Found in the Waves

24/09/2026

Great swimming, sleeveless wetsuit trials and remaining fear of larvae

This past week has had some wonderful swims with a fun bunch of friends. We had the usual Saturday swim at Shore Road with clear waters, sea bass swimming underneath and no larvae reaction. Phew.

Sunday was a bonus group swim. A lack of chlorine cancelled my coaching session as we arrived at the pool so a quick regroup and we headed to Shore Road for an impromptu sea swim. The Shore Road gang is positive and hugely entertaining and it was great to spend time with them. We even managed a short 30min swim - I felt rather guilty as I should have done a bit more but I thoroughly enjoying sitting and chatting as the more dedicated carried on for the hour. 😁

Then we had Tuesday’s supreme, sublime and totally amazing early morning swim. It was misty as we arrived and the sea was glassy. The sun was just rising above the horizon and was mesmerising as it peered out through the mist. The mist held the sound in such an enchanting way, although the peace was shattered occasionally by e-foilers screaming with joy.

Even better, my new sleeveless wetsuit had arrived and it worked brilliantly. I’d greased up my neck and arms and found the pressure on my chest much reduced. It was fantastic feeling the water on my arms and yet retaining the warmth on my body. I had forgotten that Zone 3 suits tend to be high necked (or longer bodied) so the back zip goes quite high on the back of my neck. It didn’t rub but I was aware of it so will see if I can add another layer of tape at my hair line to ensure it doesn’t steal my focus.

The water temperature was still high so my legs did get a little warm but it was brilliant to feel both cold and hot air as the mist trapped and held pockets of different temperatures.
Lastly, it was dream to get off - less struggling and more smiles. What’s not to like!?

The week was topped off by a fantastic swim from an Out to Swim member. Vicki has already conquered the English Channel and Manhattan and was going for Catalina to get the Triple Crown. What a feat of endurance! I bow down to her perseverance, skill and dedication - she swam a lot of it in the dark and in some tough conditions. Just when she seemed to be needing more fuel to keep going she found her mojo and powered on through strongly to the end. Truly impressive work from Vicki and great support from her team. 🥳 🤩 🌟 🥇 🏊‍♀️

24/09/2026

Misty, calm morning, sleeveless wetsuit joy and remaining fear of larvae

This past week has had some wonderful swims with a fun bunch of friends. We had the usual Saturday swim at Shore Road with clear waters, sea bass swimming underneath and no larvae reaction. Phew.

Sunday was a bonus group swim. A lack of chlorine cancelled the Swimfit session as we arrived at the pool so a quick regroup and we headed to Shore Road for an impromptu sea swim. The Shore Road gang is positive and hugely entertaining and it was great to spend time with them. We even managed a short 30min swim - I felt rather guilty as I should have done a bit more but I thoroughly enjoying sitting and chatting as the more dedicated carried on for the hour.

Then we had Tuesday’s supreme, sublime and totally amazing early morning swim. It was misty as we arrived and the sea was glassy. The sun was just rising above the horizon and was mesmerising as it peered out through the mist. The mist held the sound in such an enchanting way, although the peace was shattered occasionally by e-foilers screaming with joy.

Even better, my new sleeveless wetsuit had arrived and it worked brilliantly. I’d greased up my neck and arms but found the pressure on my chest much reduced. It was fantastic feeling the water on my arms and yet retaining the warmth on my body. I had forgotten that Zone 3 suits tend to be high necked (or longer bodied) so the back zip goes quite high on the back of my neck. It didn’t rub but I was aware of it so will see if I can add another layer of tape at my hair line to ensure it doesn’t steal my focus.

The water temperature was still high so my legs did get a little warm but it was brilliant to feel both cold and hot air as the mist trapped and held pockets of different temperatures.
Lastly, it was dream to get off - less struggling and more smiles. What’s not to like!?

22/09/2026

17/09/2026

The wetsuit tales continue as the larvae reduce.

So it seems that the jellyfish larvae are scattering and there is less discussion about fresh spots. Hard for me to add much to this as I’ve even been standing and walking to coach or swimming with a neoprene cover. Now we’re all just trying to help our bodies heal and remember what clear skin looks like, rather than the blotchy mess we have now. Having said that, I’m guessing they’re now back down to normal levels i.e. it’s not a certainty but it is still possible so do be aware and keep the calamine handy.

I’ve been accepting the benefits of the wetsuit recently and whilst I tried to swim in a wetsuit jacket I realised that it travelled up my body way too much to be suitable for swimming a distance. So it was back to the wetsuit and I enjoyed not getting stung and being warm afterwards - particularly as I was back in the water for some coaching an hour later. I’m still hunting for a sleeveless wetsuit and I believe Zone3 have them back in stock so let’s see what that feels like! One of my clients has one and it’s beautiful - the scars under her arms are not so positive. Where is that tub of lube??��

Swimming has been mixed with some hard work and some swell to handle - not awful but a definitely change of pace from one direction to the other.

It’s definitely getting to the season where I have to study weather patterns and make considered choices as to which sessions can go ahead and which wouldn’t work with the odd wave.

One recent client did an amazing job in some slightly wavy conditions. They wanted to feel more comfortable swimming in open water and so after a discussion decided to give it ago. They did brilliantly - carrying on up and down the swell without concern. We even took a moment to stand and appreciate the joy of being in the sea in the rain - pure delight.

