Swimming Days Out

If you’re planning on broadening your horizons and taking on a new swim or two in the summer, it might well be worth planning a series of swims over the course of a morning, afternoon or entire day… If you’re going to make the effort to drive to a new area, you may as well do it properly!

Here are a few of Sea Swim Cornwall’s suggestions for some multi-swimming days out. Please bear in mind that you’ll need to check the forecast and ensure the conditions are safe to swim in. We’d always suggest swimming on an incoming tide, preferably neap tides and check the wind direction and strength. Under 20kmph is good and try and avoid a moderate to strong onshore wind. *More info on safe swimming, check out our ‘reading the conditions’ blog post - CLICK HERE.

LIZARD PENINSULA - a number of options here.

You could simply visit Kynance Cove and take on a few swims. Loads of options. Bear in mind that it isn’t lifeguarded. Best swimming on a low tide, with the tide coming in…and swim with company.

Porthallow, Porthoustock and Kennack Sands. Some really interesting swims, with really interesting old industrial features. Other than Kennack, these areas are generally quite quiet…even in summer.

Another option might be Gunwalloe Fishing Cove, followed by Church Cove and Poldhu. Church Cove is lifeguarded in peak summer weeks, Poldhu lifeguarded through the main summer season.

WORTH CHECKING OUT… Roskilly’s for ice cream and great food, also a great option with kids.

PENZANCE - again, a few options. You could look at Porthcurno, Porthchapel (be careful on the way down, a slight bit of bum-shuffling, climbing involved) and Lamorna Cove. Best to attempt either side of the main summer season as parking can be challenging.

Perranuthnoe is another option. Starting on Perranuthnoe Beach, you can then head east and you’ll find another couple of tracks leading to additional launching beaches. Obviously you are a little off the beaten track, so be careful when swimming.

WORTH CHECKING OUT - Pickle on the prom, Tremenheere Kitchen or the Beach Cafe (Perranuthnoe).

ST AUSTELL - Lovely short walk and options, simply look at Porthpean, Duporth and Charlestown. Best to finish at Charlestown on a high tide. You can park at Porthpean. Beautiful stretch of coast and if you avoid an easterly wind, normally very protected.

ST IVES - Porthkidney, Carbis Bay and Porthminster. Best during dry conditions, as part of the coastal path can get quite muddy. You can park at Carbis Bay and walk to the end of Headland Rd to access Porthkidney, follow the same route back to Carbis Bay and take the coastal path to Porthminster. Approx 2-2.5 miles of walking. Best heading for Porthkidney just before a high tide.

*You could also try Porthminster, Porthgwidden and Bamaluz Beach. Get the train into St Ives from either Carbis Bay or St Erth.

WORTH CHECKING OUT - Ocean Sports Centre on Carbis Bay.

ROSELAND - Porthcurnick Beach, followed by a short walk over to Portscatho and the swimming pontoon. You could then walk over to Porthbean or take on a much longer walk or drive over to either Pendower / Carne Beach.

WORTH CHECKING OUT - The Hidden Hut (although I felt like the prices were a tad high on the last visit but still worth a visit!).

Breathing when learning front crawl

It’s become very obvious over the last 5 years + of running Sea Swim Cornwall that breathing or simply the act of putting your face in the water is quite a big barrier to swimming front crawl for a lot of people. The other issue is that if you haven’t mastered breathing, it makes it incredibly difficult to then work on your leg kick, arm pull, body position etc when you’re still focused on your breathing. Over the last few years we’ve developed a nice little exercise that introduces breathing technique slowly and in a safe and controlled environment.

Step 1 : this can be done in the open water but I think it’s far better done at home. Simply fill the bath up, then sit on your knees and put your face in the water. You’re simply looking to breath out in the water and then bring your face up and out of the water and breath in. These aren’t big breathes, where you’re filling your lungs up. They’re shorter, sharper and quicker breathes. Repeat this for 5-10 minutes until you’r enice and comfortable doing it at quick intervals.

