Bag packing at M&S!!! Saturday 29th August

Hiya!

We've just got back from our 5 hours bag packing for Precious Lives at Truro M&S and here's a little post to announce that the grand total for the day's fundraising is £480.10!!! Awesome amount and very happy with that since we never expected that much.

Lots of thanks to all the people who shop at M&S, and of course M&S for letting us take over their tills. Haha. Also special mention to Gordon and Charlie H who helped the 4 of us for the afternoon!

Em xxx

Day & NIGHT Swim! Monday, 24th August

Here's a nice long post to update you on how our 2nd 'complete team' swim AND our first ever night swim went...very exciting.

We all rocked up at Swanpool around 6.30 for our first hour of swimming. I have never felt more part of a team! We set off from the beach in a line and stayed in perfect line formation and matching pace alllll the way out to sea, before turning round after 35 mins-ish and swimming back in. This formation may have involved a bit too much banging together of arms and legs (and was extremely squished at times for those in the middle of the line of four) but our matching pace made the swim feel incredibly easy and relaxed; it really hit me that we were all in this completely together (alas, to quote High School Musical).

Those of us wondering what had happened to Miss Bunt's pace (that is, all of us) and why she wasn't streaking off ahead as per usual were put at rest when we turned back for the second half hour - Luce decided she was done with being in the water and off she went at a zillion miles per hour, leaving us 3 to come back into the beach in a few minutes later!

Then it was onto the beach for a lovely bbq with Len, Didge and an Australian member of the Hatcher family. While the veggies previously mentioned munched on veggie kababs, the 4 Channel girls had a lovely meal of burgers and sausages and a bit of salad, followed by toasted marshmallows (complete with melted Galaxy smeared all over them!)! I can safely say that was one of the best bbqs I've had in ages.

Suddenly it was 9.30 and we were still sitting on the beach, a bit behind schedule for our night swim debut (and having eaten a few too many marshmallows). My mum arrived and we got changed back into our (unpleasantly wet) swimming cozzies, hats, gogs and earplugs and prepared for the night swim. An exciting addition to the usual kit was GLOWSTICKS which I had ordered online which we needed so that Len could see us from the boat. I dished out the different colour sticks to the swimmers and we each attached one to our hat and tied one round our waist so they showed up on our backs. After watching a random display of a few people juggling flaming sticks in the car park (I don't think anyone in the car park at that point was sane), we trooped into Len's boat (accompanied by my mum, who came along for the ride) and Len rowed us (sheave style) out to sea a few hundred metres.

We hopped into the pitch black sea from the boat in L.E.N.S. Team order, Lucy first and then me, and so on. This was a little scary but ended up being SO cool. The water wasn't too cold and we all got in quickly and fairly calmly (with the exception of Sarah, who had a mini panic attack after lowering herself in, but soon calmed down -haha). Once we were all in, we were off; our glowsticks glowing on the water the only visible part of us to Len, surveying us from the boat alongside. In the water, things were very exciting and you could see all the zillions of phosphorescent algae - basically, loads of little bright green glowing specks! I became strangely aware of not wanting to swallow any of these little glowing things, but apart from that I think we were all unexpectedly at ease, with the exception of a few screams when we first felt seaweed underneath us, and a group scream when we very suddenly arrived at the beach and had swum so far in without realising it that we actually swam onto the sand - bit of a shock to suddenly feel sand underneath you!

So, this was a pretty cool experience for all of us. We were luckily fairly undaunted by the dark once we'd gotten used to it; the glowsticks amused us to the point that our excitement at having our own individual sticks outstripped our nerves at swimming in water where you have no idea what's around or under you! So we can fortunately fairly decidedly confirm that the dark won't be an issue in the Channel - though the waves and cold still might!!

Em on behalf of L.E.N.S. Team xxx

Team Swim and NIGHT(!) Swim, 24th August

Hey everyone.

