The sea, oh the sea is the gradh geal mo croi.

Various scientific theories have postulated, that in millenia past, all life as we know it crawled from the depths of the

oceans and evolved into all that lives above, and lords over, the great blue abyss.

And why am I telling you this?... 'cause me thinks its time we got back in..

From Thursday next 13th of May, w.p., We will revert to the summertime thursday night format of

6:30 Group Sea swim from Blackrock, followed by
7:15 (approx) Weekly LSD run from Blackrock.

For newcomwes/beginners to open water swimming please ensure to make yourself known to swim leaders at the shelters and do

not enter the water until your leader has instructed you to do so.

It may also be a good idea to get into the sea (in your wetsuit of course) this week, for a few short paddles, immersing

yourself a few times to help the body acclimatise to the water temperature before spending more prolonged peroids swimming

from next week on.

OPEN WATER SWIM GUIDELINES:

This is an ideal opportunity for those who are not accustomed to sea swimming to get used to swimming in open water. We hope

to see lots of our newbie swimmers out in the next week or two.

We will do a short, slow swim for the first few weeks. All swims start at Blackrock pier and swim out to a buoy parallel to

the shore and back.

Blackrock is an ideal location for testing the (open) water. As the swim course is parallel to the shore, swimmers are never

more than a short distance away from standing depth.

The current is onshore so there is no danger of being swept out to sea. This also allows weaker swimmers to swim one half of

the course and then swim to shore and walk back along the prom to the start/ finish point if necessary.

There will be a number of swimmers of different capabilities in the water so stronger swimmers will monitor the weaker ones.

As it's still May the water will be cold.

You MUST have a wetsuit and cap. Ideally a layer of winter blubber would keep out the cold but as we are finely honed (!)

athletes, a thin rash vest layer (NOT cotton) under the wetsuit is a help for those who suffer from the cold.

AND NEVER EVER EVER swim alone in open water without someone with you or observing you who is capable of coming to your

assistance. Always inform the lifeguard (or your chaperone) of your intended route/plan, so if they see you change from your

intended course they can use this as an alert that all may not be OK