What does the future hold....
April 30, 2013
This is the forecast for the next couple of days... as I look out the window Cape Town is the Cape of Good Hope...tomorrow is a holiday and enjoy the sunshine... Wednesday night you are going to see the Cape of Good Hope's alta ego the Cape of Storms... Friday evening the South Easter is going to come through and clean up the surf as any good doctor will do and Sunday you will see a break in the weather and pristine racing conditions...
In essence I am fortunate to have slipped between two 2 weather patterms... The edge of the next one clipping Cape Town as it swings down from west of Namibia mid-Monday.
When planning this swim the weather and the water temperature were the two elements beyond my control... It helped that this Sunday is the 1st Sunday in May so it still falls within the 1SOMS space... but I've also have 20 years of lifesaving experience under my belt.. big surf and poor conditions is what I enjoy and used to train for...when I was WPL Competition (2004-2005) I realised that competitions are about the participants ... lifesavers should be training for the poor conditions as that is when they are likely to have their mettle tested. "Vigilance and Service" is the credo of Lifesaving South Africa.
Openwater/ocean/sea-swimming has its uniqueness.. no lane ropes, no line at the bottom of the pool , no chlorine ... it also has currents and marine life and this means that you need to fill your kit bag with new knowledge and an appreciation for the great outdoors. You need to be able to adapt... a Plan B and a Plan C are not nice-to-haves they are essentials. A route can not be planned assuming a "good day" it needs to be able to be used 7/10 occasions and how to identify those 3/10 poor conditions in advance (10 day forecasts are available) must be known.
Its cold I hear them say... well its different from a pool..it tastes fresh and clean.. that which is growing is alive (unlike that at the bottom of some pools)..Actually due to the size of the ocean it has a pretty low temperature fluctuation with extremes typically being felt after an atmospheric event such as wind. From the South East comes cold, dry air ... running with the cold Benguela current the surf gets flattened. In summer when the wind stops the view is idyllic but very likely to be cold water. From the North West comes moist, warm air.. running against the Benguela Current the swells are held up and increase in height.. combine that with the proximity to full moon and time of year and you have a recipe for large surf.
Where to next.. This Sunday is the Clifton Openwater Race Experience aka C.O.R.E 2013 ..I am hoping for it to change racing in this part of the world... why? I want to see South Africans contest at world championship events. I want to see SA'ffers bring home more Gold, Silver and Bronze medals because they have had opportunity to contest their sport on home turf meeting FINA open water rules and regulations... I want spectators to be able to watch the contest from the shores and see how tactics and strategy are needed in order to perform.
Will I succeed... Time will tell ;-) Sea u Sunday (bring binoculars)...support your swimmers
In essence I am fortunate to have slipped between two 2 weather patterms... The edge of the next one clipping Cape Town as it swings down from west of Namibia mid-Monday.
When planning this swim the weather and the water temperature were the two elements beyond my control... It helped that this Sunday is the 1st Sunday in May so it still falls within the 1SOMS space... but I've also have 20 years of lifesaving experience under my belt.. big surf and poor conditions is what I enjoy and used to train for...when I was WPL Competition (2004-2005) I realised that competitions are about the participants ... lifesavers should be training for the poor conditions as that is when they are likely to have their mettle tested. "Vigilance and Service" is the credo of Lifesaving South Africa.
Openwater/ocean/sea-swimming has its uniqueness.. no lane ropes, no line at the bottom of the pool , no chlorine ... it also has currents and marine life and this means that you need to fill your kit bag with new knowledge and an appreciation for the great outdoors. You need to be able to adapt... a Plan B and a Plan C are not nice-to-haves they are essentials. A route can not be planned assuming a "good day" it needs to be able to be used 7/10 occasions and how to identify those 3/10 poor conditions in advance (10 day forecasts are available) must be known.
Its cold I hear them say... well its different from a pool..it tastes fresh and clean.. that which is growing is alive (unlike that at the bottom of some pools)..Actually due to the size of the ocean it has a pretty low temperature fluctuation with extremes typically being felt after an atmospheric event such as wind. From the South East comes cold, dry air ... running with the cold Benguela current the surf gets flattened. In summer when the wind stops the view is idyllic but very likely to be cold water. From the North West comes moist, warm air.. running against the Benguela Current the swells are held up and increase in height.. combine that with the proximity to full moon and time of year and you have a recipe for large surf.
Where to next.. This Sunday is the Clifton Openwater Race Experience aka C.O.R.E 2013 ..I am hoping for it to change racing in this part of the world... why? I want to see South Africans contest at world championship events. I want to see SA'ffers bring home more Gold, Silver and Bronze medals because they have had opportunity to contest their sport on home turf meeting FINA open water rules and regulations... I want spectators to be able to watch the contest from the shores and see how tactics and strategy are needed in order to perform.
Will I succeed... Time will tell ;-) Sea u Sunday (bring binoculars)...support your swimmers
Posted by Warren Fialkov. Posted In : C.O.R.E
Cape Town born and bred..I grew up on Clifton beach..as a nipper the lifesaver at Clifton Surf Lifesaving Club...1SOMS has it roots in the annual Clifton Cold Water Mile.
I enjoy open water swimming and come from a clan of swimmers
