The Group
Setting off with Helvelyn behind
Seamus, Brendan and Miriam at the finishUllswater Swim 28th August 2011. Raising money for ‘Help the Heros’
Simon Hearnshaw organised this epic event. Over the past 4 years we have been organising at least one swim adventure doing some fund raising, Humber Bridge swim, Humber estuary swim and last year 5 of us went to swim Ullswater in the Lake District. Why Ullswater? Well it is the nearest to Hull, it is 7 miles long and we learnt last year that the logistics of a sea swim and a lake swim are incomparable. We did that in perfect conditions and Simon decided to go for a bigger event this year. More people, raise money and perhaps even do 2 lengths. The club was a good platform and several members joined in. There were also people from further afield. Training started in earnest at Billabong a few months before and we built it up to 10 laps/20 lengths (about 5 miles) by late August.
The swim was set for August 28th and over 30 folk gathered at the Youth Hostel in Glenridding. Altogether we had about 23 swimmers, 6 kayaks/canoes and a boat. The start was at the Glenridding beach area at 09.00. The water was 16oC and the wind blowing NW forecast to pick-up midday. Chris Wilson deserves special mention. He was the first in, having decided to split into slow to fast and start in that order. He was NOT wearing a wetsuit and forged the way with the lead kayak. Other groups soon followed (no excuses now). Mostly groups formed in the water and as the weather deteriorated it was clear that everyone was digging deep and that if you wanted to access a kayak (with drinks) then sticking together was important. Next special mention was for the kayakers- without them this would not have been possible and they had to work very hard in the windy conditions. Miriam and Brendan paired –up in an open kayak and had to work hard all day to stay afloat. Although they couldn’t paddle up wind they gave us essential support. After we made it to the far end 2 men took the kayak and managed to capsize it. So well done Mim and Brendan. At one point Dave Walker’s friend (is he still?) capsized the club kayak and needed to be rescued while a swimmer retrieved the kayak which was blowing away (I’m sure it was supposed to work the other way round!).
Back to the swimming. In the deep water the wind whipped up the waves which created a kind of body surfing effect. This helped a bit but made breathing and navigating hard. Oddly the fast group (with Seamus) swam to avoid the wind and some of the medium speed swimmers (my group) went past them. It was tough knowing who was who. To add to that we all had yellow, ‘Help the Heros’ swim hats! We got passed Howtown and just over halfway in about 1hr 45mins. Good going. The fast group moved ahead now which was when we started thinking the end was in sight but as is so often true the race was only just beginning! We were in a much shallower part of the lake and waves became chaotic. Sickness became a problem and breathing was hard. At least 50% of breath attempts ended in a drink. Most of us (not Mike- give me 2 gels and I’ll be right- Beadle) stayed with their kayak buddies. We now had to negotiate the annual Burkit Sailing Regatta. Mostly we had to switch sides of the lake. My group strayed causing one yacht to capsize and another with spinnaker in full bloom to miss a swimmer by 2 metres. The sailors were so worried that Mike might damage a boat they sent him his own escort. The rest of us struggled through. Once past that it was plain sailing! Identifying the final beach to land on caused some confusion and the rocks we had to walk out on were very slippery. We slithered out like Golem to a welcome committee and suddenly realized how cold we were. The beach was in the wind where all but 2 starters arrived, including Chris in 4hrs 40mins. Ed Brownlee (only 15 yrs old) was amongst the first swimmers and his better known brother Alistair cycled from Yorkshire to meet us at Pooley Bridge. However the wind had slowed him down so we had all left in the vans before he made it.
Simon hadn’t had enough so after a cup of coffee he dived back in to swim back followed by 3 men in a boat against wind and wave. Mark Padley hitched a lift and joined Simon on the opposite bank. We lost contact at this time and after loading the gear drove back to Glenridding with binoculars waiting to see who would emerge. First sight was the speed boat towing the kayak. Simon and Mark had made a brave effort for over 1 hour but were beaten by the wind and waves. They climbed into the boat but the kayak sank and resulted in all parties, with and without wetsuits, back in the water and gear everywhere. During the rescue Mark broke a rib but finally the cold wet, troopers limped home. The day was done. Everyone had done really well and had a tale to tell. These tales, I might add, were well aired as the Barracudas drank the bar dry back at the Youth Hostel. Now that is a first!
From all the swimmers, our sincere thanks to those that travelled to Ullswater and gave up their day to support us on and off the water. It was a tough day for them. Thanks to Ian Fraser for the transit van. Thanks to Simon we also raised over £2,000 for Help the Heros.
