Loch Lomond (8th/9th August, 2015)
August 2015
SUPporting 2 awesome swimmers (before the winds picked up)
A fantastic couple of days SUPing on Loch Lomond.
Saturday 8th – I spent the day paddling in SUPport for 2 friends, and incredible swimmers, Eddie “the socks” Riach and his daughter Jenni. (Eddie “the socks” has been my open water swimming guide on several of my bigger swims – Monster Swim, Lamlash Splash and Forth River – and wears luminous yellow socks for me to follow.)
Jenni and Eddie started their awesome swim at 05.20 from Ardlui, and finished at Dog Bay at around 16.00. The day started with calm conditions, but this quickly changed at around 09.00. From then on, the wind got much stronger and the waves much bigger. I paddled with them for their full swim, and on several occasions found myself being blown backwards. At one point as I stopped to throw some beef jerky into my mouth, I was blown backwards over 200m in less than 10 seconds!
Here are some statistics from the swim: Distance: 36,658 metres/22.8 miles, 3000 metres more than planned due to wind and swell against us and shore hugging.10 hrs 23mins and 17,456 arm stroke cycles.
What can I say, but absolutely awesome day Eddie and Jenni. (And not to forget Derek, Rhona, David, Alexander, and Fergus who followed very closely in the 2 safety boats, and Peter who swam the last third with Jenni and Eddie.)
Sunday 9th – A great couple of hours on the loch again with Rhona, Peter and 2 new friends Ricky and Becca. We paddled over an hour into some choppy water, and then had the wind to help us on the way back. Another fab day on Loch Lomond.
