First swim of season (by Julian)

Well we couldn't avoid it any longer...Saturday rolled around and we all rolled out of bed at the unearthly hour of 7:00am so we could be on the road in convoy by 8:15am. An hour later and we were approaching Dover...entering the traditional fog that over surrounds the harbour.

Once we arrived though we found that it was only the hill that was in fog...the harbour was in sunshine. And 113 other swimmers were queueing up to register in the new fancy safety system (which proved itself later in the day!).

By 10:15 formalities were done, we were changed and ready for the first swim. Cliff gave his safety talk on behalf of Freda and we lined up along the beach. Then we were off, down the stony shore into the 9C harbour water. Our instructions were easy - out past the channel markers, turn right and head for the end of the harbour, touch the wall and back. A leisurely 30 minute swim.

But at 9C there was no "leisurely" about it...we swam as fast as possible and after about 5 minutes even attempted putting our heads in the water. Quarter an hour later we were touching the barnacle encrusted wall and heading for home, a warm towel, chocolate and sugary tea. Except we had another 15 minutes swimming to do!

Finally we stumbled up the shore and stripped (literally in some cases) to replace our wet costumes with dry warm layers. Then the shivering begins, making pouring tea from the flask quite an exciting new challenge. Getting it to your lips, shows you the true meaning of "many a slip between cup and lip"!

But an hour and a half later we were just stopping shivering and warming through nicely...when we were ordered back into the trunks and repeated the whole exercise again!!!

Finally after 2 swims and lots of shivering, we were back in the car for the hour long journey home. Our support team had prepared a chilli to warm us through...and a few bottles of red wine later and we could nearly joke about the shrinking effects of the cold water. Nearly.

At least it is 2 weeks before we do it all again! Photos are on Facebook at the Arch To Arc Supporters page or Arch To Arc 2010