Mornings in July and August

 


Wednesday and Friday morning swims at Freyberg Beach remained part of the programme through July and August too. The mornings became lighter, but still, we experienced the gamut of conditions: northerly gale and big swells/white caps, icy southerly whipping up a thousand tiny ripples and freezing your arms every time they left the water (we had a few swims where the air temperature was approximately 3-5 degrees – made more frigid by the Wellington's speciality wind chill – while the water was a balmy 10-11), and the most radiant mornings when the sea turned to gold. Distances varied between 1.2 and 1.8km for most of these, with an occasional turn around the 1km buoy.

Rebecca and I return from a chilly excursion around the 3rd buoy, caught on camera by Eliza (who was sensibly heading to the pool)

We also had a few Saturday morning swims around the lighthouse in less than delectable conditions. SwimIrishKiwi experienced her first lighthouse swim in 10-degree water and turned the most amazing pink colour. 

Cold southerly lighthouse

We also did a northerly gale lighthouse, in very overcast conditions. When the cloud lifted, the reason for the chill became apparent: plenty of snow on the ranges. 




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