Last year I kept a journal of swims through all the highs and lows. I find it interesting to look back, partly to see my progress and also because I’ve forgotten all the little moments, the individual swims. Last February I was new to sea swimming and trying to do it every day, regardless of the weather, and through other things cropping up like household illnesses (children and dog!) and local covid cases springing up (this was back when there were no community cases and no vaccination here, so alert levels abruptly rose each time it happened). Content warning: some journal entries are quite Eeyorish, bordering on martyrdom, as I forced myself into the water and questioned my own sanity:
I’d told myself today that I didn’t have to swim, it was overcast and the southerly breeze was back, but I stubbornly don’t want to break my ‘streak’ of getting in the water, even if the conditions mean I can’t do much. I considered the closest beach but it just feels a little too gravelly and exposed as it’s right next to the road. So I carried on a bit further to my regular beach, even though I’m getting a bit bored of it. It was overcast and grey – grey clouds, grey sky, grey mood in my mind. The temperature was actually okay but the wind and two crossing Interislander ferries caused a bit of surf, so I was jostled around and couldn’t practise my nose bubbles because of the current overhead. When I raised my head to breathe, I got sloshed in the face.
I felt angry that I was being jostled, angry that I was alone, angry that I couldn’t work on my swimming. I was in the shallows like a kid. What was I even doing here? It didn’t lift me up today. But I realised that if I want to spend time in the ocean I will need to accept the sea in its different moods. The sea doesn’t owe me anything.
Oh, the gloom! Now I don’t swim every day, I go when I feel like it. Which is still almost every day, but feels a lot more pleasant than the concept of having a daily masochistic swim that I mustn’t miss. Sometimes is enough! I check the weather and if I feel like it and I can, I’ll go. I like to vary the time of day, too. Morning swims are peaceful, but colder. Lunchtime swims are bright and busy. Evening swims are my favourite: the day is winding down, I’m often responding to a friend’s spontaneous text: ‘Feel like a swim?’, the water is a bit warmer, there’s a feeling of doing something special as the shadows lengthen and the sky turns gold.
This week I’ve had 3-4 swims so far. Last weekend Cyclone Dovi hit and I stayed inside, but went for a swim on Monday. The water quality was ‘orange’ (caution advised), according to LAWA, and still very murky. So I kept my head above water. Unusually, there was a lot of red seaweed strewn across the beach. I read that red seaweed grows in deeper water, so the fact it was exposed shows how churned up the ocean must have been.
Brown water, post cyclone.
Red seaweed on the beach.
One day later, and look at the difference in colour! I swam about 800m and felt great.
Post-swim selfie. How lucky I feel to have this space.
Last night was the full moon and so I had a 9pm swim with some of my swim group. The packing list for a night swim is a little different: torch, change robe, and thermos. Bathing suit is optional!
I didn’t take my GoPro this time because I’ve already photographed a moon swim and wanted to just enjoy the moment. The water was flat and smooth, the sky was full of stars and the moon rose over the hills as I was in the water, creating a shimmering golden path on the surface.
Photo taken by Sinead in my swim group.
Have you been for any swims this week? Are you a fair-weather swimmer or is it part of your weekly schedule?