 |
| anyone fancy a dip!!Sea time if fast approaching for Pip,s channel team.... the picture is from the Breakthrough Breast Cancer (simply click on the arrow on the picture above to hear George and the boys at their absolute best) |
 |
| The Meat Richard enjoying the best day of May..water was a lovely 16 degrees .!! and it was only the 6th of May!! |
It’s really has been a strange month, we could not wait to
return to open water on the 1st of May, our 1st few swims
at swan pool were great, you could not believe our relief when we heard the
water temperature for our 1st few swims was over 12 degrees and it
got even higher, reaching 16 on bank holiday Monday, yippee we thought this
year is going to warm one for change..Not more swan shakes, not more dropping
coffee all over the place as we cannot hold our cup for shaking, not more speaking
in some unknown foreign language that is only recognized by
other cold open water swimmers...however it was not to last..Well this is England
after all
 |
| the Special One Rob, having a coffee before he got in. its not so warm today..!! |
 |
| Wednesday night at swan...look inviting ?? water temp was only 14.and dropping!!!!
Yes you guessed it......the highlight of the month was the
16 degree on the 6th May..!!! Hmmm I feel like crying as I write
this...those warm days seem so long ago...lol after the 6th the
weather started to return to the chilly weather of December ...rain , windy . day after day...only
2 days after the 16 degrees it had drop to 13...by the Sunday it was 11..and
within a week it was 10....so instead of getting well passed the hour in
swimming terms in the lake it was getting shorter and shorter..
|
 |
| The King!! King of the swan , Mr Dan Earthquake snr lifeguard and channel solo swimmer 2013 |
 |
| the edge. Gary makes his return to open water!! |
 |
| The Edge but not before his now famous 20 minutes swan stand off . do i get in , or do i go home... |
 |
| The Supa is Back and its only May. its no secret that Darran Redman Dyke is the superstar of the team..! he`s like a formula one racing as Richard always says.. as in super fast , finally tuned..but at any minute it can break down and like all formula one machines it doesn`t like cold water ! top effort Supa for getting in so early this year |
 |
| The Brat Boys chasing the Channel swimmers on a Monday evening..!! as always channel won...lol |
 |
| The iron men and ladies of the great Brat triathlon club. on Monday evening we have the pleasure of swimming along the BRAT tri club . we always have a bit of friendly banter about skin Vs Wetsuit!! but it a real honour to swim them.the best Triathlon club in the UK, even if they are a bunch of wimps when it comes to cold water..!!!! |
 |
| the boys are back!!! our friends are back for another seasons at the swan
However...there is really is something great about being able to swim and adapt to cold
water..., and even though for us warm pool loving swimmers 10 degrees feels so incredibly cold that our fingers and toes will break off
at any second after 10 minutes of swimming to other swimmers at the swan it
feels lovely and warm..So seeing the winter crew from swan pool stay in for an
hour with ease at 10 degrees gave us encouragement after a little teasing from
Dan,Jim ,Anji Chloe that with a bit of guts
, with a little less crying, whining and
picture taking, and a bit more doing you
could do it...
|
 |
| the meat dives in at last!! Richard makes his 1st big splash of the year at the Swan, watched very carefully by swim legend the lovely Karen Thorsby |
 |
| Swan Legends the charming Paul and Jim stars both. ( Jim..mop why??? lol ) |
 |
| Mr Williams Ricks Pool training buddy from Walsall SC makes his 1st appearance at the swan.. Dave pictured trying to get into his new super suit !! after 30 minutes he finally got squeezed into it and 50 minutes swimming top effort |
 |
| the swan temp checker is Back... Big Gaz doing the the business.. great ...its 11 degrees |
 |
| Rob & Gary.. welcome to the changing rooms at the swan.!! the guys all smiles .. over the hour has been done with not to much problem..!!.. really the smiles are about a conversation about frozen bananas !!;-)) |
 |
| Mr Cash... Rob 1st hour+ swim over.cold but happy 22nd May... |
 |
| monday night at the swan.. water was still getting colder session after session after starting the month of at 16 , 3 weeks later the water was closer to 10 degrees.!! don`t we all just love the weather in England. we hear snow is forecast in some parts of the country this weekend 26th may!! |
 |
| Mr Copeland.!! Doug showing what he thinks of the hearing reason why Richard has not come again..!! |
 |
So here we are on the 25th may...back to swimming
to 3 miles + in 11/12 degree water , and you know what we are enjoying
it....ish.no we truly are lol , the next step or should be say stroke is to
return to sea and some swimming there , because as good as training in the lake
is, there is no substitute for swimming in the sea especially
if you want to swim the channel...so over the next week most the team are away
all over the UK and Europe who plans and hopes to do some sea swimming well that’s
the plan!!!..Happy swimming everyone...ricks
|
 |
| the lovely and charming Mr & Mrs Cash.. who always come down the swan to support the guys and cheer on their boy. Mr Cash Jnr. |
 |
| the swan pool lap or loop.. however it does change from week either as the sail club changes it, or Rob swims into the buoys and drags them all over the place before he notices ;-) |
 |
| Swan Pool.. looking peaceful as we leave on a Wednesday night around 8.30 after a very chilly swim that night 10 degrees |
 | |
(this is Pip,s Channel Justgiving charity page link,either clink or copy and paste to go to our page )
|
