Event: Salty Sea Dog Long Swim
Date: 10th August 2024
On what was a bright morning, Sheena and I set off to Southbourne, Bournemouth for the Salty Sea Dog 2.5km swim. As our car headed south west, the weather became less sunny and the wind picked up!
Upon arrival, we were buffeted by the wind as we marched to the beach to view the course and were immediately confronted with 100 foot waves (alright maybe they were only a couple of feet high, but they seemed big).
Due to the increase in the wind, the course was altered, so rather than swimming two 1.25 km rectangular loops along the coast, we were to swim four square loops, each corner of the route being marked by a large orange buoy.
As the wind increased further, we waded into the water and our epic adventure began. Getting out past the waves turned into a marathon, not a sprint, and that was just to the first marker.
The waves kept coming and the thought that it would be easier once we’d turned the first corner and were swimming along the shore turned out to be incorrect.
It wasn’t possible to get into a rhythm and taking each breath was a battle not to drink a gallon of salt water that was pushed into our faces.
Turning the third corner and swimming with the wind behind us created its own challenges as tow floats were hitting people and getting tangled in arms.
The final stretch back to the first buoy, being buffered by the wind whilst being pushed towards the shore didn’t provide any reprieve. For me, one lap was enough. I did not fancy dying that day or even being fished out by a safety boat, so I called it quits.
But Sheena (the Herculean goddess), ploughed on, battling the elements and even winning a fight with the third buoy which was blown ashore due to the mighty winds, to complete all four laps of the course.
A satisfying day out, if not the sunny swim envisioned when we signed up. As a reward for our endeavours, we were given a glass of coke to drink as apparently “it kills everything”!
Note to self – stick to the lake swims!
