We met at Dover Marina to join Sea Leopard at 1030am. A happy team of Culturists: Eleanor Woodward, Jim Malone & Chloe Johnson (with beach butler Harry) & I (Dan Earthquake) made our way down to empty public pontoon in the sunshine. I laughed to myself at that-how many of us usually walk these steps to swim/crew/support/observe in the middle of the night & find the pontoon full of swimmers, bags, crates with loved ones insisting on photos & the pilot boats lined up nose to nose?
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| Jim Malone |
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| Eleanor Woodward |
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| Jim swims back to Sea Leopard. |
Introductions for the new faces & hello to Steve Franks who joined us to take some photos & off we go. Some big gusts today so Stuart & Sam took us North to St Margarets bay which gave us some shelter from some of the prevailing winds. It was thirty minute turnabouts, Jim Malone was in first, easily ploughing through the waves with measured strokes.
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| Chloe Johnson dives into the English Channel |
Chloe dived in next, her first proper sea swim - November, 2 miles offshore of Kingsdown. An excellent effort in unfamiliar conditions with a few stops to cough out some seawater. Cough & vomit on the outbreath is an easy skill to be learned, & practice makes perfect.
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| Chloe Johnson swimming offshore against the tide |
Eleanor followed on, swimming at an amazing pace that impressed us all.
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| Eleanor Woodward (with Kingsdown in the background) |
A bumpy ride back against the tide was a good test for sea legs, the late lunch in the Lifeboat very welcome.
