On Saturday 3rd of August I took part in a swim around St Michaels Mount in aid of the Chestnut Appeal. The conditions looked good, it was a sunny day and when I got down to Marazion it was buzzing with people. I am not sure how many people took part but I reckon there were around 350.
I got my race number, hat and changed into my wetsuit and I started to feel a bit nervous, I have been doing a lot of swim coaching but that doesn’t necessarily leave much time for me to swim and the lack of, was causing me some nerves.
At this point the gentle breeze was now turning into something more breezy, touching on a little windy from the West, good sailing weather perhaps?! But swimming…
The briefing was late but that gave me time to spot and catch up with a friend on the beach who was also taking part and then another friendly face came to support which made me feel a whole lot better. Thank you Sam.
We were walked a way down the beach to try use the now fairly strong wind in some way as a benefit as we were to swim in an anti-clockwise direction. Entering the water was bliss after standing around in a rubber suit on a hot day and although there were a lot of people it did not have the manic kicking and thumping that seems to come with a race start. It was very civilised and manners were used at all times.
The first 10 minutes (I am not going to lie) were hell!!! My goggles steamed up, I couldn’t see a thing in or out the water and I had to stop and readjust them about 8 times. In this time I considered going back to the beach, giving up, I questioned why I thought I could do this, Why I was even attempting this and cursed myself and my goggles many times. However, once I got through the tumultuous start I settled into a rhythm and began to move along. Once around the back of the island I began to feel more at home in the water I swim in most regularly and spot landmarks on the island that I know so well (We have lived on it for the last 7 years or so but that is another blog post). My favourite part to swim is always the eastern side of the island as the water is so clear and the seaweed less dense and dark. The world underneath looks clean and inviting and you can observe fish and small crabs going about their own business in a way I imagine similar to the way we do on land. Before I knew it I breathed to my right and there I spotted a little white boat with my partner Rob and children, Harry and Florence waving and cheering for Me. This was the point I realised what I was doing out here. I was showing my children what I can do. I dug a little deeper and felt my catch a little stronger through my wrist and up to my shoulders and thank goodness I did as when I came around the corner I hit that “breeze” and stopped moving.
Hmmm not the look I was going for the endless pool, stationary swim so I cut across the wind instead of trying to swim straight into it and was off again. The surface chop was uncomfortable and for some who were not used to it I am sure that it was really horrible, especially for those swimmers who say they “can only breath to the left” they will have got chops full of water over and over. Another reason why I am such an advocate of bilateral breathing but yet again that is a whole different post.
I spotted a roof in the car park and swam in, I knew I could make it and I was home. Seeing my lovely friends on the beach to welcome me in was wonderful and I cannot thank them or explain how comforting it was to know someone was there.
Fast forward a little bit, I am in and changed and dry but there are still brave souls out there swimming and my goodness did they have my respect.
The following day I was at work and a couple of ladies were chatting to me and said that they had done the swim too. They think they were the last swimmers in. We laughed and chatted about how “awful” yet wonderful it was and how difficult the conditions actually were. They were from Birmingham and don’t experience sea conditions like that. It was great to de-brief the race with people who understood what it was like.
The swim is for a great cause and happens in August every year.
Top tips
- If you are new to sea swimming make sure you can swim a mile and a half in the sea before you have a go.
- Go out and experience different conditions safely.
- Make sure your kit works like you want it to, unlike my goggles.
- Weather watch for the conditions.
- Having friends/family there to support is just magic.
- Plan your swim think about how hard you are going to go and when.
- Have fun!
Would I recommend the Chestnut appeal round the mount swim? Yes 10/10, friendly, beautiful and quite the achievement to say you have done it.
What has this swim done for me? I have had the swimming fire relit and I now have some exciting plans for the rest of the 2024 summer season and for 2025… watch this space!
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