h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today my eldest brother, Adrian, did the Loch Linnhe Swim. A swim across from Treslaig to the Yacht Club, that is the rectangular bit roughly opposite, see here http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=zoomers&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&ll=56.813847,-5.118771&spn=0.031007,0.088921&t=h&z=14 zoom out to see just where that is

I'm considering doing it next year, but I'll need to get back into training. I have not done any serious swimming since 1997 when I won two silver medals at the British Transplant Games.

great stuff

how far was that ?

1.25km. However it was really rather choppy and because of the current and that most of the swimmers ended up doing over 1.5km. My brother got carried almost 0.5km up the loch and had to swim back down to the yacht club.

good for him - respect

about 5yrs ago we went up Ben Nevis together, 2yrs ago I went canyoning, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyoning, and last year he did it. So now he's done this I'm going to have to do it.

bro'sglad I ain't got one

but good luck with it TB, put a bottle on the other bankguaranteed to get across then

Brilliant

Well I've been pricing up kit and it's not gonna be cheap. It's going to be, about,

£30 for goggles
£10 for mitts
£20 for trunks
£60 for FSII Bodysuit
£25 for training buoys
£15 for training fins
£10 for swim/pool socks

so that's £170 before I pay for using the pool. Of couse once I'm back on form I'll be able to practice in the loch/sea which will cost nowt. Still I can feel my bank manager cringe from here.

Eventually, yes, you might need all that stuff, but at least you can get it gradually- googgles and costume to start, then some float/bouys, then the fins, then the loch kit as you start thinking about training in there.

though.

Yeah, you can't really use a FSII Bodysuit more than 10 times at the most, because they lose their elasticity fairly quickly so I shan't get one till much closer to the date of the swim.

I need to get my eyes tested too before getting any goggles.

Are you going to go for prescription goggles then?

Yeah, otherwise anything more than three inches from my eyes would be blurred.

And swimming with contacts I guess is a Bad Plan.

probably not. Also I prefer to wear goggles anyway and I didn't think you could wear goggles and contacts.

I meant probably not a good idea.

I don't know, I'm afraid. I've always had good sight so never looked into it, sorry. Most simmers that I used to train with wouldn't wear contacts, but that was a few years ago when they ere less prevailent.

Well I shall get a current prescription on thursday and visit our 'local' Intersport, which is apparently a swimming specialist, and look at their prices for trunks/jammers.

save money, go to the Deep in Hull and use one of the yanks
http://www.thedeep.co.uk/
certain "fish" are good motivators

yanks??? - err! stupid TANKS

Are you talking about those fish that only have one bone, their jaw bone, and non-scaly skin?