Day 3:Swim 1 Sandy Cove Island Water Temperature 51.8 degrees Farenheight ( 11 C )
A 6:00am start, after 4 hours sleep it is time to rise, pull on the suit, fill the thermos and head to Sandycove, we arrive to low tide….super low tide, so low that the island is no longer an island to make a lap a bit of a hike across the beach is required.
At our morning meeting to go over swim instructions Ned goes over the plan, ” we split into two groups, one group led by Craig to swim anticlockwise out and back in a horse shoe shape until the tide comes in, for those of you that want to zig zag through the seaweed that is stringy like dead woman hair and some that is like 12 foot house plants lying down, then manovering around rasor sharp rocks to lap around the island follow me” The group is a bit quiet, we all slink away to our cars to prepare….
I prepare and down my maxim carbo drink, it is a bitter morning, no sun yet, I head down to the slipway to group up…
That’s me walking out over the sand, I’m third in line…..
We break into 2 groups and wade into the water, Ned dives in, I follow right on his toes, Ned knows his way through this underwater minefield of sharp rocks, behind me others follow the same course, the weeds are thick and stringy, they wrap around my arms and legs, I shake them free, I see the rocks very close below, if my hand drops too deep it scrapes, I keep my elbows high when I pull, Ned swims slowly and carefully, I follow. We all make it through the trouble zone to the open sea around the back of the island, before long we make it to the far corner another area to navigate, round we all go lap one comes to an abrupt halt when we run out of water. Up me and my fellow swimmers get, we wade through the ankle deep water, some walk on the beach, I start to chill…..
Onto Lap 2, I notice my mind focusing on the cold feel on the back of my neck, then the claw shape of my hands, almost in sync my speed drops, I am swimming slow, my mind has supported my failing body, hypothermia is paying a visit, my swim is drawing to a close, I don’t fight it ” I am done, this is my last lap”, Ned is swimming great, he pulls up to the beach walk, I look at it and swim towards the slipway, he stops to check in, ” My last lap”, I say, ” Alain, you or me to take her in?”, Ned asks, ” Me”, replies Alain, we swim a small lap to the second buoy and back to round out the hour and head out of the water.
I change quickly, I LOVED winding around the rocks and sea weed, it was fun like an obstacle course, still I am a bit disappointed with myself for getting out after 2 and a bit laps. I soon perk up as I pull on this cozy suit called ” Joey” lent to me by Chris in the picture above, it is amazingly warm and I am thrilled with myself wearing it and proceed to prance around the parking lot drinking hot chocolate and chatting.
Robbin and I head off to the house to shower and nap, as I close my eyes thoughts swirl around my head of today’s short swim, ” I’ll do better tonight”….then I fall asleep.
What’s up next: 1 Hour Drive to the River Lee in Cork
Will I swim longer than this mornings crab walk swim ? I’ll keep you posted
Closing Thought:
The mind is a powerful thing, a quiet mind helps, an overactive mind can hinder