I arrived in London last night. It seemed a bit surreal to actually be on my way to swim the Channel. I had a relaxing day today; sleeping in, getting the mobile that I borrowed from a friend back home set up, a quick visit to the British Museum and a workout with the London Otters.
Off to Dover on Wednesday.
28 July 2008
09 July 2008
Nightswimming
A thunderstorm is passing overhead so I have time to write when I should be going to the beach to swim.
Jen and I went for an evening swim at Nantasket beach on Monday. The water was fairly warm, maybe in the mid 60s and the air was hot and sticky. It felt good to get in for a swim. It 8:45pm when we finally got in. There was still light in the sky as we swam for the house with the red roof.
It was low tide so we were only swimming in a few feet of water. Sometimes my hand would hit the bottom because there wasn't enough light to judge the depth. I could barely make out the dark clumps of seaweed and the white clam shells. During the day I see the bottom clearly enough to tell the difference between a clam and a snail. At dusk, it was all spooky shadows. I tend to close my eyes when I can see the bottom so I did to stop spooking myself.
After 25 minutes, Jen and I stopped and looked around. We could see Boston Light ahead of us, Graves Light a little more to the east. When we turned around Minot's Light shined behind us. It was getting late so we decided to turn around and swim back. It had gotten dark. We couldn't make out the shore as well so we aimed for the double bright lights near the bathhouse.
This time we were in deeper water where we couldn't touch the bottom. I could barely see my forearms, but not my hands in front of me. The shadows of the bottom didn't spook me in the deeper water so I settled into my stroke. When I breathed to my left, I was looking out into the Atlantic. I could see a green bouy and some ship lights occassionally. I watched the planes circling overhead. WHen I breathed to my right I saw the house and street lights in Hull. An ambulance passed. I looked at the waning moon over my shoulder. I watched a bright red light for awhile and wondered what it was. It wasn't until it turned green that I realized it was a street light. Street lights look strange from the water. I counted my strokes; 15 strokes for the green, 35 for the red. Yes, the red lights are longer.
As Jen and I got closer to the bathhouse, I started to notice something in the water. It looked like light reflecting in the water. I watched the bubbles coming off of my hands. I was seeing sparks and I realized it was bioluminescence. I stopped and Jen said she saw the same thing.
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse
Still, it's so much clearer
I forgot my shirt at the water's edge
The moon is low tonight
--REM, "Automatic for the People," 1993
Jen and I went for an evening swim at Nantasket beach on Monday. The water was fairly warm, maybe in the mid 60s and the air was hot and sticky. It felt good to get in for a swim. It 8:45pm when we finally got in. There was still light in the sky as we swam for the house with the red roof.
It was low tide so we were only swimming in a few feet of water. Sometimes my hand would hit the bottom because there wasn't enough light to judge the depth. I could barely make out the dark clumps of seaweed and the white clam shells. During the day I see the bottom clearly enough to tell the difference between a clam and a snail. At dusk, it was all spooky shadows. I tend to close my eyes when I can see the bottom so I did to stop spooking myself.
After 25 minutes, Jen and I stopped and looked around. We could see Boston Light ahead of us, Graves Light a little more to the east. When we turned around Minot's Light shined behind us. It was getting late so we decided to turn around and swim back. It had gotten dark. We couldn't make out the shore as well so we aimed for the double bright lights near the bathhouse.
This time we were in deeper water where we couldn't touch the bottom. I could barely see my forearms, but not my hands in front of me. The shadows of the bottom didn't spook me in the deeper water so I settled into my stroke. When I breathed to my left, I was looking out into the Atlantic. I could see a green bouy and some ship lights occassionally. I watched the planes circling overhead. WHen I breathed to my right I saw the house and street lights in Hull. An ambulance passed. I looked at the waning moon over my shoulder. I watched a bright red light for awhile and wondered what it was. It wasn't until it turned green that I realized it was a street light. Street lights look strange from the water. I counted my strokes; 15 strokes for the green, 35 for the red. Yes, the red lights are longer.
As Jen and I got closer to the bathhouse, I started to notice something in the water. It looked like light reflecting in the water. I watched the bubbles coming off of my hands. I was seeing sparks and I realized it was bioluminescence. I stopped and Jen said she saw the same thing.
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