and the after drop for reference. 

https://openwaterwoman.blogspot.com/2017/09/hypothermia-what-i-needed-to-know.html

https://openwaterwoman.blogspot.com/2017/11/swimming-in-cold-water-and-struggles.html

Whitby training sea swimming #2/3

 

Two weeks ago - The swim buddy and I returned to Whitby for our second swim. I were all too aware that part of our training needed to include more sea swimming, because there are open water skills needed in the sea that weren't the same as in a lake, which was where we had done almost all of our training for the swim, and as we needed to be adequately prepared for our Channel relay, we needed practice more in the sea. 

Thankfully after our last swim in Whitby, Ally, who very kindly offered to accompany us last time, offered to swim with us again. We basically bribed her with the promise of coffee and cake afterwards. Ally, an experienced sea swimmer, was really familiar with the sea in Whitby, so we felt confident that we were in really safe hands. She also happened to mention that she had swum the Channel, something I wonder if she would regret sharing with us later as we chewed her ear off for a whole hour and a half after the swim… 

 

The drive to Whitby was pretty much through pea soup. It crossed my mind that we may not be able to swim after all, and if we were, it was clear (or not as the case was) that this swim was going to be poles apart from the last, very sunny, one. I would be getting no tan lines today! Nonetheless, the swim buddy told me she was taking no chances and would be lathering up in sun lotion regardless (remember, the one with jelly fish repellent in it that didn’t work that we used last time? – well that one). Fortunately, as we arrived into the town the fog lifted and we were good for the swim, although as we walked past the harbour and the RNLI lifeboat, I noted that the wind was whipping up around us and it had become a little chilly. I had to remind myself that the Channel could be like this on the day of our swim, and was one of the reasons we were there. To prepare for the worst.

 

As we arrived on the beach I could see that the waves looked really rather high. We were reassured by Ally that we were fine to swim here. She also added that our relay swim would be likely to go ahead if it were like this on the day, basically, if it was, we had to just get on with it! 

 

I spent the first 10 minutes in the water acclimatising, trying not to swallow large amounts of sea water, being paranoid about jellyfish and trying to not be knocked off my feet, which despite only being up waist deep at the time, I failed at. Rather spectacularly as it went! I’m not sure I’ll live down the face-plant, but it makes me feel a whole lot better about the whole thing knowing that the swim bud took in a mouthful of sea water whilst she stood laughing at me. 

We set off swimming in the shallower water, Shark was already having swim goggle issues, and my new green safety light wasn’t working – despite me turning it on off and on again several times. I was also having a small, okay large, panic after feeling something slimy brush past my leg whilst I attempted to swim. As was usual, before any swim, I had already researched what creatures favoured this shoreline- I researched sharks basically, of which none chose knee deep water under the west cliff of the Whitby shoreline as its home, but despite this, I managed to convince myself that today was the day that a shark would relocate or swim off course and swim right next to me. Finally, after much deliberation, I plucked up the courage to brave a look under the water, only to discover a large tangle of seaweed with my leg in it and not a shark after all!

 

Ally told us we needed to go through the breakers to get to the calmer and deeper water on the far side. Easier said than done. My first encounter with one of the larger breakers did not end well for me… or Shark for that matter. I have no idea why I thought that I would be able to swim straight at it and come out unscathed. I was instead tossed backwards and landed rather unceremoniously on top of the swim buddy. After a quick check that Shark was only shocked and surprised and not injured, and that my costume was still attached and covering everything that needed covering, we set off again.

 

On the back of my failed attempt, Ally kindly showed us how to dive into the waves which would stop us from being tossed about. Despite ALL previous diving attempts that have gone before this moment not once going to plan (but that’s a whole other, really long blog, dedicated to the very, very long list of injuries/embarrassing moments/costume failures on the back of many really bad diving attempts), I had a bash, and actually, if you discount the dislodged goggles and the mouthful of wave that I took as I grappled for air, it all went unexpectedly rather well! 