Training is still going well with the Actual Swim getting terrifyingly (and very excitingly) close - only 2 weeks now before we're off to Dover!

This past week has seen frantic organising of all things Channel. The bank holiday fundraising dinner is looming and so the past few days have consisted of chaotic scramblings to attain raffle prizes / make the tickets / get cheques / sort out everyone's MAIN MEAL CHOICES (this really is my pet hate at the moment) and everything else which comes with trying to organise 85 people. Luckily things SEEM to be coming together finally and we have actually secured some pretty fantastic

18th August - First Actual Team Swim...

It took us this long - 11th months - to ALL be present at a team sea swim. Great organisation.

We braved the waters at Portscatho which I (Em) am still convinced are the coldest by faaaar but Nay thinks 'Falmouth is still colder'. Whatever.

This actually turned out to be a pretty successful sea swim, despite me forgetting my hat, having leaky goggles and Sarah having to get out on the way back due to the re-emergence of her not-yet-vanquished cold meaning she couldn't breathe (not helped by petrol fumes from Len's trusty boat). We had a good pace throughout the swim with Sarah and Lucy caning it at the front. Our aim was to reach the 'Mystery Boat' which has been lurking just off of Portscatho for about 2 months now and I still haven't worked out what it's up to. To be fair I haven't done too much research. (Our theory, by the way, is that it is IN FACT the missing ship that got hijacked by pirates and was on the news! The 'Arctic Sea' or whatever it was called. I'm sure we are right.)

Anyway, Lucy and Sarah got pretty close to the boat before we turned around and headed back in to complete our hour - actually technically an hour and a half.

It was then off to The Boathouse restaurant for flapjack and coke (who can drink coke when they are so cold?!!?! Nay and Sarah can) and lots of team discussion on the fast approaching ACTUAL CHANNEL SWIM...

Nay has been in contact with Richie the Lieutenant Commander (Captain of the HMS Trumpeter, which will be accompanying us across La Manche) and we are going to make a pilgrimage up to Portsmouth NEXT WEEK to meet Richie and see the boat- sorry- SHIP (amateur mistake to call it a boat) and discuss our arrangements for going up to Dover the following week. We will keep you posted on any more exciting travel plans as they come through!

Following The Boathouse was meant to be a second swim, but this never really came together... general cosiness in the restaurant combined with Sarah's illness and my stomach cramps meant we never got back in. Don't worry though, Len and Didge weren't upset - Nay, Luce and I went back to my house and made them customised gingerbread men!!!

Love Em, on behalf of L.E.N.S. Team xxx

Photos from Tuesday's swim

PHOTOS!... from top - getting ready to swim; in we go...; Em kicking Nay in the face (her fault for swimming on my feet!); just off Maenporth; Len enjoying the sun!

Photos from Tuesday's Swim

Swanpool to Maenporth, 11th August

It was still a task to get in the water! Em, Nay and I (Lucy) swam a two mile jaunt from Swanpool beach, round a couple headlands to Maenporth beach....Em and Nay had previously already swan Maenporth to Swanpool before my late arrival....

It was very successful! All of us started in good direction, towards the headland, only to later find each of us spread over a good 100m or so! Whilst all this was happening, Len and Didge were happily rowing beside us in the boat having a relaxing drink! But once we reached the first headland we had a good pace going and were booming along. The coldness didn't hit so bad (especially after I'd been in Cyprus for a few weeks) as we thought either. Coming around the second and final headland, Maenporth beach was in sight- and we were swimming towards all the tiny looking people. Still keeping up the pace, Len looked out for us and helped us with direction on occasion! Although the zig-zagging has definitely decreased.

Upon reaching the beach we were pretty tired but all pleased with our swim! Although Em and Nay had done twice what I had just done!
Some chafing means more application of Vaseline next time!
Less then a month now....
Love Lucy, on behalf of L.E.N.S. Team. Xxxx

P.S. Sarah was ill this week but hopefully will make her reappearance at next week's swim!

