Day 99 Sea Swimming. #60 of the blog. “You’re f***ing nuts!” sounded the cry from the wetsuit clad surfers as they past me on their way out to the waves whilst I was getting smashed around - wearing just my board shorts, hat, goggles and boots - whilst trying to capture a perfect wave at sunset. Turns out they might have been right, I’m just back and having had a quick look through the photos I’m not sure if many are really usable as there are so many water droplets on the lens cover. Never mind… it was a good laugh… a really good laugh :) “The best surfer out there is the one having ..read more

Day 98 Sea Swimming. #59 of the blog. More of a dip than a swim today. I popped down St Brelade with the underwater housing and had a go at shooting some waves just as the sun began to pop out from the behind the clouds. With the weather on the change, I had two different moods according to what way I faced… bright and sunny to my right and dark and moody to my left. Patience is a virtue with these guys… you know you’re going to get taken out when firing off shots so it’s a bit of a game of chicken - in which you know you’re going to get hit. But, hold your nerve for long enough ..read more

Day 481 Sea Swimming. #79 of the blog. Boulay Bay - Air Temp 6 degrees - Wind N Force 6 - Sea Temp 9.9 This blog post is a day late and almost wasn’t written. The ritual of daily dipping can often feel like enough of a ‘burden’ (even though it’s always a blessing once done) that taking photos of the same spot then trying to think of something interesting to write about it doesn’t always come easily. But then I guess it’s not that often that I swim whilst it’s snowing so if I can’t write about this then what can I write about? After last weeks beautiful weather - with temperatures rising to ..read more

Day 445 Sea Swimming. #77 of the blog. Wim Hof Experience - Air Temp 11 degrees - Wind W 31mph - Ice Bath Temp unknown Belcroute - Air Temp 10 degrees - Wind W29 mph - Sea Temp 9.3 Ok, so not strictly sea swimming, but, something that shares many of the benefits and techniques that are used when swimming in the chilly, winter waters. Last week I photographed an advanced Wim Hof Method workshop… this week I took part in a beginner level workshop. In last weeks blog I described what I saw during the session whereas this will be more of an experiential descripti ..read more

Day 444 Sea Swimming. #76 of the blog. Air Temp 4 degrees - Wind W 8mph - Sea Temp 9 degrees I didn’t get to bed until 1:30am last night. Not because I was out in the ‘traditional’ sense of the word but because I’d seen on the news that there may have been a chance of seeing and possibly capturing the Northern Lights, and so at the last minute, I popped out to see if there was any sight of them along the north coast. The stars were pretty impressive for a while (mainly whilst I was driving) but unfortunately it didn’t last long and so I returned empty handed in terms of images but invigo ..read more

Day 443 Sea Swimming. #75 of the blog. Air Temp 9 degrees - Wind W 9mph - Sea Temp 9.2 degrees Thursdays are all about sea swimming with my mum. After doing some head shots this morning and then teaching photography in the early afternoon, the plan was to meet up with her and go for our routine dip at Boulay Bay. Rewind an hour or so earlier, I’d been inspired by an image I’d seen online and thought I would create something of a similar vibe for today’s sea swimming blog post… We normally have a bit of time and aren’t in a rush but today my gran needed to be picked up and so my mum only ..read more

Day 442 Sea Swimming. #74 of the blog. Air Temp 10 degrees - Wind W 7mph - Sea Temp 9.2 degrees After deciding to give yesterday’s photos/blog a miss as the weather was duller than dull, I hoped for something a little better/more exciting today… I try to make a habit of not being constantly on my phone from the moment I wake up but I’m pleased I checked WhatsApp this morning to discover that Jason was going for a swim at Havre des Pas in the afternoon. It would mean missing my normal morning routine of either Belcroute or St Aubin… but even if the weather was to be grey, at least there’d ..read more

Day 440 Sea Swimming. #73 of the blog. Air Temp 8 degrees - Wind NW 36mph - Sea Temp 9.2 degrees I wake. I open the curtains. It’s grey. But, there’s a little bit of contrast and cloud definition in the sky, so I grab my swim & camera gear and make my way out for another early morning swim, this time deciding that St Aubin would be nice for a change. As I stepped out the front door I realised that it was going to be a chilly one as the wind was pretty full on - a significant change from the past few days - it’s not that big a deal when you’re in the water but it always makes getting c ..read more

Day 439 Sea Swimming. #72 of the blog. Air Temp 10 degrees - Sea Temp 9.1 degrees Another early(ish) start for me today as I aimed for sunrise at Belcroute… I did take the camera but as the weather was a bit naff and uninspiring AND I knew I had to be quick as I had another ‘cool’ bit of photography to get to, I just went in for 5 minutes. The water was clear and I wish I could have stayed in a bit longer but after swimming out to a couple of buoys and taking in the beautiful clear water I came back to shore and got myself ready for an interesting afternoon of education and enlighten ..read more

Day 438 Sea Swimming. #71 of the blog. Air Temp 10 degrees - Sea Temp 9.1 degrees After yesterday’s incredible atmospheric weather, I woke up a bit earlier than normal for a Saturday, just to be sure I could make sunrise should it look promising. It was grey - as we’ve seen for much of this month - and didn’t look particularly special. But even if it was likely to stay that way I thought it’s best to show up and see what happened. My most regular swim spot in recent weeks is Belcroute but I thought that as I’d have the camera with me I’d should try a change of scenery/backdrop. The night ..read more