Our prayers to the weather Gods seemed to have gone unnoticed when the 17 hardy souls gathered at Holborough Lakes near Snodland on Saturday 30th June for their venture into open water swimming. The Nemes Diving Academy were the very obliging hosts for the day and following an assessment of each swimmer’s abilities they were let loose in the lake. The group consisted of some seasoned open water enthusiasts and several ‘newbies’ having a go for the first time with an age range on the day of 7 years old upwards and including the ‘Masters’ section of the club (yes, Mrs Mac I mean you!)
The water was a whopping 22 degrees thanks to some warm weather during the preceding week and luckily after some early drizzle the clouds broke and the sun shone for us! A number of the swimmers who had initially taken the plunge in wetsuits soon cast them off as the combination of good air and water temperatures made for some pleasant swimming conditions.
The swimmers were divided into 3 ability groups with the strongest and experienced open water swimmers heading off first. They each did a few circuits of the marked 400m course before heading back to the pontoon for some relays. Two teams ably led by Kelly and Mikyle raced to the 50m buoy and back while dodging scuba divers, boats and ducks! It was then all change for a boys v girls relay which had the parents shouting their support from the banks amidst some blatant cheating, leg pulling and very early changeovers!
Very well done to all of the swimmers that took part – it was lovely to welcome Molly back for the day! There were certainly a great many smiling faces on the drive home!
More pictures can be found in our Gallery
Thanet Swim Club 