Goggles at Dawn

This is the second installment of  Gráinne's visit to Ireland in July and August of 2022. Having just completed a crossing of the North Channel, one of the hardest of all marathon swims, she sought further adventure ... ***** As I plunged into the black Atlantic Ocean at the farthest tip of Southwest Ireland under the intimidating Fastnet lighthouse at 5am on the 5 th August 2022 I was enveloped with a wonder.  I was astonished at the extreme sense of serenity I felt despite being, literally, a little drop in the 41 million square miles of the second-largest ocean in the world. Whilst I had planned to be in Ireland in August 2022 I hadn’t expected to be here, so how had this happened? A Double Triple Crown? A week and a half after completing the arduous North Channel , my mind started to ponder the 21km Fastnet Rock Swim .  I started to think ‘could I squeeze this swim in before returning to New Zealand and complete a “Double Triple Crown” in one year?’ The New Zealand Open Water

I'm honoured, once again, to host a guest blog by our local living legend Gráinne Moss who has just returned from some heroic undertakings in Ireland and now reports on her experiences.   North Channel, 22 July 2022 When I touched to rocky shores of Scotland on 22 nd July 2022 you could say that the journey from Irish soil through freezing cold water (average 12.8 degrees) and stinging jellyfish had taken 13 hours, 33 minutes and 36 seconds. This would not be correct.  Thinking back, there were three key events that started this journey. The first was my dad teaching me to swim at a young age; the second is when I was seven and a swimming coach, Pat Simpson, approached my dad saying “your daughter has the best natural technique I have seen, can I coach her?” and the third is doing an open water sea swim in Bangor at age 12 accompanied in a rowboat by a terrified teenager who kept asking me when I was getting out. First swimsuit Early swimming days My dad and Pat taught me t