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.

Swim Safety & Planning

We teach a water safety and rip current awareness courses in the early and late summer season and one of the principles we teach is the following - rips and currents don’t typically drown swimmers…it’s the panic that causes the problem. It’s the individual losing their composure and doing something irrational, like ditching the surf board they’ve been safely lying on and trying to swim in against a rip current…or simply swimming against the same rip for so long that they become exhausted and start to really struggle.

So……planning a swim. You don’t necessarily need to plan your swim, especially if it’s your regular swim and you have a good idea of the conditions. If however, you decide to swim somewhere new, come up with a plan.

Your considerations need to include :

• the state of the tide. Coming in, going out, springs, neaps…typically best swimming on an incoming tide, with minimal tidal movement (neap tide). Particularly if it’s your first swim at that location.

• Lateral movement. Most of the advice we’ll give is based around the sort of conditions that we experience here in Cornwall. In other areas of the country/world you can get strong lateral movement (ie the current runs parallel to the shore), so factor this in and do your research.

• PLAN your route, with an exit strategy. Then come up with a plan B. As mentioned previously, panic can be a big problem. If you can’t get to exit A, you’ll then simply resort to plan B with minimal fuss. That might be an exit further up a beach, around to the next cove…or return to where you entered the water…

• I’ll briefly mention the basics - swimming buddy/spotter, high visibility (tow float etc), you can take a mobile phone with you in a case (test and ensure it’ll get reception). You could also look at something like an EPIRB or personal locator beacon. At the time of writing, they’ll set you back around £200-300 but they use satellite, rather than reception and pin point your exact location. So are awesome, particularly if you want to swim somewhere remote. Might be well worth the purchase if you swim with a big group and are all happy to chip in.

• If you do experience a strong current I’d suggest the following. Stay calm. Think your way out of the problem. If you can’t move forward because of a current, can you go back the way you came or swim to the side and avoid the current? When talking about rip currents, they’re never typically that wide and only generally go out to the back of the breaking waves. So moving to the side of a rip and swimming in without huge resistance is fairly straight forward.

• We have a fantastic coastal rescue service. If you’ve exhausted all other options start waving and shouting for help. It may be embarrassing but the RNLI will have no issues picking up a swimmer in distress. Nearly everyone has a mobile phone these days and someone will more than likely spot you and call for help…this then brings me onto one of my final points.

• If you are attempt a new route or swimming at a new place avoid an early morning or evening swim. If you did get in trouble it’d be far better that people were present and could call for help. Also, if you’re losing light and it starts to get dark, you could be in real trouble!

• Lifeguards are a great resource. If unsure ask. You can also make lifeguards aware of your plans.

• Research, if you do any research make sure you use a reliable source. If you ask a question on say….a social media group, you don’t know who’s responding and their level of experience. I’ve lifeguarded and provided water safety for nearly two decades and quite honestly, am so fed up with people arguing with my advice (clearly from a position of complete ignorance), that I simply don’t bother engaging anymore. Which I think is a real shame. Be careful when taking advice.

• Whilst swimming with a ‘buddy’ is a great idea, ensure you swim with a good buddy! I have some friends that are quite competitive. I’ll often swim with them and they have absolutely no awareness in the water of where I am and what I’m up to. If you’re swimming with someone, actually keep an eye on each other.

• Finally, I swam along the promenade in Penzance last summer by myself and a thought occurred to me. I was swimming at high tide in full view of the promenade for safety reasons. The thought was pretty straight forward and it was the following…if I had a random seizure, passed out or had cardiac event (which is about the only issue I would possibly have that I couldn’t deal with), firstly - would anyone on the promenade even notice? Second, how long would it take them to realise something was wrong with me? Finally, if they jumped in or called the emergency services, how long would that take and do they actually have the ability to either drag me out or administer first aid? I’d probably be face down in the water and I’d be brain damaged or worse within 2-3 minutes. Which begs the question…why am I swimming along the promenade? The point I’m making is that swimming with someone that can take the appropriate course of action should something go wrong, is pretty important. If you swim with someone very regularly, or simply swim regularly it’d be well worth doing some sort of first aid course.

• Following on from the above point is the part about rescue. We were taught this back in my lifeguarding days. If someone is in trouble and you don’t realistically think you can get them out or handle the conditions then you really have to think about whether or not you go in to try and assist. It’s far easier and safer for the appropriate rescue services to rescue and assist one person, than it is for two!

Below you’ll find a great video on rip currents and how they work.

Swimming in Penzance

Tom lives on the outskirts of Penzance, so knows the area really well….and what an area! In terms of swims you’re spoilt for choice. In the immediate area you have Penzance sea front which is best at high tide, the Battery Rocks being a particularly popular area. Along the same stretch you have the famous Jubilee Lido and Penzance harbour - which offers great sheltered conditions at high tide.

The highlights of the Penzance area are St Michael’s Mount (you need to swim this in the right conditions), Mousehole Harbour and Island, there are some wonderful cave swims on the outer Penzance area (but the area is my favourite and I’m not telling!). A little further out you have Porthcurno, Penberth Cove, Lamorna Cove….all stunning.

The issue with Penzance, much like St Ives is the fact that pretty much all face south. If you have chop and wind coming in from the south you’ll struggle for a local swim. You do have St Ives just up the road though, that is north facing.

Image from www.saltwaterimages.com