Weekly Review

NB Please scroll to the bottom for a selection of the photos taken

One of the many things that I like about the Class of 22 is just how welcoming and inclusive you are. Each week we see new faces and I love the cheers that we get when I ask who is new in the briefing.

The team work is impressive too. Swimmers helping each other through previously perceived barriers. This weekend we also saw swimmers helping out at feeds once their swims were done - teamwork really does make the dream work.

As for the flashmob celebratory arches, that has to be one of the nicest parts of the weekend and so well deserved. Thank you to the swimmers who stay behind to make this so special for those still in the water.

We really are very lucky that we are able to train in a harbour and that we are protected from the worst of the weather when the wind is from the north. Saturday was very breezy indeed with very challenging conditions at the beach end of the harbour and the quieter water by the ferry wall - the opposite way round to the way we’d normally expect to see the conditions. Despite the conditions you took to the water with enthusiasm and put in some great training swims.

Sunday was a lot calmer, there was a met office weather warning for for thunderstorms across most of the south of the country. Fortunately, Dover had its storm overnight (and it was spectacular). We remained on alert though. Again the day saw examples of team work and big training swims.

Shout outs

Training

Congratulations to:

Andie for her back to back 6 hour swims
Johnny for his 7 & 4 hour swim
Hayley for her 7 hour swim
Mark, Julie and Elizabeth for their 6 hour swims
For all the relay qualifiers

Big Day

Congratulations to

Paule Kremer for her successful cap to cap swim on 30th May and for her valiant attempt to complete the two-way challenge.
Jane Melita Langrick Bell for her successful Windermere swim on 1st June. This marks Jane’s 6th successful windermere swim.

Swim stats

Note: Water temperature taken during the swim session in the harbour. Air temperature, wind direction & wind speed taken from the Port of Dover app.

Saturday:

Swimmers: 38
Water temperature: 14.9C
Air temperature: 13.7C
Conditions: F7 gusting F8 NE. White horses through much of the harbour. Rolling waves. Partly cloudy.

Sunday:

Swimmers: 25
Water temperature: 15.1C
Air temperature: 14.8C
Conditions: F3 N. Flat water. Low cloud with flat light.

Volunteers & beach crew

Thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend - either a little or a lot. Thank you to Mandi and to Richard who were on the rota. Congratulations to Harry for your 5th session of volunteering. Thank you to Vikki, Halani, Mel, Donna and Amanda for helping out at feeds.

If you want to join the fun, why not pick a date and join the fun on the beach!

The adventures of Dover Dave

Dave continues to live his best life! He had a fantastic week with Adele and all her daughter. This week she’s with Vikki and enjoying Dover for the intensity week.

If you’d like to host Dave for a week, please let us know on the beach. We’d love to see a photo diary of Dave’s summer in our Facebook Group.

Paddlefish Ponderings - We have two choices

“Take one step in the direction of your dreams and watch the Universe perform miracles to help you.”

— Alexandra Domelle

I’ve faced demons too - this is a reflection of the worst demon attack that I’ve experienced.

You’re better than you think

When you train with a large group of like minded people, this crazy sport that we do becomes normal. Back in the real world, it’s not ‘normal’ to swim for 1.5 hours come out and put winter layers on in summer, shiver for a while and then do it all again!. It’s not normal to swim for long periods of time in cold water enjoying a small cup of a warm drink as fast as you can, exactly on the hour every hour (after 2 hours).

We don’t tend to compare ourselves to those people who don’t think what we do is normal.

Even tougher than that and many people look at other swimmers and compare that person’s best attributes with the thing that they find hardest. We seem to ignore our strengths and take them for granted.

Our role on the beach is to get you ready for your big day. That generally involves helping you move outside of your comfort zone and that is, by definition, uncomfortable.

Sometimes that discomfort can lead a swimmer to think that they can’t do what is asked of them. Those pesky demons whisper their mean words and cause us to doubt ourselves. They know just which buttons to press. The reason for that is those demons are a part of you, the part of you that has fears. The part of you that wants to keep you safe. That part of you is often overly cautious and can have a ‘moment’ when something new is experienced.

So why am I sharing this? We’ll I’d like to explain one of the key roles of the beach crew. When someone approaches the beach to get out early, we have two choices:

Help you get out
Help you stay in

In the few moments that we first talk we aim to establish which is the right assistance in that moment. Are you really cold? Do you have an injury where stopping is the right answer? Is there some serious medical issue occurring? Or are you facing demons?

If it’s demons, we’ll help you work through the moment as that moment will pass and your comfort zone will increase with your achievement.

If it’s a reason where you really should get out, we’ll help you out (even if you’d rather stay in - it works both ways)

We can only provide the right help if you talk to us. So please do help us to help you. Tell us what’s going on in your head. Be aware though, we recognise demons. We’ve heard pretty much every excuse in the book and we’ll call them out! You may not recognise them as demons, so we can help you there.

If we are working to help you stay in the water, know that we believe that you are capable. We’ve already made that assessment. If you aren’t able to believe in yourself you, that time will come. In the meantime, borrow our belief in you until you can find your own.

Remember - you are better than you think.

Reminders

Remember to book your sessions online. By far the easiest way is through the app. This QR will take you to the app where you can book directly and see what you have already booked. You can cancel and reschedule.

Bookings can be made up to 48 hours ahead and be cancelled or rescheduled up to 48 hours ahead also. The system doesn’t arrange automatic refunds, so if you would like a refund, please check out our refund policy and get in touch if you would like a refund.

Those of you with training subscriptions, enter your email address and click in the discount code box and your automatic voucher should appear. Let me know if you have any trouble with this.

Those of you who are members, please remember to cancel your membership when you no longer want it. You can do that within a membership period and still have all the benefits of it, this will prevent it from auto renewing next year. You can do this within your account, by following the link in the confirmation email when you took out your membership, or by asking me to do it for you.

Keith Oiller is the Swimmer Liaison officer for the CSA and can often be found on the beach during training. If you are a CSA swimmer or are thinking of booking a CSA swim, Keith would be delighted to chat with you.

Looking ahead

Night swims

We’re offering one more night swim opportunity this season.

Early start on Saturday 11th June: this is an opportunity for a long swim (maximum of 6 hours) swimming from the dark into daylight

You’ll need to wear two green adventure lights.

As we are not able to assess new swimmers in the dark, we do not accept new (to us) swimmers on these swims.

On these swims, during the hours of darkness, we will have additional safety measures in place with a restricted swim zone. This will be explained during the mandatory briefing.

Spotlight in the shop

Did you know that we have a range of clothing? Take a look at the options…..

All our products are available on the website for postage (though given we’re in Dover for our intensity week, the next time products will be posted is Monday 13th June) or collection from the beach. We also have most of the range available to purchase by card from the beach.