Lots of dawn swimming

 Over the past couple of months, I've been swimming at Freyberg Beach on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7am. There is a pretty big crew of daily swimmers who brave the increasingly cold and dark mornings for these revitalizing dips (and some who go out even earlier). Distances tend to vary depending on who is there, and what the conditions are like, so occasionally it's just a quick lap of the 2nd buoy and fountain, or 1km buoy and fountain. At other times we've even managed a lighthouse lap by 8am. I've enjoyed the jollity of these swims, as the days have grown shorter, the light has grown dimmer, and the water has cooled down noticeably.

The other benefit, of course, has been witnessing a lot of magical dawns, observing the different colours of the rising sun on the eastern and western hills, watching mist or rain drifting across Mt Victoria, and seeing how the water changes as the sun creeps upwards. In the last two weeks, the sea has been black as black when we set out, and staring into this void is both disorientating and somehow relaxing. Then visibility increases as the light increases. 

The sun coming up on 22 May: GT's beautiful photo

Perhaps because of the reduced amount of shipping in the harbour (a side-effect of Covid-19), the water this autumn and winter has been startlingly clear. Freakishly clear! A few weeks ago there was some significant rainfall, and a lot of water came down the Hutt River and into the harbour. There was just one day when the water was a bit brown and twig-filled, but then the water quality and visibility immediately improves. It's a little spooky being able to see the seabed when 'out deep' beyond the fountain, and to see the anchor chains for the buoys disappearing into the depths. Still, while this is a little disconcerting at times, it's also cheering.

I swam with Geraldine a couple of days after the big rain, on a very clear and cold Friday morning (14 May). The rainfall meant that the top layer of water (maybe to a depth of about 20cm) was absolutely freezing, but further down it was quite warm. This was especially noticeable at the buoys when we became briefly vertical and noticed that the toes were toasty down in the depths, but the upper body cold. Then we would go horizontal to start swimming again, and instantly freeze.  Naturally, after this experience, it seemed like a good idea to have the post-swim medicinal coffee sitting outside, huddled around the warming orange glow of a campfire, I mean, tow-float.