Still more Level 3 swims: Worser Bay

After a dead body was fished out of the sea near Hataitai, it became a less appealing place to swim. I've always found it somewhat silty and smelly there, and the thought that a body had been floating around near where we'd swum the previous day made the beach less endearing still.  After a couple more Freyberg Beach swims alone in variable conditions, doing either raft-fountain-raft-raft loops, or raft-raft-fountain-raft-raft loops, a change of scene seemed highly desirable.

Thus on the first Saturday of Level 3, I suggested Worser Bay. Eliza and I met there at a decent social distance, and while Eliza's partner went for a run, we inched our way into the sea and plotted a course. Now, while Worser Bay is sheltered in a strongish northerly, this was a northerly coming from an odd direction. We decided to to do laps between a big rock located at the northern end of the beach by the clubhouse to a big pink buoy which turned out to be about 250 metres away.

The journey to the buoy was elating: a rolling swell propelled us on our way, and we reached the buoy giggling. The return trip posed more of a challenge, but also provided an opportunity for the best sort of swimming: straight on into the swell. In these conditions, we agreed, you can focus on smoothness, calm, and power, swimming as if the sea were completely flat. It's a fantastic sensation - like being a superhero zooming through space. In the end, so euphoric were we, that we did five return trips, taking us to about 2.5km. 

The clear waters of Worser Bay, the hills on the eastern side of the harbour, and the general gorgeousness of the situation quickly established this beach as the No. 1 location for Level 3 swims.  Over the next two weeks I alternated between doing laps of various sorts at Freyberg Beach (and another socially-distanced lighthouse swim when I could swim nearish to other swimmers) and doing laps at Worser Bay with Eliza when our work schedules allowed. We usually did a couple of return trips from Worser Bay to Seatoun Beach (about 600 metres each way) and on a few occasions swam along Seatoun Beach to the 'wild' eastern end. Whether a southerly or a northerly blew, or if there was no wind at all, this swim course provided us with some fun and challenges. The views are tremendous, the water feels very safe (the shore is close by) and we started to add some short laps with extra speed/power.  Although the bike ride home was sometimes (in the southerlies) somewhat bracing, it all just felt amazing.