Swimming daily gets under your skin, it becomes part of your routine… it becomes part of you. Swimming in the sea can give a moment of peace, a connection to the outdoors and to the immediate environment. It’s very noticeable that after a full year of daily swims Karen and I have just, well… just kept on swimming. Like Forrest Gump we’ve continued because we can. 

But thankfully no beard growing as yet.

With the weather a little warmer and some COVID restrictions lifted, many people visited the Island over the Half Term break, and so many chose to swim in the sea. It’s fascinating how we often associate the coastline and beaches with holidays. During the late Edwardian era and between the wars, the wonderful charabanc (or charabang) arrived along side specially commissioned trains to transport hoards of people to the seaside, and it’s now in our psyche to do the same. Although sadly the magnificent charabancs are no more and we now rely on cars and coaches or high tech bikes and scooters, but we still travel to the seaside. People walk, promenade, paddle and swim in just the same way they have for decades. It was lovely to see everyone for once smiling and splashing in the sunshine.

It’s also been lovely though (dare I say it?) when it’s a bit quieter. Catching an early morning swim with no one around will always feel special. It’s as though the sea is waiting for you at exactly that moment, calmly flowing, minding its own business and awaiting your swim. During these summer months it’s wonderful gliding through the water with the sunlight darting shards of light into the salty softness. Head down and trying to smooth out swimming strokes it’s surprisingly easy to start to relax in the sparkling underwater world. When the sun is shining there’s such an energy in the water itself, dancing ripples and twinkles of movement. It’s hard to remember sometimes that the sea is there bathed in light whether we swim or not, but I’m definitely feeling that we need to embrace as many days of sunny swimming as we can. 

Here’s to enjoying the beauty of the sea throughout the summer.