Simon Hearnshaw organised this epic event. Over the past 4 years we have been organising at least one swim adventure doing some fund raising, Humber Bridge swim, Humber estuary swim and last year 5 of us went to swim Ullswater in the Lake District. Why Ullswater? Well it is the nearest to Hull, it is 7 miles long and we learnt last year that the logistics of a sea swim and a lake swim are incomparable. We did that in perfect conditions and Simon decided to go for a bigger event this year. More people, raise money and perhaps even do 2 lengths. The club was a good platform and several members joined in. There were also people from further afield. Training started in earnest at Billabong a few months before and we built it up to 10 laps/20 lengths (about 5 miles) by late August.
The swim was set for August 28th and over 30 folk gathered at the Youth Hostel in Glenridding. Altogether we had about 23 swimmers, 6 kayaks/canoes and a boat. The start was at the Glenridding beach area at 09.00. The water was 16oC and the wind blowing NW forecast to pick-up midday. Chris Wilson deserves special mention. He was the first in, having decided to split into slow to fast and start in that order. He was NOT wearing a wetsuit and forged the way with the lead kayak. Other groups soon followed (no excuses now). Mostly groups formed in the water and as the weather deteriorated it was clear that everyone was digging deep and that if you wanted to access a kayak (with drinks) then sticking together was important. Next special mention was for the kayakers- without them this would not have been possible and they had to work very hard in the windy conditions. Miriam and Brendan paired –up in an open kayak and had to work hard all day to stay afloat. Although they couldn’t paddle up wind they gave us essential support. After we made it to the far end 2 men took the kayak and managed to capsize it. So well done Mim and Brendan. At one point Dave Walker’s friend (is he still?) capsized the club kayak and needed to be rescued while a swimmer retrieved the kayak which was blowing away (I’m sure it was supposed to work the other way round!).
Back to the swimming. In the deep water the wind whipped up the waves which created a kind of body surfing effect. This helped a bit but made breathing and navigating hard. Oddly the fast group (with Seamus) swam to avoid the wind and some of the medium speed swimmers (my group) went past them. It was tough knowing who was who. To add to that we all had yellow, ‘Help the Heros’ swim hats! We got passed Howtown and just over halfway in about 1hr 45mins. Good going. The fast group moved ahead now which was when we started thinking the end was in sight but as is so often true the race was only just beginning! We were in a much shallower part of the lake and waves became chaotic. Sickness became a problem and breathing was hard. At least 50% of breath attempts ended in a drink. Most of us (not Mike- give me 2 gels and I’ll be right- Beadle) stayed with their kayak buddies. We now had to negotiate the annual Burkit Sailing Regatta. Mostly we had to switch sides of the lake. My group strayed causing one yacht to capsize and another with spinnaker in full bloom to miss a swimmer by 2 metres. The sailors were so worried that Mike might damage a boat they sent him his own escort. The rest of us struggled through. Once past that it was plain sailing! Identifying the final beach to land on caused some confusion and the rocks we had to walk out on were very slippery. We slithered out like Golem to a welcome committee and suddenly realized how cold we were. The beach was in the wind where all but 2 starters arrived, including Chris in 4hrs 40mins. Ed Brownlee (only 15 yrs old) was amongst the first swimmers and his better known brother Alistair cycled from Yorkshire to meet us at Pooley Bridge. However the wind had slowed him down so we had all left in the vans before he made it.
Simon hadn’t had enough so after a cup of coffee he dived back in to swim back followed by 3 men in a boat against wind and wave. Mark Padley hitched a lift and joined Simon on the opposite bank. We lost contact at this time and after loading the gear drove back to Glenridding with binoculars waiting to see who would emerge. First sight was the speed boat towing the kayak. Simon and Mark had made a brave effort for over 1 hour but were beaten by the wind and waves. They climbed into the boat but the kayak sank and resulted in all parties, with and without wetsuits, back in the water and gear everywhere. During the rescue Mark broke a rib but finally the cold wet, troopers limped home. The day was done. Everyone had done really well and had a tale to tell. These tales, I might add, were well aired as the Barracudas drank the bar dry back at the Youth Hostel. Now that is a first!
From all the swimmers, our sincere thanks to those that travelled to Ullswater and gave up their day to support us on and off the water. It was a tough day for them. Thanks to Ian Fraser for the transit van. Thanks to Simon we also raised over £2,000 for Help the Heros.
