Stop Press - Web Site Details .... UPDATE

Just to say that our web site URL is:

http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/blueskyswimming/

The old web site is showing on some of the links - eg RALSA

There are separate pages under Forthcoming Events for the Big Jump and the Great North Sea Plunge.

Joining details for our Big Jump on 11 July http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/blueskyswimming/section.asp?docId=88740

Registration form for the Great North Sea Plunge on 18th September http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/blueskyswimming/section.asp?docId=88723

Thank you.

THE BIG JUMP - 3pm July 11th 2010

At a secret (for now) location deep in the heart of Lincolnshire, Blue Sky Swimming will be hosting the first UK event to register for this European Wide Event...

http://www.rivernet.org/bigjump/

If you fancy coming along to join in the fun, take a look at the geography, make sure you're not prone to agoraphobia and send us a message to let us know you're on your way...

http://capture.macaw.world.net/upload/LIN_GB_839_WRW2BardneytoWoodhall.pdf

marshallnicola@rocketmail.com

sandram6665@yahoo.com

...or join in the chats on http://www.swimclub.co.uk

LOTS MORE TO COME!!! Only now I have to break free from the shackles of my desk and run off for an evening swim somewhere...

River Swimming Addiction

What a beautiful picture of Nicola captured post swim and post heroic dog rescue (see blog below - I was completely ineffective sculling around in the water)

GORGEOUS clear skies stretching for miles across the fens but beware of the web footed natives when you venture this far into deepest Lincolnshire, we can have a reputation for being suspicious of "newcomers"

A Watery Weekend

Second swim in the Witham on Saturday evening - brave getting braver this time. This time we dived in (well I sort of plunged to start with) off the Southrey side and swam up river and back down several times. We were joined by Olive the black labrador and Nic had to recall her lapsed lifesaving skills to get the dog out and back on the pontoon - note: labradors are heavy and slippery when wet ... I have some nice bruises to show for it.

Sunday and Nic is at the beach 'toute seule' for the day. Made the best of my time with a stroll from Sutton on Sea up to Mabo to speak to the RNLI guys about the boat launch on 18th September's Great North Sea Plunge. I hadn't realised that there had been a big 'to do' about the team losing their land rover vehicle (well not losing literally, but being replaced by a tractor). And Bill the lifeboat manager had resigned after 41 years of service, so sparking a campaign on Facebook. I read all this on the front page of the 'Leader' - And I thought Sandra and I were 'The Story' in Mabo!

Good news: our friend Sara Payne at the East Coast Target newspaper has done us proud again with an update article about our summer solstice swim. I hadn't realised just how much I had rabbited on last time she 'phoned me. Mind you I think I could get some more copy mileage out of the 'Nicola nearly drowned in the North Sea' as a child; especially if I take the 'deprived fenland upbringing' angle - parents' distracted, not noticing the 'middle one' was missing etc etc. I can feel a Misery Memoire in the making.

I think I now win the 'tackiest / strangest' postcard competition with Sandra : found these 3 in a newsagents in Sutton on Sea. Cleary golliwogs are still legal tender on the Lincolnshire coast. An alarming sort of animal cruelty theme running here too.... Still they were only 25p each.

HEADS UP: WATCH OUT FOR THE BIG JUMP - Our River Swim as part of the European River Swimming Festival - on 11th July at Southrey - http://www.rivernet.org/bigjump/ We will be the first in Lincolnshire to do it! We like being first!

Also, we are hoping to join up with the RNLI challenge of Swim a Mile at our Great North Sea Plunge on 18th September.

Topsy Turvy Week...

What a long week!

Started off brilliantly (if a little disorganised!) with night time summer solstice sea swim on Monday...

Dull at desk, quickie evening dip and bask in the sun at Bourne, tired on Tuesday...

World Cup Wednesday, say no more...

Thrills on Thursday, escape from work for swim in the sun and summer breeze...

Fuggled Friday, daydreaming about getting in the water this weekend....

NICE SYMMETRY!

We ended up at Huttoft for the midsummer swim in a nice piece of symmetry as this was the spot of our 2010 New Years Day swim - how we love a bit of serendipidity!

In yet another perfectly rehearsed piece of planning, I find myself travelling NW to Sutton on Sea whilst Nicola motors along SE to Gibraltar Point - we probably crossed paths at Partney!

Disappointing start to the evening saw us dithering over our commitment to drive out to the North Sea for a cold, dark dip after both enduring long difficult days at work...
...as usual, it fell to Nic to be motivational and off we set into the East (albeit different locations!)

So, here's the lovely scene at Huttoft at 9pm just before we finally got around to donning cozzies and starting the long walk down to the sea -cleverly, I'd managed to cock up the tide prediction as well!


It took a VERY long walk out through pretty strong breakers and ebbing tide drag to get enough depth for shoulders to get under water and knees off the ground... It was a bit spooky/exciting according to attitude to be so far out with no reassuring presence on shore to call the emergency services should we start to drift out into the North Sea! We're definitely enjoying the benefits of cold water acclimatisation though and bobbed around in the breakers for a good 15 minutes before the customary struggle with lifeless fingers, salty skin and inappropriate outfits to get back dressed.

After all this serious training we felt a little champagne was in order to celebrate the solstice, shame we're such girls that neither of us felt able to open the bottle! Thanks to the lovely Jason who had been hoping for a quiet evening watching the waves for popping the cork straight into the dunes. We were able to cater for the entire beach and ended up sitting in Steve & Chrissie's cosy camper van sharing the Bollinger - GREAT conclusion to the longest day of the year.

Now, where next...?

Down Let the Sun Go Down on Me .....

Solstice Swim - late setting off, sun disappearing behind the horizon - zipping along the roads in Bertie to get to the beach before dark. Communication failures between me and Sandra meant we arrived at Huttoft (Nic getting there via Skegness) in the dusk. However, we were not going to cop out at this point ... tide on the turn (Sandra read the time table incorrectly - rising tide, not!) and there were some big waves which crashed over me several times bringing back all that childhood fear of drowning again - yes on Huttoft beach once more where - if it wasn't for the attentiveness of parents - I'd have been in the mud flats (mmmm I'm still making the most of the guilty consciences of M+D).

I'll leave it to Sandra to blog about the new friends we met - Jason the champagne cork popper and Steve and Chrissie in their luxury motorhome.