The tides of March

Swims, skulls and shipwrecks.

Study and work are keeping me busy so this newsletter will become a bit more sporadic and infrequent, but hopefully still ticking!

I love swimming in March. The sun is still warm but the light changes subtly as we edge toward the end of Daylight Savings. Evenings have a slightly pastel hue. I had about five swims last week, all at my closest beach, which gets more late-day sun than the east-facing bays and with Phase 3 of Covid I think I’m subconsciously sticking closer to home, even for outdoor swims. They were lovely, low-maintenance swims and low-stress, which is exactly what I need right now.

Latest purchase: Neoprene skull cap

I’ve had people recommending neoprene caps to me for a while, so I finally bought one. It’s autumn now and I want to be able to keep putting my head under the water without getting brain freeze.

The Blueseventy one isn’t cheap – $75 – but I figure if I’m using it from autumn to spring, several times a week, then it’s worth it. And I want to protect my head and ears.

Last week I took it for a spin. I bought the Small size and it fits well. There’s a black neoprene exterior, cosy lining, and an adjustable velcro chin strap so it’s easy to take off (important with cold, numb fingers in winter). A quick glance in the mirror reminded me of Offred from The Handmaid’s Tale, or one of those bonnet-wearing girls from Gloriavale, but it’s not about aesthetics!

In the water, it kept my head toasty warm. The cap covers my ears which is good for not getting water in them when I’m turning side to side, but does mean that things are muffled. Not completely, but while swimming it sounded more like I was diving deep underwater rather than swimming near shore, and it also felt a little spongy on my head. But I’ll get used to that.

I wonder if I’m being a bit soft and whether I really needed to accrue yet another swim-related item. But I get the feeling I’ll be using it a lot; I’m really enjoying my sea swims and it’s taken a lot of work and practice for me to get to the stage of comfortably swimming front crawl, even if it’s still short distances (500-700m). This way I can keep putting my head under the water, I can swim faster, and have more endorphins from burning more energy.

(Re the name ‘skull cap’, does anyone else feel squeamish about the word ‘skull’? I prefer ‘head’. I don’t like being reminded that I am a walking collection of bones.)

P.S. Did you know a young Kiwi named Caitlin O’Reilly swam TWO LENGTHS of Lake Taupō on Sunday 6 March – that’s 82km straight in 28 hours! (She is all of 17.)

P.P.S. This is not about swimming, but in exciting maritime news the Endurance wreck was located last week, 3km keep in the Weddell Sea, and some photos were taken. I’m pleased that the wreck won’t be disturbed. I’ve also been very interested to learn about the deep-water creatures that have moved in.