Apparently part of staying in free accommodation includes participation in the "Man Test" - swimming in the Irish Sea. Patton (pictured above in the middle) is a member of the Newcastle Yacht Club and decided that swimming in the frigid sea was exactly what we needed/wanted to do on our holiday.
We arrived at the yacht club (or small sailboat club) and got a brief tour of the building where we were able to change into our suits. Then we headed for the boat ramp. As we started walking towards the water, we passed a group of women ranging from age 60 to 70+. Patton asked them how the water was this morning. We thought he was being funny but come to find out they take a swim in the Irish Sea every morning. Those are some tough Irish chicks!
But it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Erin and I passed the test - we submerged ourselves and headed back to dry land. Which after getting out of freezing cold water happened to feel quite warm. Luke, Kurt and Patton however decided that it would be a good idea to swim to the buoy and back. Fortunately my husband is a strong swimmer because he says that his arms started going numb about halfway back to shore.
After our invigorating swim it was time for some food. Patton treated us to a nice lunch as the inn next door and then we got a chance to walk around the city of Newcastle for a bit before driving the long way back to the house to see the Irish countryside. Unfortunately it decided to rain pretty heavily so it was hard to see much.
The rest of our day was spent relaxing by the fire while listening to the rain outside. While not your ideal weather for a holiday it was actually quite nice.
Miss you & love you!
Aubs, Luke & Luther
Thanks for posting this, we're heading to Wales, other side of Irish sea & a google of 'swim the Irish sea' did not come up with much! Good to know it is survivable :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Dave,
DeleteWe were in Wales last week and while we didn't swim - the dog did. And there were some beautiful beaches there. Hope you have a good trip.