Although I swam three open water events over the summer, the one that I was really looking forward to was the intercontinental Hellespont & Dardanelles crossing which is an iconic swim of just under 5k from the European to Asian side of Turkey. It didn’t disappoint and it’s hard not to be evangelical about the…
Category: Open water swimmer
Dock2Dock, Canary Wharf and The Great North Swim: Silly Mistakes and Fun
I thought this would be as good of a time as any to venture more fully into open water swimming events and so I entered four over the summer. It’s now three down and one to go and time to reflect. Overall, it’s been fun with the best part being the conversations that I have…
New in Chats, Stories and Memories: Elias Patel from the Goa Open Water Swimming Club
India is a country of over 1.4 billion people, and yet it is estimated that less than 0.5% of the population there can swim and out of that small number only a further half would be confident swimming in open water. Goa Open Water Swimming Club is working towards improving this situation by providing swim…
‘Seatrac’ and Yachts: Contrasting Realities in Corfu
This past summer I went to Corfu to participate in the Albania to Corfu swim which is run by a local charity that supports four marine environmental initiatives: https://www.albaniaoverboard.com/swim-info On the day of the swim, sea conditions prevented the crossing which meant a rearranged swim from one bay in Corfu to another. Although it was…
Open Water Slogging
There never seems to be a shortage of inspirational swimmers. For me these include the ones who can be seen everyday in their local pools and who are dedicated to just showing up. Other inspiring swimmers include the people dedicated to ensuring that there are affordable and welcoming swimming facilities for all who want to…
It’s all happening at the London Royal Docks
I’ve been dipping a little toe back into open water swimming and recently visited the London Royal Docks. On a soggy ‘summer’s’ day more akin to November, I made my way via Canning Town tube and the Docklands Light Railway for a swim that I pre-booked on the Love The Open Water website which required…
Chats with Extraordinary Swimmers: Caroline Kindy – Yorkshire Swim Works & Future Lidos
The second ‘Chat with Extraordinary Swimmers’ is available on the ‘Chats, Stories and Memories’ page. This features Caroline Kindy (Yorkshire Swim Works and Future Lidos) whose tireless dedication and vision for accessible outdoor swimming is truly inspiring. Support for these organisations is highly recommended. Credit to Planit for the image above: https://planit-ie.com/
Slovenia for Swimming
I’m not sure what entirely came to my mind when Slovenia has been mentioned in the past. Melania Trump? Luka Dončić? Confusion with Slovakia? That’s now a thing of the past. After reading Martin Strel’s account of swimming up the Amazon I started making a connection between Slovenia and swimming and it’s a very good…
Observations from a small island
So, while I don’t want the website to be given over to my holiday snaps plus flying as a substantial part of Europe is burning in the summer is not the best idea, I did go to Menorca with swimming in mind. It is a fantastic place to swim. OK, so it might be seen…
Chats with swimmers extraordinaire
In a new feature, I’ll be chatting to swimmers who have a unique perspective and commitment to swimming. The first on the website is with Kate Gillwood who not only writes beautifully about her aquatic adventures, but who is also a swimming inspiration. These chats can be found on the ‘Chats, Stories and Memories’ page…
An Anthropology of Swimming 