An Auspicious afternoon

After quite a pleasant morning a number of dark clouds dominated the skyline as I was preparing to cycle down to the beach hut to make the 3.15pm high tide. Just before I left we were treated to a squally downpour, which was just being to dribble down to nothing as I arrived around 3pm. Then as a looked along the coastline an impressive rainbow appeared. Rainbows in Buddhism are considered to be highly auspicious, so I was delighted that it was still in the sky as I descended into the water for my third swim of this winter’s campaign.

I was joined by my intrepid friend Sagaradevi, another ordained Buddhist from the Triratna Buddhist Order and a regular companion during my winter swims. We both agreed afterwards that the temperature felt nearer to 11 degrees than the 12.3 I had recorded. The South Westerly wind made the water quite lively and as usual meant that swimming in one direction was more challenging as the waves crashed straight into our faces. Nevertheless I managed another 750m, which I was pleased about, bringing the total so far to 2000m. Just another 1000m to go and the November target will have been reached. I don’t stop at that point until the next month as the gradual acclimatisation of the dropping water temperature is pretty important. I do have a number of short retreats during the five months and combined with the darker mornings and evenings will mean I will be absent from the water for a few days at a time, which always makes the next swim extra fun!

I was gifted another donation from a lovely couple of fellow water enthusiasts and beach hut owners, Barbara and Hugh. Many thanks for your generosity.