Wild Swimming Days Out

We’re running a number of ‘Wild Swimming Days Out’ in 2023 and annually. These are swimming days that are designed for all-comers. We have swimmers that turn up and do head up breaststroke, all the way through to swimmers that’ll cover 3-4km. The day is designed to take in 3-4 swims, with minimal travel between swims. Our West Cornwall day out in 2023 saw us park up and manage 4 swims without moving vehicles. We typically set a rough area and then get in touch 2-3 days before the event, once we’ve seen an accurate forecast and announce the exact swim locations. This ensures that you swim in flat and enjoyable conditions.

Our west Cornwall Wild Swimming Days Out saw us swim from 2 secluded beaches to the west of Perranuthnoe, one beach swim from Perranuthnoe and another glorious swim towards Cuddon Point.

Learning front crawl in the sea

This year we’ve taken 3 people that don’t currently swim front crawl and we’re meeting them once a fortnight for swimming lessons. With each session they’ll have ‘homework’ to take away with them. The aim is to teach them to swim front crawl (or freestyle as it’s also known), over the course of the summer. We’ll then make a short documentary and release it at the end of the summer, charting their progress.

The idea is really to show exactly how straight forward it is to learn front crawl, particularly in the sea…where you have additional buoyancy. They may not (they won’t) be expert swimmers by the end of the summer but they’ll certainly make big steps forward. We’ll also set targets and goals throughout the summer and carry out some exciting swims, as they progress.

We’ll add to this article and video throughout the summer (particularly video footage), as we go.

SESSION 1 : really a meet-and-greet. We also set them some homework based on breathing. The idea being that you practise front crawl breathing in a controlled and safe environment at home, so that when it comes to swimming in the sea you’re ready and confident. It makes it far easier to think about your arm pull or leg kick, when you don’t have to think about your breathing.

SESSION 2 : We looked at what I call the ‘neutral’ position or ‘streamlined’ position in the water. A position where you lie stretched out in the sea and let the water hold your weight. From there, you then add the arm action and breathing. A poor leg kick is one of the main elements preventing a lot of people from achieving a good body roll. It’s also too much for the brain to focus on…simultaneously thinking about pulling and kicking, so we leave the leg kick ‘til much later.