Friday, 30 September 2011
What a SWIM !!
It's Ian here, the folically challenged one of the pair.........
Having spent months training alongside some of the Lovelies, time alongside the girls on the vessels, I have to say WHAT A TEAM!
It's not often I feel genuinely emotional but seeing Paula climb out of the ladder on Ryde Pier was a momnent that genuinely moved me, ok I was probably suffering from a little sleep deprivation, but it was the end of an epic and eventful journey.
All the girls dug deep, deeper than I think they realised they could and hit every waypoint on or ahead of time, that combined with Henry's superb tidal calculations were the cement to keep the whole plan together.
On that note, as a (allegedely) professional mariner, I would like to single out Henry, the Pilot, Owner and driving force behind Marine Matters, for particular praise. His navigational calculations based on a particularly tricky area of water, was absolutely perfect. Tidal predictions are just that, predictions, but Henry interpreted them with amazing accuracy, and using his own judgement to sneak into shallower or deeper water as needed to pick up the best tidal stream. Mate............. Respect! I truly hope to work with him and Alex, again in the future, thanks for making it smooth sailing, literally.
Ian Muir, what can I say? Its been too many years since I have seen him, in fact he has known me over 35 years. He may be older, but he still has incredible energy and zeal, and was superb as Observer, Coxswain, dogsbody, whatever. He was constantly on hand to help the girls, talk them through their individual swims and offer an encouraging word when needed. What a brilliant and inspired choice.
Finally, and definitely not least, I have to say the girls were outstanding, each and every one of them, but I would like to take this opportunity to single Kathy out. Seeing your big sister (10years older, just to clarify!) be a part of something so incredible was inspiring, I dont think there is a prouder sibling in the world right now!
Girls, well done, you pulled it off, and, no ego trip intended but you had the right team behind you and rooting for you.
Thats it, thats me signing off, looking to the next challenge, but this one ladies and gents, is mine
Ian x
Having spent months training alongside some of the Lovelies, time alongside the girls on the vessels, I have to say WHAT A TEAM!
It's not often I feel genuinely emotional but seeing Paula climb out of the ladder on Ryde Pier was a momnent that genuinely moved me, ok I was probably suffering from a little sleep deprivation, but it was the end of an epic and eventful journey.
All the girls dug deep, deeper than I think they realised they could and hit every waypoint on or ahead of time, that combined with Henry's superb tidal calculations were the cement to keep the whole plan together.
On that note, as a (allegedely) professional mariner, I would like to single out Henry, the Pilot, Owner and driving force behind Marine Matters, for particular praise. His navigational calculations based on a particularly tricky area of water, was absolutely perfect. Tidal predictions are just that, predictions, but Henry interpreted them with amazing accuracy, and using his own judgement to sneak into shallower or deeper water as needed to pick up the best tidal stream. Mate............. Respect! I truly hope to work with him and Alex, again in the future, thanks for making it smooth sailing, literally.
Ian Muir, what can I say? Its been too many years since I have seen him, in fact he has known me over 35 years. He may be older, but he still has incredible energy and zeal, and was superb as Observer, Coxswain, dogsbody, whatever. He was constantly on hand to help the girls, talk them through their individual swims and offer an encouraging word when needed. What a brilliant and inspired choice.
Finally, and definitely not least, I have to say the girls were outstanding, each and every one of them, but I would like to take this opportunity to single Kathy out. Seeing your big sister (10years older, just to clarify!) be a part of something so incredible was inspiring, I dont think there is a prouder sibling in the world right now!
Girls, well done, you pulled it off, and, no ego trip intended but you had the right team behind you and rooting for you.
Thats it, thats me signing off, looking to the next challenge, but this one ladies and gents, is mine
Ian x
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Well done The Lovelies!
Becky here -
Well, what can I say except a huge congratulations to each and every one of us for completing this mammoth challenge. We could not have done it without our absolutely fantastic support crew who encouraged us every step (stroke!) of tne way. Without them the swim could not have taken place.
There were moments of highs and lows like every challenge but most importantly WE MADE IT!! No one can ever change the fact that 1) we are the 1st all ladies team to complete the swim and 2) we have set the first ladies record.
We did at one point think we might be on target for the existing mixed team record but having completed the challenge I think it's safe to say none of us are remotely disappointed that we didn't beat that. Completing the swim is monumental in itself.
All the lovelies, including the honorary ones, survived on just a few hours sleep.
Having caught up on at least a few hours sleep I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of the swim. I didn't have a great 2nd swim but just had to dig deep and keep going. I swear someone had turned the thermostat on the sea down by at least 10 degrees when I was doing my 2nd stint. It was freeeeeezing!!! By swim 3 I was back on my game and had a good swim - the sun was up and wow, what a glorious day it was. The person controlling that thermostat had been kind and turned the temperature back up.
Everybody had some cracking swims and between us all we had eventually pulled an hour ahead of schedule meaning that we all dud 3 swims with Paula (6th swimmer in the team) finishing us at an absolutely fantastic time of
17h 50m 50s
Woohoo, no one can ever take that away fromm us. We have set the benchmark fir others to challenge.
A massive thank you to Kathy for all her hard work in organising this swim and thank you to each and very one of the lovelies for making it such a cracking day. We couldn't have done it without one another. And let's not forget our tremendous crew who kept us in high spirits at those tough times. Thank you, all of you.
Becky (number 3 - well, not anymore!)
Xxxx
Well, what can I say except a huge congratulations to each and every one of us for completing this mammoth challenge. We could not have done it without our absolutely fantastic support crew who encouraged us every step (stroke!) of tne way. Without them the swim could not have taken place.
