I love a North-North-Westerly breeze

Swimming in the sea is great. One of its best qualities is that it serves as a constant reminder of the ever changing nature of…..well, everything. One of those variables is of course the wind, which makes a real difference when sea swimming. I’m pretty familiar with the general pattern of currents and tides, however these also don’t follow absolute patterns. Sometimes these change with no prior indications, which is what makes swimming off the coast such an exciting activity.

Today we had a nice 13mph breeze from a north-north-westerly direction, which is definitely my favourite. The beach huts create a natural barrier from the wind when it comes from this direction, which normally results in delightful ripples rather than full on waves.

The tides will be moving into darkness territory again, so I will be taking another ‘enforced’ break although I hope to slip in another swim on 31st just to warm up for the start of February, which in previous years I have found to be the toughest month.

I also wanted to say a big thanks to all those who have put donations in my converted celebrations box for the Hospice. This week this totalled £26 - so many thanks for that generosity.