Step 2 : Once you get used to step 1 try and progress to lying flat in the water (on your knees) and breathing to the side…as you would swimming. You’re then looking to having your face in the water for around 2 seconds (breathing out), turn your head to the side and breath in for around 1 second. Keep repeating this for an initial period of around 30 seconds and once you start to get more confident extend the time period to 1 minute +.

Alternative : you can also try this in the open water or with a bucket full of water. Simply stand just deeper than waist depth and lean forward and follow the steps above.

Step 3 : not really a step. Just remember that in the open water the water is a lot colder! Acclimatise to the temperature before trying these breathing exercises. Don’t go straight in and start try them whilst gasping for air and getting used to the cold!

Step 3 : once you’re comfortable with your breathing start to them work on your stroke. Particularly breathing whilst using your arms.

Remember : worth being aware that lots of people that start swimming front crawl in the open water get worried about taking in a mouth full of water. They try to avoid this by over-rotating and bringing their mouth as far away from the water as possible (effectively looking up). This is fine in the very short-term. The problem with doing this long term is that you’re over rotating to achieve this high breathing position. To prevent yourself from rolling too far over and flipping onto your back your leg kick often then become wider (like the stabilisers on a bike). This in turn creates drag and slows you don’t, as well as sapping your energy and preventing you from getting into a rhythm.

Moving forward : it really depends on your lung capacity but you generally want to breath every 2 if your swimming distance. You can breath 3…and you might find that you swim a little straighter doing so. You do this to try and stay in the aerobic energy system for as long as possible…ie. you continue to use Oxygen. If you go into your anaerobic system earlier than you need to, you’ll more than likely find that you get tired and stiff far earlier.

10 Epic lesser known swims in Cornwall

1. KYNANCE : of course this is very well known. However, most people stick to the ‘main drag’. At a certain state of tide there is a secret cave to the east. I’m not going to give away too many details…I’ve nicknamed the cave ‘the Devil’s Chimney’.

2. Porthchapel. Sits a short walk and scramble away from it’s famous neighbour Porthcurno. It’s a little off-grid and remote (always swim with a friend) but well worth the effort.

3. Kennack Sands. Offers a great day out. Fantastic walks, good swimming, a lovely beach and 2 cafes on the beach…for your convenience.

4. Porthpean. It’s not particularly secret…but if there’s someone out there reading this that’s planning a trip to Cornwall and wants some advice… Always reasonably safe and flat, clear water, stunning surrounds and lots of swim routes from the beach.

5. Praa Sands. Better know for it’s surfing but when there’s no surf you have some stunning swims around the point, to the west. Always talk to the lifeguards first and let them know your plans.

6. St Just-in-Roseland pool / harbour. You need a Spring high tide for this one but if you get it right you swim in a beautiful harbour surrounded by a sub-tropical garden and church. It doesn’t get much better.

7. Porthoustock/Porthallow. They’re a slight pain to get too (from anywhere!) and they’re not the most stunning swims but I love them. Always easy parking, very safe, clear water, there’s a crazy building at Porthoustock (that was a torpedo testing facility during the Cold War), great pub at Porthallow… Avoid the quarry side of the bay at Porthoustock.

8. Mother Ivey’s Bay. Great option on the north coast. Stunning, undeveloped beach with golden sands and a gorgeous lifeboat station.

9. Polurrian Beach. A quiet beach in the Lizard, that takes effort to access…hence the ‘quiet’. Beautiful swim towards Mullion or a slightly more adventurous swim to Poldhu (in the right conditions!).

10. The Gazzle, Newquay. Swimming from the back of Little Fistral to Towan Beach. Great little exploratory swim. You need to do this in the right conditions and be really, really careful if you’re going to swim across the harbour mouth at Newquay Harbour. *You can exit at the Fly Cellars’ just before the harbour. You also need to be careful of fishing lines at the Fly Cellars!

    PLEASE DO TAKE CARE - if you take on any of these swims. Always do your research and plan your swims. We’d suggest swimming on an incoming tide and preferably a neap tide, minimising water movement…

Porthpean Beach, St Austell.

Swim Camp

This year Sea Swim Cornwall are rolling out a new type of swimming holiday. We’re basing ourselves at a campsite on the Lizard Peninsula. The campsite is very central and around 15 minutes drive away from a large number of world class swims.