EXACTLY ONE MONTH TO GO!!!

Just thought I'd point that out. It's pretty scary. But also really reeeally exciting! All is going as planned; someone will update shortly with news of our latest team swim...

Em xxx

The first swim of August! Harlyn Bay- 4th Aug

Hi y'all.

This was a pretty good swim, if we don't say so ourselves. The weather called for staying inland, so Nay, Sarah and I (Em) headed into the water at the far end of Harlyn (after a little jog) and did 6 sets of smaller swims across the length of the beach, with Len wandering back and forth across the sand with his GPS, quite aware that all the people on the beach thought he was just a madman in a big yellow coat staring out to sea.

Things were going well in the water, though Len was panicking back on the beach that we seemed to be going futher and further out to sea (his fears being fuelled by the knowledge of a pretty strong rip tide). I think this was probably one of the quickest gettings-in of our sea swims so far; though it was fairly cold we were all straight in, heads down and we were off. It helps soooo much to have sorted ourselves out with swimming hats now - the brainfreezes we got from having nothing on our heads beforehand were HORRIBLE. Nay is white-hatted, Sarah green and I bright yellow. I am currently winning on the visibility front (and blatantly the style front) but am going to start doing some research into us possibly getting some sponsorship in the form of 4 matching bright pink hats!

We kept up a good pace and did a generally very good swim, despite a LOT of zig-zagging by all present - constant changing of direction and swimming out to sea was not helpful when trying to keep together in a group and look out for each other. The visibility of all 3 hats was thoroughly tested! The swim concluded with a nice traditional bodysurf in, almost ending in disaster when Nay and I (not so wise as Sarah who had chosen a more left-sided exit) veered off the right and almost swam straight across a random man's fishing line who was meanwhile telling Len all about the different types of shark that they get in the bay. Joy.

Exciting exciting news is that Lucy is back this weekend! Team LENS reunited! So we will be seriously getting down to it these next few weeks - I am in charge (since I live closest) of getting Lucy accustomed to the cold water and taking her out for a few sea swims on the south coast. She's going to be getting a bit of a shock following Cyprus where it's pretty boiling - but hopefully we'll get past that quickly. We are all safe in the knowledge that she is uber-fit as she joined the Cypriot gym!

Only 5 weeks to go...

Love
Em - on behalf of LENS Team. x

Falmouth - 28th July

This swim was at Maenporth, swimming out to the tankers and back in. The weather was pretty awful; grey, raining, cold but with Len in his boat alongside to guide us, all should be fine.

After a slightly tense and scary drive by Nay to Maenporth, and finding Sarah asleep in her car we got going. You always forget how cold it is, especially in Falmouth. It's easier when the waves are washing over you as you have no choice but to get wet. However at Maenporth we could have walked waist deep half way out of the bay which made it all the more difficult.

We set off at a fast pace of 2 miles an hour haha. Well, we laugh...but it is actually quite a fast pace, and perfect for what we need. We came out of the bay and the water became much choppier. The swell picked up and direction didn't really seem to matter so much. Em and Sarah were perfectly matched in pace whilst I popped my head up to see the way off to my left or right; I seemed to be zig-zagging my way out. We passed the second buoy and headed out towards the tanker for the last ten minutes before we turned back.

Unfortunately, I think I may have pulled a muscle in my left side. Every time I pulled my arm down it felt worse. I set off back towards the bay but realised that I was going at a ridiculous pace, already Em and Sarah were way ahead, and if I wanted to swim again this week or next this would juts make matters worse. So in the most inelegant way possible I heaved myself into Len's boat, gaining a huge bruise on my shin in the process haha.

Watching Em and Sarah swim back into the bay was very depressing, however also motivational. Seeing them swim where we all should have been is not something I want to repeat, so early nights and stretches for Nay from now on :)

Sarah and Em did a fantastic job, what with the temperature, waves and weather it was a hard swim. Good job haha!

Love Nay
(On behalf of LENS team)