 

For 20 minutes we swan through and beyond these waves, with Ally offering advice and suggestions as we went, and once we got a better hang of it, it felt absolutely amazing, and not half as frightening as I first felt. I learnt a lot too, like for example, I would not win against the large breakers. Any and all attempts to, ended in a face plant on the seabed or being pushed back to shore. It was easier to swim beyond them – nearer to the preferred habitat of the porbeagle shark (yep, I did really did do the research) which were usually found 10 miles or so out to sea (although knowing that they were so far away didn’t stop me planning for an emergency evacuation), because that’s where the good, and shall we say less turbulent, swimming was to be done. I also learnt that in these conditions that my bilateral breathing came into its own, breathing only to one side was necessary in parts to avoid a mouthful of salt water. I was glad I’d taken the time to learn how to do it. I learnt that because there was no obvious pattern to these waves that I needed to continually adjust my stroke. It became easier in these conditions when I shortened it. I was also used to swimming in a lake, but because salt water was more dense (because of the salt and other substances dissolved in it) I found it a bit easier to swim in once I had adjusted my body position to suit the environment, which was handy because if I WERE being chased by aforementioned great white's cousin, I would need to be able to swim real fast... or at least faster than everyone else!

By mutual decision we swam not too far out, I say mutual, Ally said that with the fog being visible on the cliff top still, there was a chance that it may come down, and quickly, which meant spotting us could become difficult should we get into trouble. I was a bit scared so absolutely agreed, and half hour later we decided to head back to the beach to get dressed, and then the warmth of a nearby café to pick Ally’s brains. First though, we had to do a quick photo shoot amongst the waves, that turned out to be not as quick as we would have liked, because taking my eye off the ball (or wave as the case was) for a second, I was hit in the back by what felt like a wall of water, which I thought had only managed to knock me off my feet, but as I watched my tow float head towards the beach without me, I realised that my tow float and I had parted ways. I quickly charged after it, finally catching up with it further down the beach, by throwing myself unceremoniously on top of it. The manoeuvrer wasn’t all that pretty, nonetheless I caught it!

 

We headed back to the beach to get dressed, me, tightly holding onto my useless tow float, and swim buddy holding her neck after yet another jellyfish sting. After administering some anti-sting cream and lots of sympathy I carefully suggested that like my broken tow float, her sun cream was not really all that fit for purpose, and we remined ourselves that’s why these training swims were invaluable. They weren’t just about swimming, they were also a great opportunity to check our equipment and kit was working correctly, and whilst I wouldn’t be swimming the Channel with a tow float, the CSA did recommend a safety light, and assuming they meant a working light, and I now had time to get a replacement one sorted. 

Today - Todays' swim was completely different in comparison. I say swim, barely any was done (the back of the fact that the breakers were coming in so fast that by the time I had managed a single stroke another one was bearing upon me, and knocking me off kilter and by the time I had caught my breath and pulled myself together, yet another one caught me off guard. It was like the waves were traveling in packs, and were continually engulfing me and then spitting me out. At first it was fun, but actually being tossed around like a rag doll was exhausting. I can’t actually believe how easy it was for the sea to dislodge parts of my clothing either (by which I mean my costume!?!?). Another casualty was my goggles and new green safety light, which were dislodged, and after a frantic scramble around to look for them, I resigned myself to the fact that they were lost to the sea. I returned to the shoreline to get some spares, and assigned Dawn who was spectating and taking some photos, to be on the look out for them, and do whatever it took to retrieve them (also this would ensure that she was doing something that meant she was unable to take any photos which would most likely be quite unflattering). Dawn told me that she would probably be willing to get the bottom of her ankles wet, but that was as far as she would go on the back of the fact that she didn’t have a change of clothes with her. Without checking it was okay, I offered her the swim buddy’s spare trousers, unbelievably she still said no…

 

I have to say, these preparation swims have been worth their weight in gold. They have been about building up our confidence, our endurance and our mental resilience, they have also been about ensuring our equipment was fit for purpose, and that we packed spares, and yes, I am still a little bitter about the whole losing my goggles part of the swim, especialy since I know better. Ally had lost hers (temporarily) in the first swim, and so what possessed me to attach the safety light I had just purchased to mine, when I knew there was a risk they may come off, I have no idea. Having said that, it was best to have cock ups prior to the swim, even if it has cost me a small fortune in replacements, and the swim buddy a small fortune in useless sun lotion...

 

Thanks for reading, and in the countdown to our Channel relay, there'll be more blogs, and I'm hoping photos and videos from the boat (Louise Jane Charters), which I'll share on my Open Water Woman facebok group page, found at: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/219068846449080 

Our swim window is W/C 23/9 (3rd wave), so not long now!