Week 2 - A Royally short weekend
Week 2 in review
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: none - Coronation Day!
Water temperature:
Air temperature:
Conditions:
Sunday:
Swimmers: 28
Water temperature: 11.7C
Air temperature: 15.5C
Conditions: F1W. Flat water, weather ranging from flat cloud, sunny, slight breeze, seamist, all of the above in quick rotation
Channel Swimmer on the beach!
This part of the blog normally starts much further into the season, however this week we were able to congratulation Mel Holland for her Australian triple crown! How impressive to have already completed 3 big swims before the training season even starts!
Shout outs to
Soloists
Jon S and Lucy AP completed a 3hr swim.
Chris R 1.5hrs
Nicolie C 1.25hrs
Everyone either met or exceeded their expectations and time sets. Well done to all of you 👏👏👏.
Relay
Sahishnu J and Luis C both completed 2 x 45mins swim which was above what had been set.
Team work
The Class of 2023 started today by welcoming new and experienced swimmers and worked together to get everyone in on the first swim with lots of positive encouragement from the shore and in the water.
It has been noted by members of the beach crew and Dover Dave who cheekily said that the crock throwing skills of some swimmers definitely need some additional work.
There was prompt changing between and after swims, with swimmers checking on each other to ensure wooly hats and warm clothes were in place quickly.
A couple of little reminders
please make sure that clothes are roomy and easy to put on with minimal zips, ties and buckles.
post swim drinks have lids, it saves you sucking your hot drink out of the sleeves of your coats and sweaters!
swimming in the sea takes time to get used to distances and speed. Please allow a little more time than you think to get back to us on the beach. There were quite a lot of self administered extra minutes today!
Red hats for soloists and yellow for relay swimmers are both available from the shop and on the beach. Please make sure you have one ready for your next session.
Thank you!
Thank you to the following volunteers who were on the rota for the weekend:
Level 1: Mandi B
Level 2: Hayley B; Peter W
Level 3: Phil C; Fiona M
If you would like to find out more, visit our volunteers page.
Thank you also for the very much appreciated, yummy, post swim homemade flapjack courtesy of Amanda B.
Thank you to Keith Oillier, CSA swimmer liaison who is always quick to help.
It was also lovely to see Eric (Pathfinder pilot) who came along to say hello and chat to the swimmers.
Thank you all for a fabulous weekend.
Dover Dave
Dover Dave was lovingly created by Amanda B. He was a firm feature with the Class of 2022. He was a bit of a cheeky chappy, perhaps he’s reflected on his behaviour over the winter. Amanda tells us that he certainly wasn’t stuffed that way! Anyway, we’re about to find out. Dover Dave is spending the week with Mark K. Good luck Mark!!
Paddlefish Ponderings
I saw this graphic a few years ago and I think it sums up the moods that we can all go through. Which step are you on? You have an incredible adventure ahead of you. A journey like that can mean you move up and down the stairs, sometimes multiple times within a week (or even on a day).
Wherever you are, meet yourself there. All too often we beat ourselves up to be better, train for longer, be faster, fitter or whatever characteristic you use to compare yourself to others with.
There are definitely times to push through the comfortable and into the (currently) unknown. Over time the unknown will become the known. The unfamiliar will become the familiar. This is the process.
There are also times to listen to that small voice that may tell you to slow down or stop. These are the subtle signs of over training. Catch them early and it’s no big deal. Push on too soon and for too long and the small voice becomes louder and you become prone to illness & injury. It’s a fine line.
If you use a Garmin (or other brand) watch when you train, during the day and when you sleep, you have an incredible insight into your health & fitness if you know how to read it. It’s worth learning what normal looks like for you. In my experience, the watches can be very accurate and pick up on small signs before you are consciously aware. Allow yourself to be guided and you’ll be able to navigate the path to maximise your performance, building in phases of building and recovery.
