Sandycove 10 hour swim

Sea pinks on the island

Cork Distance Camp was recently held here.  This is an annual 9-day extravaganza of swimming, sleep deprivation and cups of tea organised and run by the inimitable Ned Denison, long distance swim guru based in Cork.  There were swims every morning at 6am and every evening, in interesting local locations such as Sandycove, Inniscarra, Myrtleville, Fermoy, Garnish, Lough Hyne.  Swimmers from the UK, US and the antipodes joined locals for the week, and in a short number of years it has become an important training camp for swimmers to rack up the kilometers in a short space of time.  Last week the total was probably 120km of swimming, finishing up on the Sunday with a 6-hour swim.  This is very handy as it can be used as a channel aspirant's 6-hour qualification swim.  The Cork aspirants had already done our qualification swims last month, and coach Eilís wanted us to do more.  I had done 6 hours in my wetsuit in May and was planning on a challenging 8-hour swim this time, but coach said no.  I was doing 10 hours. Right..gulp!

The walk to the 1st corner, tide out

For once the weather was actually quiet nice for a long swim, and actually got sunnier as the day went on.  The Cork aspirants started at 7am, preparing feeds, and moving them onto the island.  And then off we went, around the island, swim swim swim.  Neither the water nor the air temperature were particularly warm.  I was glad I was in a wetsuit and felt sorry for the others in togs.  After an hour the rest of the Distance Camp swimmers arrived and suddenly there were loads of people in the water.

Feeds ready to go

At each lap of the island I swam to shore to get a feed of Maxim carb drink from Riana, and each time the water level was lower and lower as the tide went out.  More rocks appeared in view,  liberated from the sea, and it eventually required a walk of 20m to get to water deep enough to start a new lap.  Feeds involved opening my mouth and throwing back 300ml of fluid as fast as possible, then moving on, practicing to keep going all the time.
 

Swimming in for a feed

What did I do for all that time in the water?  Laps and more laps of the island - 7, 8, 9, 10.  Looking at the waves.  Looking at the goats.  Looking at the trees that aren't there.  Listing all the houses I ever lived in.  God, how long more to go?  This would drive you mad!  Then Ned wanted us all to stay inside the island, so I swam down the creek and did a lap of the yacht 'Aikido' moored there - one lap, two laps, three. Time passed. Verrrrrry slowly. And people finished up one by one, and I met fewer swimmers in the water.  Cars at the slip disappeared over the hill and around the corner - gone.  The helpers on the island also became fewer and eventually got in a boat and left!  Another lap of the island.  My arms complained and demanded to stop, and by hour 9 I was done.  This of course was too late to drop out though, and with the help of Riana and Liam swimming with me I plodded through the last hour to finish with the only other two people in the water, Lisa and Carmel.  A 10 hour swim - there's something I don't do too often (TG).