North Channel Blog – Post Swim
Morning from Northern Ireland!
I will have a full report of my swim in the coming days, as I am collecting the data taken during the swim from several sources aboard the boat. My brother also has a copy of all his notes, including water temperatures, stroke count and miscellaneous details I want to get off him as well – STAY TUNED!
Such an incredible day yesterday as the sun was out in full force; something I have experienced once or twice since being here the past three weeks. I took advantage of the beautiful weather by traveling north to Portrush, and taking in a surfing lesson from 10x Irish Champion, Martin ‘TK’ Kelly – what a wonderful experience. My last surfing lesson was off the north shore of Oahu with Vince after the Molokai Channel swim, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to surf in two very unique surroundings. Off to the west were the Giant’s Causeway, and the breathtaking cliffs I posted pictures of a week or so back – having that in the background of the beach was simply awesome!
This past weekend I took the family up to experience the Giant’s Causeway, and the natural beauty of the northern coast. After taking in the sights, we traveling a few miles down the road, and went out along the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and down along the island. I intermittently stopped and spoke with people from all over, including some open water swimmers who were from the San Francisco area – Dolphin Club members. I told them I knew friends who swim at the South End, and swum there myself on two occasions. It truly is such a small world out there!
On Sunday, Pat Gallant-Charette and I went with her crew down to Dublin, and met up with Fergal Somerville for the day. Fergal is an absolute beast of a man who swam the North Channel back in June when it was 8-9C; just incredible! He was kind enough (and gave us quite a few laughs) to take us around town in his vehicle; showing us the sights and going for a swim off High Rock just outside Dublin Bay. Afterwards we ate muesli bars and drank Americano coffee – one of the best ‘recovery’ meals I have ate in a long time! He was so kind to take us around all day, and gave us one of the best quick tours of a major city I have ever been on. Proud to meet him, and call him a friend – very kind man indeed.
Recovery from the North Channel swim has gone surprisingly well, and I have been pain-free for the past couple days. The typical recovery after a marathon swim will take up to a week, and I am under the firm belief that you should refrain from any stressful exercise for at least 5-7 days after such event. Your normal sleeping pattern returns after a day or so, and good stretching after a hot shower is the key. A deep tissue massage is the best thing going after these events, unfortunately Jody (Fusion Bodyworks in Murrysville) is a few thousand miles away – very excited to get home and get an appointment!
I was interviewed Monday night by a reporter with the Bangor Spectator, and did a brief photo shoot for the article in the water off Ballyholm last night. She came with her high heels on, but took them off before walking out into the water with me to snap a few photographs for the paper. Although I will already be in the air by the time the article surfaces, the paper as well as Mary and Philip said they would mail (‘post’) us a copy. I have a nice collection of newspaper articles from each of the swims from foreign newspapers, and I am excited to add this one there as well.
Although I will be returning to Bangor this evening for dinner with Brian Meharg and representatives from the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association, we are checking out of Shelleven guest house (very sad) and departing today for Belfast, where Mom and Dad will catch the train down to Dublin to fly out in the morning, and I will check into the airport hotel at Belfast International after turning in the rental (or ‘car for hire’) vehicle with Hertz. I cannot say enough about Philip and Mary who have kept me fed and rested throughout the journey at Shelleven. I recommend this top establishment to anyone who is coming to Bangor, as they have been so kind to me. They even took money off my final bill, and put it toward the Forever Fund – such great people! (https://shellevenhouse.com)