There has been so much sheer, unmitigated rubbish posted on this site that it’s hard to imagine that so much of it has been “achieved” in only five years.  However, facts never lie (unless they’re fake, alternative or absolutely made up, like most of them on this site) and the first ever post on this site was on 21 May, 2012.  It was a gripping list of swim times and an invitation to join our ultra-mod and cool Google Group.  Sooooo, á la mode, it was.

What it didn’t have was pictures.  The Russell era was still some months from commencing and the few shots we put up that Summer were pretty laughable.  So, let’s have a laugh…

Night swimming on Myrtleville Beach.   

WTF –  you might ask?  Seriously, things were bad on the beach back then for life’s young love.  True story: there was a young couple on the beach discussing poetry (or something like that) and a fine figure of a man emerged – barely clothed – from the darkness.  Tom McCarthy was training for his part in a Channel relay and had decided that his first session to practice night swimming with Bernard Lynch should be captured for posterity. The young poetry lovers were split up while one was forced to take the above pic.  You can only imagine what they thought as the two lads headed off into the sea.  Maybe they didn’t bother thinking about it and just got back to making poetry.  I’d say so.

Another shot of Mr. Lynch at his finest, this time with a different sidekick.  This was after a great swim from Crosshaven to Fountainstown and then over to the Dutchman and back.  Alan Craughwell took the picture. Alan joined us for part of the swim and I remember looking up and seeing him ahead of me.  A bit later, I passed him (I was in a wetsuit, so I used to be able to pass people back then).  Shortly after that I looked up and he was well in front again.  I caught up again.  It was the third time he appeared in front of me that I realised the fecker was grabbing hold of the support kayak, getting a tow past me and then swimming on, saying nothing.  Some crack.

The last pic is of one of the strangest visiting swimmers we’ve ever had.  Lucky joined us for one night in August 2012 with his owner and they got to meet Mr. Slowey, who had begun training at the beach that Summer.  Lucky James.  Lucky Duck didn’t come back, unfortunately.  Swim standards were too low by duck ratings, I think.

The site was set up in 2012 to share swim times and help to get a group together so that safe swimming was possible and to avoid people having to swimming alone, if they didn’t want to.  I think we’ve managed that 🙂