Castle chill forgotten as L'Ancresse warms spirits

THE bay swimming season is under way. The Guernsey Swimming Club has organised five events around the island, with this week seeing one at L'Ancresse. The conditions were good for the 30 swimmers, which is more than could be said for the first swim of the summer, the castle one.

That race saw the swimmers make their way from the slaughterhouse slip to the gents' pool and then on to the castle slip. Club member Jo Winberg has been taking part in the bay swims for 30 years and she was not impressed with the temperature of the water on that day.

'You could have amputated my legs when I was stood on the slaughterhouse slipway and I would have been none the wiser,' she said.

'It was one of the coldest that I ever have ever known. I do enjoy the bay swims, though. It's quite liberating swimming out at sea.'

The club has been sending its members to brave the cold waters since its formation in August 1886.

In fact, before Beau Sejour was completed in 1976, the club was based at the Bathing Pools.

Naturally, this was not ideal because if the tide was up or the conditions too rough, lessons for the juniors had to be cancelled.

In the early days, it also organised galas in the Albert Dock. According to club president Jo Norman, it was not just for logistical reasons that it would swim in the Bathing Pools and out at sea.

'These swims are like challenge swims,' said Norman.

'For living on an island, you need to be able to survive in the water for 30 minutes. The swims are done in bathers and nobody is allowed to wear wetsuits.

'The bay swims are part of the heritage of the club.'

The water during August and September is at its warmest of the year as the summer sun gradually heats it up. For insurance reasons, nobody under the age of 12 is allowed to take part and the majority of the swimmers who do are from the veterans' class, the masters.

One of these is 73-year-old Mike Bamfield. The retired RAF navigator took up swimming as a youngster and he competed at a high level while serving in the forces.

After returning to the island 15 years ago, he has regularly competed in the bay swims and he also organises other sea swims.

'Swimming in a pool can get boring,' he said.

'When swimming around Cobo in the reefs, there are some beautiful little gullies and with the variety of seaweed, it is like an underwater garden. It's just so beautiful.

'It's more of a challenge than swimming in a pool as well. I enjoy the summer swimming.

'I don't going swimming in the winter. I've got more sense.'

One person who does swim up until Christmas is Terry Le Tissier. The Boxing Day charity event at Cobo is usually his last of the season. The retired engineer has been a regular for 35 years and the next time he steps into the sea for an event will be his 150th bay swim.

'I was always interested in swimming,' he said.

'My first bay swim was in 1947 when I returned to the island after the war. We used to go out at Moulin Huet and we would swim to the rock in the middle of the bay.

'I like swimming in deep water and I enjoy the friendship of the people in the club.'

Le Tissier was one of the 29 swimmers who competed in this week's L'Ancresse event, which was won by Tom Hamon. The 16-year-old has been in good form over the summer, coming third in the castle swim and then going on to win the Portelet race on 31 July in a time of 9min. 46sec.

Close on his heels in that race and in the L'Ancresse one was Jo Laine.

Also 16, she is a student at the Grammar School and completed the swim this week in a time of 10-16, five seconds behind Hamon.

Le Tissier posted a time of 17-29 that saw him near the back of the field, but he was not concerned with his placing.

'I did ok,' he said.

'I'm not quickest by any means. I'm a tail-end Charlie, but it was a nice swim.'

The remaining swims on the calendar are the Castle Open on Friday 19 August, one at Vazon on Thursday 1 September and the millennium swim.

This event on Sunday goes from Cobo to Perelle on a course that is nearly three kilometres long.

The top swimmers will be aiming to cross the finishing line in just over the one-hour mark.