Submitted by Taras
With Adam and Tarkan completing their 2 hour qualifying swims in some style during the weeks prior, this weekend it was the turn of Yvette, Rosie, James and myself to complete our 2 hour open water test.
For one reason or another we have struggled to get the entire team together for training sessions the last few attempts (I will admit; on more than one occasion it was due to me!), and this weekend unfortunately was no exception.
Bad news broke early on the Sunday, as we were informed that Yvette had not yet recovered from a shoulder injury and would not be joining us. Best of luck on getting that cleared up Yvette.
Additionally, Rosie had planned her swim for the Saturday rather than Sunday.
(Incidentally, we haven’t heard from her since, but since the P&O ferries weren’t flying their union jacks at half-mast and there were no floral tributes on the beach we’ll assume she’s OK.)
Our 4 became 2.
But no matter!
Adam and Tarkan had no intention of leaving us unattended with all that water, and stripped down to join us in the murky depths of Dover harbour.
Our 2 became 4!
After a quick coating of lube (a small perk), 10:30 came and the swim adjudicators were yelling at us ‘Full Metal Jacket’ style to get in the water. I didn’t like the look of the water, but I disliked the adjudicator’s wrinkled face far more.
10:30: We got in. The water is uncomfortably cold, but calm.
(As an aside, and I’m sure I speak on behalf of James too, the fact that the other guys not only made the effort to come down to Dover but were also happy to get in and swim alongside us was a huge boost to morale.)
11:20: Adam responds to the question “How long?” succinctly: “Nowhere near”.
Feeling OK so far, the sun is out again, and the water has remained calm.
11:30: With another solid hour under his belt Adam calls it a day, and heads back to the shore. The sun has gone in, the wind has picked up slightly.
12:00: After 90 minutes the cold has taken its toll on Tarkan, who calls it a day and heads back to the shore. Both James and I are really feeling the cold now. The water has become choppy and I feel the onset of sea sickness.
12:10: Adopted SRLV member Beth tags with Tarkan and joins James and I for the final push.
I am miserable, sick, tired, and my hands burn from the cold. I am frankly very grumpy. Being presented with renditions of “Wallaby” by the Spice Girls posed a difficult question:
Should I just drown, or swim after Beth and drown that damn wallaby instead?
I opted for the latter and set off in cold pursuit.
Luckily for Beth, just when I was about nowhere near her our 2 hours was up and we could head for the shore.
(On reflection this was probably just as well, the RNLI boats had been circling me for some time…)
Feeling pretty tired, a bit nauseous, covered in Dover-sea-gunk (the contents of my beard after the swim are up for grabs as part of the raffle if anyone is interested), but utterly elated, the qualifying swim was complete.
I genuinely couldn’t have done it without the support of my fellow swimmers. BRAP.
(PS: For your benefit Beth, I’m still calling bulls**t: http://www.universetoday.com/15019/how-many-moons-does-earth-have/)
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