You have places like Kynance Cove, Church Cove, Porthallow, Cadgwith Cove, Lizard Point, Kennegy Sands… just a stones throw away.

The idea of the holiday is to allow you to book as many, or as fewer swims as you’d like. You simply book the accommodation and then book individual swims. The swims are then broken into groups - the groups based on speed and distance. We have every confidence that this camping / swimming holiday will go well this year, we’ll then look to add coaching sessions, water safety and rip awareness courses and a whole loads of extras for next year’s swimming trip. We also tow a large SUP on the swims. This allows swimmers the chance to climb aboard and have a breather, whilst still being involved with the swim and adds an additional layer of safety to the swims.

The concept and some of the locations are detailed in the video below :

Starting out in open water swimming and front crawl.

With a massive rise in wild swimming, dipping and open water swimming we thought we’d write a little piece on improving your swimming…taking the first few steps from bobbing around in the water, bit of breaststroke or limited front crawl - to swimming front crawl…and increasing your distances.

FACE AND BREATHING : if you’ve just started in the open water, getting your face in is step one. Make sure you wear a swimming cap, you can wear 2 if it’s really cold and a decent pair of goggles. By decent, I don’t mean expensive. Everyone has a different shaped face and not all goggles will suit everyone. Sometimes it’s a case of trial and error. Also, wear ear plugs or something to stop you getting ‘surfers ear’. Best place to start is to simply take a breath, put your face in and slowly expel the air, before bringing your face out and taking another breath. You shouldn’t bring your face out and breath out. The breathing out section should be completed underwater. Repeat. Whilst swimming some people breath in and then expel the water when their face goes in quite quickly, some breath out consistently until their face comes out for another breath…it’s an individual thing.

FRONT CRAWL STROKE : once you’re comfortable breathing in the water, you can then look to put your breathing and stroke together. I’d suggest starting off by focussing on the relationship between your arm strokes and breathing and getting comfortable and efficient with this part of your stroke. In salt water or with the assistance of a wetsuit you’re nice and buoyant. So initially it’s nice and easy to take your leg kick out of the equation. Simply put your ankles together and let your legs float behind you. I say this because it’s almost impossible to focus on your arms, breathing and leg kick at the same time. It’s like trying to ride a unicycle, whilst juggling and having a conversation!

LEGS : Once you feel like you’re making progress and you’re not having to put too much thought into what you’re doing, you might then consider adding leg kick to the mix. Leg kick is one of the most difficult parts. It’s not difficult to kick your legs…it’s having an efficient kick that’s the tricky bit. When coaching 90% of the issue we try and correct are poor leg kicks. Your legs will use a lot of oxygen and if you’re not kicking efficiently you don’t get any propulsion. Which isn’t great. You’ll also be deprived of oxygen, which in turn will slow you down over distance and increases fatigue. The other issue is for runners. Leg kick is all about the flexibility in your ankles. Runners notoriously have stiff ankle and often really struggle with leg kick. Your kick should be short and sharp - with the most important bit being that your ankles should be together, with heels just breaking the surface of the water.

DISTANCE : start with short bursts and get it right over those bursts. Have regular rest intervals. Once you feel like your getting it right over shorter distances start to extend the distances that you’re swimming.

COACHING : the most cost effective way to get coaching would be to follow the advice above and once you’re swimming take yourself to see a coach. If you want to swim in the sea, have an open water swim coaching session. If you want to swim in the pool….a pool session. If you want to do both I’d complete a pool coaching session. Think about the area that’s most important to you.

You can see a coach at the very start. It’ll help but will be a little more expensive.

Your coach should give you drills to take away and practise. It’s also really helpful to know where you’re going wrong as you can then visit Youtube and look at drills to correct the issues and do your own homework. The best place to practise drills is in the pool but you won’t have the buoyancy in the pool, that you typically have in salt water/wearing a wetsuit. The salt water is also more forgiving with your stroke, so some problems won’t be as visible in the salt water, as they would in the pool. A low hip position, for example may be hidden by the buoyancy salt water provides.