There were moments of highs and lows like every challenge but most importantly WE MADE IT!! No one can ever change the fact that 1) we are the 1st all ladies team to complete the swim and 2) we have set the first ladies record.
We did at one point think we might be on target for the existing mixed team record but having completed the challenge I think it's safe to say none of us are remotely disappointed that we didn't beat that. Completing the swim is monumental in itself.
All the lovelies, including the honorary ones, survived on just a few hours sleep.
Having caught up on at least a few hours sleep I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of the swim. I didn't have a great 2nd swim but just had to dig deep and keep going. I swear someone had turned the thermostat on the sea down by at least 10 degrees when I was doing my 2nd stint. It was freeeeeezing!!! By swim 3 I was back on my game and had a good swim - the sun was up and wow, what a glorious day it was. The person controlling that thermostat had been kind and turned the temperature back up.
Everybody had some cracking swims and between us all we had eventually pulled an hour ahead of schedule meaning that we all dud 3 swims with Paula (6th swimmer in the team) finishing us at an absolutely fantastic time of
17h 50m 50s
Woohoo, no one can ever take that away fromm us. We have set the benchmark fir others to challenge.
A massive thank you to Kathy for all her hard work in organising this swim and thank you to each and very one of the lovelies for making it such a cracking day. We couldn't have done it without one another. And let's not forget our tremendous crew who kept us in high spirits at those tough times. Thank you, all of you.
Becky (number 3 - well, not anymore!)
Xxxx
WE DID IT
From Kathy
Yes we completed the swim 17hrs 50mins and 50 seconds, interview on Meridian tonight.
Massive thank you to Henry, Alex, Ian and Ian.
Yes we completed the swim 17hrs 50mins and 50 seconds, interview on Meridian tonight.
Massive thank you to Henry, Alex, Ian and Ian.
Going backwards
No4- Rachael here, I've just got out of my 3rd swim. Having jumped off the back of the boat and started swimming, Henry stopped me and told me that I was going backwards, he told me to go as close to shore as I could get, to avoid the tides so that's exactly what I did. I can honestly I've never kicked or pulled so hard in my life. As I got closer to the pier I could see the Meridian News film crew filming me off the pier, not wanting to dis-appoint them I upped the gear! Then the Henry and the rib went and picked up Lucy so she could be interviewed by Meridian News South, so tune in if your interested! If they show someone swimming in a union jack hat and sparkly swimming costume then thats me!!
Question....How is it that everyone else gets out looking glam and I have a massive mud beard?!
My reward for my swim was a delicious cheese and ham sandwich, a packet of crisps and a coffee and let me tell you it all tasted amazing!!
Kathy's in the water now and we've only got a couple of miles to go but we're still against the tide so it's a blooming tough swim....The last IOW relay that was completed,was in 2002, which was a mixed team. We are going to be the 1st EVER EVER EVER female team to complete this swim!!!
Just want to say a big hello to anyone that's taking time out to read this blog x x
Question....How is it that everyone else gets out looking glam and I have a massive mud beard?!
My reward for my swim was a delicious cheese and ham sandwich, a packet of crisps and a coffee and let me tell you it all tasted amazing!!
Kathy's in the water now and we've only got a couple of miles to go but we're still against the tide so it's a blooming tough swim....The last IOW relay that was completed,was in 2002, which was a mixed team. We are going to be the 1st EVER EVER EVER female team to complete this swim!!!
Just want to say a big hello to anyone that's taking time out to read this blog x x
HELLO TO ALL IN YEAR 5 AT LEYBOURNE SCHOOL
Hello. What a lovely surprise to receive your message. Thank you very much.
We are doing extremely well and hope to be finished within the next 3 hours. I'm going in for my splash again at 2.20pm. All the ladies have tried very, very hard. Unfortunately we will not gain the record for the fastest relay around the Isle of Wight but, all being well, we should set the record for being the first all ladies team to every make is around the island.
In answer to your wonderful array of questions:-
The most exciting thing we saw was two seals playing in the water. I tried to have a closer look by looking through the binoculars. It wasn't until I said I couldn't see anything that the boat pilot told me I'd forgotten to take the lense caps off!!! Silly me!!!
As for the Pot Noodle - it was Chow Mein flavour. Unfortunately, it was not very nice so I threw it over the side for the fish to eat. Of course I put the container in the bin!!!
We are very close to the shore at the moment and people have been waving at us. The shore is about the length of your playground away.
There is a video on board but I try to hide when it comes out. One of our ladies has just been interviewed by Meridian news to hopefully we may be on the TV later. We've already been on the local radio station.
Thank you so much for following our progress.
Lots of Love from Callum's mum (Paula) xxxxx
Love you Callum xxxxx
We are doing extremely well and hope to be finished within the next 3 hours. I'm going in for my splash again at 2.20pm. All the ladies have tried very, very hard. Unfortunately we will not gain the record for the fastest relay around the Isle of Wight but, all being well, we should set the record for being the first all ladies team to every make is around the island.
In answer to your wonderful array of questions:-
The most exciting thing we saw was two seals playing in the water. I tried to have a closer look by looking through the binoculars. It wasn't until I said I couldn't see anything that the boat pilot told me I'd forgotten to take the lense caps off!!! Silly me!!!
As for the Pot Noodle - it was Chow Mein flavour. Unfortunately, it was not very nice so I threw it over the side for the fish to eat. Of course I put the container in the bin!!!
We are very close to the shore at the moment and people have been waving at us. The shore is about the length of your playground away.
There is a video on board but I try to hide when it comes out. One of our ladies has just been interviewed by Meridian news to hopefully we may be on the TV later. We've already been on the local radio station.
Thank you so much for following our progress.
Lots of Love from Callum's mum (Paula) xxxxx
Love you Callum xxxxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)