Ruth's BIG Swim

MONTHLY SWIM STATS:
Last 6 months:

MARCH - 29.6 kms / 13 hrs 20 mins
APRIL - 9.0 kms / 3 hrs 33 mins
MAY - 38.4 kms / 17 hrs 18 mins
JUNE - 58.0 kms / 28 hrs 35 mins
JULY - 57.2 kms / 27 hrs 30 mins
AUGUST - 61.1 kms / 30 hrs 9 mins

A bit of a dip in April due to some personal issues but it shot up from May onwards.

12 months to go...

And this last 6 months total compared to previous 6-month periods starting March 2025 (when I booked the English Channel pilot boat and all this nonsense started!):

MAR 26 - AUG 26 🏊‍♀️ 252.30 kms / 120 hrs 25 mins
SEP 25 - FEB 26 🏊‍♀️ 127.9 kms / 54 hrs 29 mins (Windermere & recovery)
MAR 25 - AUG 25 🏊‍♀️ 157.2 kms / 72 hrs 9 mins

My booked tide is here! Here's hoping for a swim slot soon - all weather dependant. This is how I anticipate it going - follow the story... 😂

🇯🇪🩱🩳🏠🚗🛥🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🌊🪼🥶🛥🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧥🧋🍫☕️🙏🙏🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🌊🤢🪼🇫🇷👏👏👏🚗🏠🛀🌡🧘‍♀️🧁🥂🛌😴

Picked up my relay partner Bryn Dymott, from Jersey airport this afternoon, so the 'Breaststroke Bandits' are ready and waiting. Exciting 😀

Finally made it to Jersey 🇯🇪 . Don't be fooled by the dead flat calm pictures from 7.30am as we rounded Sandbanks and left Poole this morning. It definitely turned a bit grim mid-channel with a side-on swell and a large number of people looking distinctly green and heading for the railings outside 🤢.

Had a calming stroll in the sunshine round St. Helier late this afternoon (and saw this rare Hummingbird Hawk-moth, whose wings beat 80 times a second!), before before heading back to our accommodation, which, as you can see, isn't too shabby 🏰 😃

Today's ferry cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. Always reassuring when the boat can’t cope with the sea you’re planning to swim in. 🤦‍♀️😂🌊

All packed and ready to go. Who knew swimming needed so much kit? Surely you just need a swimsuit 🤷‍♀️

One weekend; two very different swim days!

Watched JAWS last night. Big mistake. Huge.

7 days! Not until the swim, but until the booked tide opens. After that we're a 'Slot 3' which means we'll be called to swim on the 3rd good weather slot within that tide. The tide runs from 3-9 September; if there's no good weather days within those dates, the swim will be pulled and we'll go on a list for the next tide - which at this time of year could mean 2027! As we never know exactly which day we could be swimming, it means everything has to be packed and ready every day. It's an emotional rollercoaster!

10 days until Jersey to France. Just finished my last long swims at Dover this weekend - 5 hours Sat; 4 hours Sun. Feels quite trivial compared to this lady doing 7 hours of butterfly. Felt weary just watching her! Hats off to her.

Prodded a lot of jellyfish bells with my fingertips but no stings this week - phew!

Decided to take my phone for a trip out to get some shots from the water. Have to say it hasn't always been this calm this summer - not by a long shot!

The mixing bowl on the toilet lid making up my 'feed' in my small B&B room early Sun morning is the less glamorous side of endurance swimming; I justify the pizza as needing carbs... and X marks the spot!! 😂