Another great weekend from IRELAND’S NO 1 Training Camp for open water swimming well done Cork

29 swimmers paid the fees (a basic fee of €40 – so clearly not a money making event!) and 18 of these have signed up to swim a channel solo.  The camp started with a warm-up 8k swim in the sea in East Cork followed by a BBQ and on Sunday it was off to the races with the 7.5k Blackwater River (freshwater) race in Fermoy – won by Colleen Mallon!

Then we settled in the routine:  from 6 to 8 am on Monday to Friday it was laps of Sandycove Island in Kinsale.  Every evening we met in a different location:  reservoir, lake, tidal lagoon,Sandycove and the surfing beach.

By this time the swimmers had racked up over 80k and it was time for the first ever TBBC swim.  Because the English Channel is an unpredictable and often cruel place – we wanted the swimmers to build some additional mental toughness.  So the Total Body & Brain Confusion swim was created.  It got the nickname of the torture swim and yes – we made them all pay an extra €50 to be tortured!

 

A few  highlights:

We didn't tell them how long they would swim...so there was mass confusion about how much feed to prepare.

Then we sent them clockwise around Sandycove Island (we almost always swim anti-clockwise)...so all the knowledge they had accumulated was worth squat!

We took two sets of the fastest swimmers (5 to a boat) along the cliffs towards the Old Head of Kinsale.

Real and imaginary boat trouble called for some frustrated circle swimming....and several times we directed swimmers in diagonal directions moving away from their mates.

No set pattern for feeds and NO WATCHES allowed.

Stopped two swimmers (next to each other) after 75 minutes and fed just one - and then sped off in the boat.  I will say that the second swimmer looked a bit – well neglected and unloved.

Sent the faster swimmer on a big loop so they were then last in the group (jeez- fast swimmers really hate that).

Back at the Island the swimmers were directed to come into the slipway after 2 laps (3k) and again some got fed and some didn't...and then sent in various directions.

One swimmers came in and was ignored...eventually got the feeder's attention and was to told to do a 500m loop and come back....jeez if the drink wasn't then spilled before they got it....causing another 500m loop.

Two swimmers arrived in for a feed, after 5 hours, to be greeted by a big round of applause for one....who was congratulated on a great swim and helped out the water - the other sent back around the Island.

 Another third set of swimmers were sent out with a boat - with a long swim back into the wind/current.

Towards the very end some swimmers came in to feed to see their buddies enjoying hot soup, sandwiches and burgers.  One came in to see the largest soup pot in the world EMPTY (he didn't know that there was a second one!)

I am pleased to say that my tyres were not slashed and nobody took a swing at me!

Sunday was just the easy 6 hour channel qualification swim...with a few doing an 8 hour swim instead.  And yes…on the 6 hour swims we were very nice to all and fed then according to their plans!

Everyone left safe, injured and will 100k or so in their log books.

For the 2009 Campo we had 13 of 14 swimmers complete their English Channel solo swims.  The 2010 left us better prepared than the 2009 group – so we expect 100% success this year!