Sometimes when you’re being coached and you’re focusing on the drills or item we’ve discussed you just get on and swim and find yourself taking on so much more than you thought you could. I really love those moments when clients get out feeling achieved and proud of themselves.😁🌊🏊

10/09/2026

What a difference between a wet, grey Tuesday and an etherial Thursday morning. The one consistent thing has been the jellyfish larvae - argggggghhhh. Each time I’ve been swimming, I’ve had a few more ‘stings’.

On Sunday I was so irritated by the stings that I bailed on another dose. The previous Tuesday and Saturday had delivered so many to my torso that I was one blobby, stingy, itchy irritation. However, I still went home from work and celebrated Sunday with a large pancake breakfast though. 😁🥞

By Tuesday I’d convinced myself to be bolder, and I'd missed the sea! So bikini time to try to limit the areas for entrapment. I had a lovely brief swim but still added to the body decoration. It was raining for most of the swim but what’s not to love about the gentle rain tapping on your head! No in water pics though as it’s hard to fight the blobs on the images.

Wednesday was training morning so an hour and a half in the pool to work on my pace. Thursday was a great bonus swim and what a morning. Flat calm seas, a good swim with a challenging swim partner to chase. I did opt for the wetsuit though. I was partly trying to avoid scooping up more larvae but also because I have an event at the end of September where I’ll be wearing the wetsuit.

Whilst the swim was delightful, the wetsuit was not. My wetsuit fits well but I just find them so restrictive. Despite pull it up my arms and loosening it across my chest, I could hear my breathing being squeezed immediately. I had to work to relax into the stroke and expand my chest sufficiently. Once that settled I then started to feel too warm and wanted to hang out in the cold patches! I also love the feel of water when I swim skins and you lose so much of that in a wetsuit. Swimming then becomes much more of a training exercise and less of an all round sensory experience.

However, one thing was awesome. After an hour of swimming I was warm. My hands didn’t go white or lose sensation at all. I didn’t get afterdrop and I didn’t need layers to rewarm. For that, wetsuits, I salute you. Still won’t get me in one often though!

05/09/2026

A week of many weathers, lots of itches and different conditions.

The week started with my beautiful swim Tuesday morning. Then it was off to the pool to teach - a quiet first week but lovely to meet the new classes. Once I got home I found myself itching - checked my skin over and found the telltale signs of jellyfish larvae. They’re distinctive as they don’t usually become itchy immediately but usually after a few hours. They then look a bit like chickenpox, red raised dots in all the areas where your costume was. As such it’s less of an issue for those in speedos or wetsuits but those of us in swimming costumes get the torso itch. The larvae get stuck in your costume and then the nematocysts release their toxin which causes the raised red bumps and then itching.

Advice is to apply topical soothers such as calamine lotion, take painkillers and anti-histamines if appropriate. Apparently some people can feel nauseous and react more, in which case do seek medical advice. Don’t forget to wash your costume too as it can harbour larvae even when dried.

So 4 days later the itching has reduced and it’s all improving. I’m itching now though, writing about it!

I then had a week of intensive lessons for one client who had travelled to the area to get more practice and work on their skills in the sea. As is typical, the week was initially looking super calm and delightful but 24 hours before our first lesson, the wind got up. My client was used to the sea so we had our first session in the gently building waves, getting to know each other and studying her technique. We then had to move to a more sheltered area for the next two lessons and found some lovely calm waters to work on rotation and arm recovery. This morning though the wind had dropped considerably and it was back to Branksome Chine for more work on the pull and rotation.

I even managed a lovely swim with a friend afterwards - now, I am itching again, is it because I’m writing about them or did I scoop up some more this morning!! 😳

01/09/2026

What a beautiful morning!

Calm seas, low tide and easy relaxed swimming. The only downside was the cool air temp. My car showed 12˚C and it meant that after 55 mins my hands were getting cold. With afterdrop they soon went white and my Raynauds had come back after being largely absent all summer. So definitely thinking about layering up again, post swims and making sure I have hot liquids to warm me from the inside.

Now, where are those gloves and hats? 😊

30/08/2026

Now that was fun.

29/08/2026

Such variety from one week!

This week has been a whirlwind of variety. From sunny skies and a gentle gust on Saturday when I was kayaking with a small group to wild seas on Monday and then calm again today with more wild to come tomorrow.

Saturday saw me taking a small group from along the coast towards Alum Chine. These swimmers are usually pool swimmers so it was great to show them the fun of the sea.

Then on Monday daughter and I snuck in an extra swim. She'd come over for a long weekend and we had to find some time to get in the sea. We were hoping for a long calm swim to remind her how wonderful the sea is. The weather thought otherwise and we had a strong wind pushing us around and fabulous waves to play in. So much laughter it was restorative and quite wonderful. The sea however was a bit of a bully - it had beaten up the sea floor so it was soft underfoot and the pull towards Poole was incredible. So much so that we had to keep walking back up the coast and get in again and again to play. With the sea so warm it was hard to leave but mum and Arne was calling so off we went to see the Curlews. 🥰

By midweek the wind had dropped again and coaching was back on. I was working with one client on their technique so that they could join an Open Water swim group. Some Eureka moments that made such a difference to my clients confidence.

Lastly today we had potential troublesome gusts but they didn't materialise so we managed to work on my clients shoulders, focusing on how to change their stroke to take the pressure off the shoulder joint. Great to be back in the 'office'.🏊🌊🌊