The Ministry of Chafing and Caramelized Onion Dip.
Open water swimmers are a different breed. We put up with some things that others would just refuse to. Some of those things are ailments that are particular to swimming in open water. I’ve listed a few of them here:
Salt belly (this results when you take a gulp of seawater while swimming)
Pond belly (often caused by the critters living in said pond)
Pond itch (source usually unknown)
Pit chafing (happens more in saltwater, caused by skin rubbing on skin or wetsuit)
Neck chafing
Sunburn
Salt mouth
Bad shoulder
Foot cramp
Sea lice
Duck itch (an actual disease, caused by a parasite that lives in snails and ducks)
Jellyfish sting
Water up nose
Seasick
Sand in suit
Hit by other swimmer (sometimes you get a mean left hook to the temple)
Ice cream headache (extremely cold water does this)
Pruny fingers
Cap forehead tan
Goggle eye tan
White Speedo (the lack of a tan under your swimsuit)
Salt hair
Fire coral
Clamshell cuts on feet
Aside from the maladies, one of the most exciting things about open water swimming is that it’s not entirely predictable. This, of course, is due to the weather, the ocean, and the creatures that inhabit it. You just never know what you’re gonna get. The key is to stay open to what is offered and adapt.
This morning’s swim was one we call Two Wreck, as there are the wrecks of two different ships along the route. We did a live drop - engines running, we waited for the signal from Zack and jumped in once the propellers weren’t turning. The 1st mile of our swim was downwind, and a big school of jacks swam along with us. We paused at the first shipwreck, a big rusty thing that screams “don’t forget your tetanus shot”. These are modern wrecks, lots of steel and machinery lying on the ocean floor, with the bulk of what’s left out of the water and up against the shore. After a winter of swimming in a pool with only hairballs and bandaids to break up the monotony, I welcome any shipwreck.
Captain Richie had anchored the boat near the second wreck, but most of us swam right past our yacht and along the coast into another little bay. This is the one where I saw a conch midden last year (basically a pile of shells accumulated over a long period of time, often by indigenous peoples), and subsequently contacted an archaeologist who has been working on the island. She didn’t know of any conch midden in this location and asked if I saw anything besides conch shells within the midden, like pottery sherds, which I had not. I promised to check again so here I was a year later, examining the contents of a shell midden as my guests and fellow guides mostly waited patiently (mostly…HP). Alas, I saw nothing but shells and rocks, so it could be a more modern midden.
We swam toward the next point, only 200 yards away, which is the southernmost end of the island of Carriacou. We were there in an instant. Like, world record pace. Ruh roh. We turned around to swim back and were facing a stiff current. Like the kind where you do 4 strokes and move an inch forward, then pause for a second, and get swept backwards 10 feet. This is a time when, as a guide, you stay calm, make a plan, and give clear instructions, but it all has to be done in a few seconds. I was back with guests Kevin and Jane, who were struggling to make progress. I asked them to swim for 5 minutes. They dug in, heads down, and gutted out 50 yards, then 100, then back into still water, meeting the rest of our guides and guests, who had just done the same. We went through the whole thing one more time on our way back to the yacht, but it wasn’t quite as severe this time. Everyone made it aboard, all of us impressed with the effort.
On deck, everyone was tired, exhilarated and happy to not be swimming for a little while. Chef Ali had made crepes, and the guests dug into them as hard as they did into the current. Zack yanked the hook, and we set sail for Isle de Ronde, downwind. We bobbed in the big swell around Diamond Island, a wild, windy place with a lot of seabirds.
The afternoon sun beat down on the stern, so we chased the shadows around the boat, took naps, did some reading. Pesto pasta and salmon burgers for lunch fit the bill. Our afternoon swim was not a swim at all. John and I had a stroke video carnival, which he called Drillapelouza while Heather did her famous swimmer portraits. In a delightful turn, she’s posting some outtakes from her sessions here (Final portraits on tomorrow’s blog, promise! - HP).
Underwater portrait day! Saving the best ones for our slideshow and final blog post tomorrow, but here are some goofy outtakes….!
The sun got low and swimmers trickled aboard and before I knew it, everyone had a margarita in their hand and were eating chips with homemade onion dip. Don’t fill up too much, everyone - spicy Grenadian chicken or veggie roti for dinner! Whoopsy daisy, still have room for delicious chocolate cake?!
I did.
A soft pink haze filled the bay at sunset tonight. Our last night out at sea. A full day of swimming will fill Friday before we return to port. Where has the week gone?
Hopper