If you don’t have a smart watch, some common signs to look out for when it comes to over training are:
Sleep quality
How much you are looking forward to your training
Optimism about your training and event
Energy levels
Appetite
Muscle soreness
Other things to bear in mind include:
Stress in work and life in general
Injuries
Menstrual cycle (one for the ladies)
We have the ability to train ourselves to push through things that other people just don’t have the capacity to do. Sometimes this can lead to ignoring these signs. Knowing when to push on and when to allow time to recover and adapt is the key. If you are ever in doubt, please ask on the beach or the community call. We’ll help you work it out.
Training with DCT
We cater for swimmers who want to train with us a little or a lot. The steps that you need to follow are:
Sign the annual disclaimer
Decide your training package
Solo or relay
Pay as you go; block of 10 sessions; season ticket
Book training - this is done from within the membership system (which you log into when you become a member)
Enjoy training with a great group of swimmers
If you have questions, please use one of the contact methods below or get in touch with our membership lead.
Getting support from DCT
We have an extremely large community and a small leadership team. We are here to help you and we need your support to ensure that help is effective. These are the ways in which we are set up to provide support:
Leadership led
On the beach after training
Weekly community call. This runs on a Monday evening from January to September and is hosted by a member of the leadership team. We've set this time aside for you. You can find details of these call within the membership area and within the booking system.
Community led with leadership participation
WhatsApp groups these are now open to all members and you’ll find details of how to join one or more of the groups within the membership area
Social media channels. You’ll find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Given our other professional and family responsibilities, we’re not able to offer individual responses to general enquiries via email, messenger, text etc. Requests that aren’t relevant for one of the methods above can be directed here. Emma currently receives a large volume of ad-hoc requests that would be best directed to the sources above or to a more appropriate team member. Emma’s corporate role means that she’s not able to reply to all the requests in a timely manner (or at all really). Should you decide to message Emma rather than the preferred routes, please expect to be redirected to a more appropriate source of support.
Join the team
Leadership team
We’re expanding our team with a few new roles:
Marketing & Communications Lead
Website Manager
Retail / Procurement Lead
If you’re interested in joining the team, please contact Emma or another member of the leadership team to find out more.
Volunteer Beach Crew
If you’re interested in helping out on the beach from time to time, you can find out more on our dedicated volunteers page on the website.
We all have differing levels of available time and experience and we believe there is a level for you if you are interested in joining the team.
If you’re interested in volunteering your time & experience, please get in touch with our volunteers lead.
Looking ahead
Cancelled sessions
No further planned cancellations.
On Tour
Once a month we will be On Tour on on a Saturday:
Saturday 20th May
Saturday 17th June
Saturday 15th July
Saturday 19th August
Saturday 16th September
The location will either be Hythe or Ramsgate, depending on the weather forecast. The final decision will be made on the Thursday evening before this swim. These sessions are shown as ‘On Tour’ in the booking system, they are considered ‘standard’ training sessions and are included in training packages.
Night swims
We’re offering two night swim opportunities this season.
Late start on Friday 26th May: this is an opportunity for a short swim (maximum 1 hour) late on a Friday evening. Training on the Saturday remains as normal.
Early start on Saturday 10th June: this is an opportunity for a long swim (maximum of 6 hours) swimming from the dark into daylight
On both of these swims 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. If you want to join us for one of these night swims, you’ll need to join us before as well.
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.
Intensity week
Back by popular demand, we have our mid-season intensity week. If you’re looking for a fun environment to get a solid block of training in, why not come along and join in. We’ll be blending some long swims with some creative ways of training at a variety of intensity levels.
Spotlight in the shop
Earplugs are one of the simplest pieces of kit that we have and they make a massive difference. They range from very simple (silicone that you can shape yourself) to custom made. Custom made earplugs can be sourced from a variety of places including places like Specsavers. We sell a variety of standard earplugs too.
Photos
A few photos from the weekend….
Reminders
Remember to book your sessions online. Bookings close 48 hours ahead. Any bookings after that will need support and that comes with a £5 admin fee.
Bookings can be cancelled or rescheduled up to 48 hours ahead. 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.
Please remember to cancel your membership when you no longer want it.