Swimming in 2015
Happy New Year. Welcome to 2015. We hope your swim adventures in 2015 are exciting, adventurous and safe in waters free from harmful pollutants. We wanted our first article of this year to be positive and inspiring for swimmers around the globe. We thought long and hard about discussing this topic as our first article of 2015. Although there is a negative context we decided that the quest for improved water quality and water standards is a positive and worthy start to the year. In late 2014 FitandAbel NZ Ltd submitted to the commissioners appointed by the Canterbury Regional Council to hear the application by Silver...
The Wetsuit Journey
My personal opinion is that swimming in normal swimsuit/bathers; the freedom of shoulders, the feel of the water, is the best form of open water swimming on earth. It’s a personal thing....
Queen Charlotte Sound
A jewel of a waterway located at the top of the South Island of New Zealand is Queen Charlotte Sound. This is the location for Queen Charlotte Sound RealSwim Adventure starting on 27 Feb 2015. The Queen Charlotte Sound is very well known for its stunning scenery, the Queen Charlotte track and as an arrival and departure point for the interisland ferry. It also happens to be a direct link with New Zealands Cook Strait, one of the world renowned ‘Oceans Seven’ Marathon swims. The Queen Charlotte Sound RealSwim begins with a meet up in Picton. We take a charter boat out to our accommodation; The...
RealSwim Bag
What is it? The RealSwim bag™ is an inflatable tow bag specifically designed for the open water swimmer. It has dual air compartments providing safety back-up, an inner storage compartment to take water proof phone, drink or food on your swim. A simple to use waist belt that allows the bag to be towed behind above the thighs ensuring minimal disruption during the swim – most of the time you will forget it is there. The RealSwim bag™ sits on top of the water therefore is it extremely low drag. Its buoyancy provides an added layer of confidence to the more anxious open water swimmer. Most...
Why Swim?
Why do we swim? It's often hard to capture the 'why' . What makes us want to head back to the water again and again. Two swimmers were gracious enough to share some amazing words from their swim experiences this summer. Both, very differently, answer their ‘why’: ...
The Purple Duck
How regularly do I need to practice swim technique? Read on ...
Charlie’s Story
Anyone who knows me knows I love swimming. Most of my colleagues think I'm obsessed and most of my friends are swimming buddies. What is less obvious is that I am not actually very good at swimming, or, shall we say, I am only just learning to swim properly at the age of 33....
The BlackSwim
It’s one of those things that sounds like a good idea at the time. Dreamed up by Jeremy Laming of http://henleyswim.com/ the BlackSwim held on the summer Solstice weekend , the longest day or in Jeremy’s mind the shortest night. Perfect for an all night swim down the Thames. The swim participation was invite only. A small group, all with previous long distance and cold water experience. ...
Reflections
Seated at 36,000 feet above the Pacific… a perfect opportunity to reflect on another summer of open water swimming in New Zealand. The sport continues to grow phenomenally. New Zealand’s biggest open water swim series, The State Ocean Swim Series saw record numbers of swimmers. The State Epic Swim New Zealand championships in Taupo also had a fantastic turn out. From a personal perspective the amount of new comers taking to the open water and experienced swimmers seeking new challenges provides encouragement for the sport....
Inaugural 10km Swim
Easter weekend saw the addition of the 2014 Inaugural Auckland Central Masters Marathon (10km) swim http://www.aucklandharbourswims.org.nz/ Run not for profit but for participation. This first event was limited to 63 competitors with plenty of unlucky swimmers left on the waiting list. Three days before Auckland was hit by one of the worst storms in living memory. Not the ideal build up, especially if you are the race director. Luckily he already had the grey hair. Not ideal but acceptable conditions greeted organisers and participants on 19 April. For me the interesting factors in this swim were the relaxed atmosphere, swim first, race second. And there...