A couple of lovely pictures from Siobhan Russell, taken on December 27 – the morning after the big storm.
Myrtleville – December 27, 2013
Roches Point through the spray – December 27, 2013
The water was a bit warmer this morning – didn’t have a temp watch, but no frozen feet or hands today. Next planned time is 08.15 on Saturday, January 4, 2014 – although I’m sure some people will be on the beach on 1/1/14! Happy New Year.
Or – if brisk and bracing don’t cover it for you – try chilly, crisp, toasty (Mr. Finbarr only) or just plain cold.
Temperatures were 7.9c in the water on St. Stephen’s Day and 7.7c this morning for the usual Saturday swim. With -2c on land this morning, a combined 5.7c did justify “brisk”.
The fact that we’re swimming at dawn means not only that we are getting the best of the cold (!) – unlike those on gentlemen’s hours further West – but also the best of the views. Owen O’Keeffe was up from Fermoy after his Blackwater dip on Christmas Day and he got this lovely one on St. Stephen’s Day..
Dawn in Myrtleville, St. Stephen’s Day, 2013
Nine swimmers on Thursday and ten today – great to see. There’s nothing like the buzz.
Jim Shaloo gets ready to go on St. Stephen’s Day.
For those not back at work, we’ll aim for 08.15 on Monday, Dec. 30. Forecast looks reasonable – there’ll definitely be a calm bit!
Tom Bermingham is a year-round swimmer at Myrtleville. He’s a young fella in his seventies and has been looking for more information on how to lengthen his swims.
As a gift from some of the other swimmers, we presented him this week with a copy of Lynne Cox’s Open Water Swimming Manual. There’ll be no stopping him now.
Pat Higgins, Damian O’Neill, Tom Bermingham and Peter Rooney – with sundry canines and Tom’s new book…
Gary Frost was trying out a new toy on Saturday, with a camera strapped to his head – lots of sea and sky to be seen. Of course, he really just wanted to get on video that he’s swimming in togs, so he had to hand over the camera at the end!
He listed some of the participants from Saturday and we also had Jim Shaloo, Alan Long and Aidan Mangan, who didn’t get into the credits….
If you don’t suffer from motion sickness – watch it here:
Turkey Swim at 10.30am on Saturday 21st next – let’s get a crowd, please!
Mr. Lynch’s picture shows that it’s a bit frothy at the beach, but still swimmable out beyond the wave break in his famous “calm bit”. Just a small few down swimming, but it’s still not cold.
Myrtleville – 10 December, 2013
To add to our equine member last weekend, Anne Sheehy sent me on a couple of pictures of one man and his dog.
Tom McCarthy kits out his dog for Winter swimming.
Speaking of equine – Tom’s a horse of a man…..
Tom McCarthy & swimming partner.
I also got this one, of one girl and her sister….
Anne Sheehy & her sister, Carmen Burns, making full use of scarce resources – they’re only small, so there’s plenty of room….
Amazingly, we’re still up at 11.5c to 12c in the sea and the Winter is being kept at bay. 14 swimmers on Saturday morning and another good group today. The sheer joy of swimming this late in the year is driving some people to spontaneous displays of happiness….
The Water Temperatures have Myrtleville Swimmers jumping for joy……………
Denis Condon was in six days this week – he’s an example for us all!
Denis Condon, Carmen Burns, Tom McCarthy & Anne Sheehy – no stopping them!
Siobhan’s new waterproof camera is getting trial outings – we’re expecting great things from that in the coming months.
Siobhan’s new camera – get ready for the view from the Water.
And finally, we’re always happy to share the beach with all-comers…..
Nobody said you had to be horses to swim through the Winter….
Once again – DON’T FORGET THE LOGO COMPETITION. Get the artist in your life into action 🙂
Great to see that RTE have awarded the prize of Ireland’s best swimming spot in any weather (and tides, Rob) to Myrtleville. We know that because if you watch the forecast carefully, you’ll see our home ground proudly on display……..
Evelyn Cusack and Ireland’s number 1 swimming spot, as voted by the viewers of RTE Weather.
Myrtleville’s fame just keeps on growing.
With Monday nights finished, Saturday at 8.15am is the only set time for the week during the Winter. Despite the worst possible forecast, we had a great turn-out on this weekend, with seventeen swimmers venturing in.
Maeve Mulcahy took this picture, showing that swimming to the Dutchman wasn’t advisable, but we had a “calm bit” of 300 metres that was enjoyable.
Myrtleville – Saturday, November 2, 2013: a bit of texture on the water….
We checked afterwards and were sure everyone had got out safely, so it was a bit of a shock to see a few extras were washed up and displayed on the wall of Jimmy Long’s:
Myrtleville Slimmers – 12.2C in the water, but this crowd felt the cold…..
There’s a night out open to all swimmers on Saturday next at 8pm in Bunny’s and Turkey Swims on Saturday and Sunday in Sandycove. Sea swimming is a year-round sport!
The problem with making sweeping statements like “the water is warmer than in June” is that there’s always a genuinely precise person (note, I did not say “swimming geek” )with the data to prove or disprove it.
Fortunately, I was right as a general statement, so I only got a small rap on the knuckles for my lack of precision, rather than a full dressing down for inaccuracy.
Here’s how it should be done:
Myrtleville Sea Temperatures – April to October 2013.
With thanks to she who Rob Bohane calls “the eye of the tiger”.
So, anyway, like I said yesterday…..Keep swimming – in the sea 
.
