Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/11/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I try to swim every day in the sea which can be difficult as it gets colder and the weather gets rougher. Yesterday, we were in the middle of Storm Angus and the spray from the waves when they broke on the rocks were the height of a three storey building. I drove over a couple of miles to swim in a severely tossing sea at Sandycove Point as it has the benefit of a small harbour albeit with strong currents. The wind was north easterly and very very strong, so the Forty Foot swimming hole on the northerly side of the Point was far too dangerous as it was taking the full onslaught of the sea. Spindrift was being carried 150 metres up the road, and there was a Small Craft Warning from the Irish Weather Service. I ignored it, as I'm not small, and not particularly crafty. Getting in was easy, but getting out was bloody hard, but I survived. I bought a camera along, but, as I was in a rush to catch the tide and the dying light, I forgot to check it. The battery went flat after two quick handheld photos - see below. Sadly, the swimming streak ended today as I was caught up in other things, despite it being a much calmer day. Hopefully, I'll be back in tomorrow, but we'll see. http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DouglasBray/SandycoveDalkey/Sandycove_Storm1a.jpg.html http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DouglasBray/SandycoveDalkey/Sandycove_Storm2a.jpg.html Both taken with the little Fuji, and can be seen large. And if you're wondering, do they not have swimming pools in Ireland? The answer is yes, we do, but I love sea swimming as the sense of exhilaration can be profound. OK it's cold and I don't bother with a wetsuit, but after you get out you feel great. I normally swim in Seapoint just a couple of pedal strokes from my driveway and then a quick zip downhill, but it has been freezing - 4 degrees celsius - in the water. The way Sandycove Point is shaped you can get some sort of shelter from the intensity of the wind and waves no matter what direction they're coming from. I swam west from the pier on the harbour and back into it where I exited as fast as I could, and back into my clothes Here's a link to it on Google maps, but you have to use a bit of imagination as the tide was flat out when the image was taken and there's sand showing in the little harbour. The water level rises 4.4 metres between low and high tides. https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.288939,-6.1144699,233m/data=!3m1!1e3 One thing I have definitely learned is where the rip tide is during stormy conditions, and that it's way warmer than Seapoint on very cold days. That long flat sandy topography at Seapoint DOES chill the water by an extra 4 or 5 degrees celsius as the tide inches its way in over six hours. Sandycove which always has plenty of water felt like a bath in comparision. Who'd have thunk it? Douglas