Swim Start Time 22:43pm
December 7th 2020
Causeway Coast
Charity AWARE NI
Swim Distance 1.24KM
I really dint feel like doing this tonight. I've had a busy few days and felt tired but got on with it. Was a beautiful dark starry night. I always seem to get a bit of a hammering around the area at the wooden posts on the beach where there is a rip current and a shallow sand bank and again just to the west of the pier. Tonight the surf was very small and choppy so it was very hard to get any rhythm in my swim stroke. I found it easier to swim on my side so I could keep an eye on the little waves coming more easily. When the surf is small and calm or inconsistent, its very hard to see anything as there is so little whitewater. The surf leaves streaks of white water on the dark surface and any light at all reflects off it so I've found the more surf there is the better. Darkness is rarely completely pitch black. Sometimes there is a moon or stars and other times heavy cloud cover and very little light. Regardless, I must keep going.
Please if you are reading this, click through and donate to AWARE NI -
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/al-mennie
Info - I am swimming a total of 100km through the darkness, in the darkest and coldest months of the year off the North Coast of Ireland. My aim...to inspire those who may be struggling in dark times to keep going. I also aim to raise awareness and funds for the depression Charity Aware NI. We all face dark times in life at some point and it can be extremely overwhelming.
Safety - Please don't think that because I am doing this that you too should do this or something similar. I am very experienced in the sea with knowledge that is only gained through many years of exposure to the sea in all her moods. I have a safety and location system in place including continual contact with people on land every time I swim.