Swim around Keppel

Achieved!

It was the perfect tropical island paradise I was imagining.  Warm and sunny, the slightest breeze, sparkling water teeming with friendly fish, whale song when you put your head under water. The kind of day when you want nothing more than to be outdoors, in or on the water.

That was the day after the swim. And to a lesser extent the day or two before.

The day of, the winds that had followed us up the coast were just too strong to run an event safely around the island. The organisers reluctantly implemented “Plan B”, a 15km route along the northern part of Great Keppel Island, hugging the coastline from The Spit to Big Peninsula.  Unlike the 20km clockwise circumnavigation route, perfectly planned to give swimmers a boost from currents and tides, this route was about giving everyone the opportunity to do what they came here to do - which is to swim (for a really really long time).

The morning of, swimmers huddled together on the cool breezy beach, orange tow floats hanging off like tails. Some wore a light smear of zinc, others were fully coated (thanks to friends wearing gloves) in a layer of channel grease several mm thick. 

The kayakers set off first, and were blown across the no-craft zone where they waited for swimmers. Thanks to the wind, my partner and support paddler John dubbed his hire kayak the “yellow submarine” as it rapidly filled up with water from the waves (that he then couldn’t empty because the bailing bucket had torn off its anchor rope and floated away). I called it "the bathtub".

To the first buoy, and I couldn’t help smiling when the boofy bloke who had decided the only possible route across that vast expanse of water required him to swim on top of me, then got his tow float tangled in the buoy line!

The visibility in the water was pretty poor thanks to days of wind stirring up sediment, and the water was cooler than expected, prompting some on-the-fly adjustments to my feed plan.  Having walked most of the course a day earlier it felt easy and familiar to make our way up the coast. That was, until we rounded the last peninsula before the turn and it was “uphill” into current all the way (don’t stop or you’ll go backwards!).  A quick hello and a photo from the coastguard who was doubling as the turning buoy, and it was back down the coast again, the wind now at our backs.  While I  had new currents to contend with, John became a sail, requiring him to paddle backwards just to stay in place.

The final couple of hours I “levelled up” in terms of marathon swim experience.  For the first time I struggled to feed and vomited a couple of times. John spent that last stretch  trying to stay close and coax calories into me while I just kept my arms moving. I discovered a few “new” flaws in my stroke too, via aches and pains I hadn't met before. The thought of you, my amazing supporters, and the CanToo community cheering me on made it that much easier to keep going.

I made it to the beach at The Spit in just over 5 hours, my longest swim ever. It wasn’t the full 20km I had trained for but it was a real challenge, and one I’m really proud to have completed. Getting to the starting line was a long term goal that required a huge amount of work and commitment, and I’m really proud of that as well.

Thank you. When I couldn’t train in open water because the beaches were closed. When I was heading to the pool in the dark mornings 5 days a week.  When I couldn't keep food down and I was in pain. Thinking about your support  and about what it's actually for  is what kept me going.

CanToo raises funds for early-career cancer researchers — the innovators doing the work that turns into tomorrow's treatments,  at the stage of their careers when funding is hardest to come by. Together we've raised over $4000, which goes directly toward supporting that research.

If you haven't donated yet and this story moved you, there's still time. Every dollar helps back a researcher working on the next breakthrough.

And if you've already given — thank you, from my (still very tired) heart. I couldn't have got to or through that last kilometre without you.

Arrived!

Good morning from Great Keppel Island! We arrived yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) after a very bumpy boat ride across choppy waters stirred up by days of strong winds. 

Thank you everyone for your donations and words of encouragement. I'm completely blown away(pardon the pun) by the support people have shown me to get this far. I'm still quite daunted by the challenge ahead ("if it doesn't scare you it's not big enough") and it's been amazing to have this community of people around me cheering me on.  I've printed out your words to bring on the swim with my support kayak.

It's easy to imagine that marathon swimming is a solo sport but it is absolutely a team endeavour.  Support crew are essential for safety and swim logistics like feeding, but also for motivation when the going gets really tough.

For my swim, my wonderful partner John kindly agreed to be "voluntold" to learn to paddle and be my support vessel. While I've been in the pool he has faced cold, dark early mornings and braved gale force winds on Sydney harbour in a surf ski (and a close call with a seaplane!) to learn the right technique and get paddle fit.

John will be paddling a kayak next to be and will blowing a whistle at me every 30 mins to tell me it's time to feed. I've got a mixture of mysterious soluble white powders,  gels, lollies and bananas, with a couple of Anzac cookies thrown in for good measure (and caffeine gels in case of emergency).

Despite all the planning and preparation, ultimately Mother Nature will have the biggest say in how this all goes. We are all watching the forecast for Saturday nervously - if the wind keeps up we might not be able to circumnavigate the island, instead taking an alternate route on the sheltered side of the island. It's uncomfortable to swim in serious wind chop but more importantly it's a safety risk given the support vessels need to maintain a steady line close to the swimmer while being tossed around. This uncertainty and lack of control is all part of the joy of ocean swimming!

In the meantime... plenty of island to explore!