Full Moon Swim in the Lizard

2023 saw us take on a new swim. A night time, full moon swim. We picked Trevassack Lake, as it has high walls for shelter, great facilities and uninterrupted views of the moon and stars.

We offered 2 groups, at 6.30 and 7.30pm. The 6.30pm group had far more ambient light and witnessed the moon rising over the far cliffs and into the night sky. The later group experienced ‘proper’ dark and the moon and stars high in the sky.

The forecast was quite harsh, with 35kmph winds, with the odd wind gust. We picked the lake as it offers great protection from the wind and it delivered. We made slight adjustments to our original plan and used the west side of the lake and cliffs as protection from the wind. The swimmers experienced little to no chop at all. The water was also 15.5 degrees. It was warmer in the water than out!

Both groups then popped over to the onsite cafe and had a hot vegetable stew and hot drink (the water safety team opted for the hot chocolate!).

We had great feedback from the groups and will look to create a bigger and better event for next year.

*What the video doesn’t show is how stunning the moon looked. Rising on the east side (to the left).

St Mawes Swimming

2023 was a very popular year for Sea Swim Cornwall…so popular in fact, that by July we decided at the last minute to put on an additional swimming holiday in Sept. As we hadn’t done a lot of swimming in the St Mawes / Roseland area…this was the obvious choice.

St Mawes is an ideal location for swimming holidays, as you have multiple sheltered rivers to choose from, as well as coastline facing in every direction. As well as the wind and conditions, the tide also dictates where you might swim…meaning every swimming holiday is different.

This is St Just-in-Roseland and the tidal pool. Great way to start a holiday!

OUR BIGGEST HURDLE

We attract swimmers from far and wide. We’ve had clients from Scotland (taking advantage of Cornwall Airport, Newquay), Manchester, swimmers from Holland, a lady from south Australia…all over the place. As well as accommodating people from various areas of the country and the world, we also accommodate swimmers of varying abilities, experience and speeds. This is also where one of our major hurdles lies.

On a fairly frequent basis we receive emails and phone calls from clients that have booked and are looking to book, regarding the anxiety they are experiencing over swimming in the sea and their suitability to the activity they have booked. This year we have introduced a ‘slow swimming’ holiday and it’s booked up 2-3 times faster than our standard holidays…and I’ll be shocked if half the people that attend the ‘slow swimming’ holiday aren’t perfectly suited to the ‘standard’ version of our swimming holidays.

So…firstly, we’re not really concerned about the pace that people swim. What we are interested in is whether or not you can swim the distances set out in the holiday/event description. What we’ll also point out is that there is no requirement to complete all of the swims over the course of the holiday/event day. Provided you let us know prior to swim starting, there’s obviously no problem with you sitting a swim out. What we’re are also happy to do is put on a shorter distance swim immediately after the scheduled swim finishes. We adopt a very flexible approach.

Secondly, we base all of our swims on the days conditions. So we never approach a swim day (unless it’s a one-off private booking), with a set swim location or series of swim locations. That way, you swim in the safest conditions possible…for both your own safety and enjoyment and there’s no pressure on us to hold a swim in questionable conditions!

Third and final point, as I’ve already mentioned, we approach all of our activities in a flexible manner. If for example, we had a couple of slower swimmers in the group, we simply split up our water safety team and one of the team would hang back.

If you have any questions regarding swim holidays or swimming events feel free to get in touch.

NEW WILD SWIMMING EVENT!

Sun 10 Jul 2022 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

We’re a little shy on short, less serious wild swimming this year. So we created a epic event!

We're putting on 3 delightful wild swims, over the course of the day. You can walk at a leisurely pace but some of the path is slightly off road and uneven. If you're not good on your feet we'd advise you not to attend. You'll need some good walking shoes/boots. We'd recommend a tow float, purely as there are boats in the river (although they shouldn't be anywhere near us) but they are not a requirement. 

Park up at the Bosveal Car Park (National Trust) TR11 5JR and then head down to Grebe Beach...basically walk to the far end of the car park and approx 150m through a small wooded area, you'll then join the road on a big bend to the right. Don't follow the bend and head off down a track to the left...which takes you to Grebe. 

9am - swim off of Grebe Beach, around the corner towards Trebah Beach and back. A leisurely swim, past the stunning Durgan Village of approx 500 - 1500m (we'll split the water safety team if needed and offer 2 different distance routes). 

10am - We'll supply cake, you bring a flask (we'd also suggest you bring a packed lunch, snacks and a drink). 

10.30-11am - approx 1200m walk to the Helford Ferry, which we'll have pre-purchased. Ferry can take 12 people at a time. 

11.15am-ish - walk across to Bosahan Cove, through a beautiful ancient woodland. We'll then swim a circular route, back towards the ferry and sailing club. 

12.00pm - Again, approx 500-1500m at a leisurely pace. 

13.00pm - walk across to Gillan Creek 

14.15pm - circular swim at Gillan Creek, just before high tide (high tide being 14.57). 

15.15pm(ish) - walk back to the ferry and cross

16.30pm(ish) - well offer a quick wild dip at Trebah Beach for any sweaty bodies.  

...back to the cars....or pub.