Training in Dover Harbour

After a good night sleep we headed down to Dover Harbour for a training session.

Clearly many British people were fleeing the dreadful weather, which has prohibited us from swimming today, and the queues into Dover and the ferry port were a couple of miles long unfortunately.  However we didn't let that or the weather dampen our spirits and arrived at the coast to see around 30 other people already in the water.

Apparently it was a quiet day as it was still fairly choppy in the harbour, but we were still shocked by how many people were there.

After some helpful hints from experienced trainers and pilots we walked into the sea, trying to look brave in the cold in and wind and yet still squeaking a fair amount!  We all successfully managed to stay in for an hour ploughing up and down the harbour, and were pleased with our group training session.

The waves were the biggest shock to our system, particularly when we have done a lot of our training in a lake.  For the most part though we were able to not swallow too much water and stay in a vaguely straight line.  Visibility wasn't great as was expected, so even if there are jellyfish looming we will be unable to see them, which weirdly made certain members of the group feel better.  The cold, providing you kept moving, was also surprisingly bearable, although admittedly we were less than 300 metres from the beach at all times.

All in all though, having now had showers, lunch, tea and biscuits, it has helped to calm many nerves about cold, stamina and jellyfish.  Again we are all currently feeling enthusiastic about the swim and hope that we will be off in the next few days.

As ever we will keep you posted.