Monday, September 14, 2009

A Ray of Hope?

It's Monday in Dover, and I will not be swimming any time soon, but there is a ray of hope for next Saturday (the 19th). The current forecasts show the winds finally settling down on Friday night and into Saturday. IF (that's a big IF at this point) that forecast holds, then Saturday could be the day. I'll keep the updates going as we go along, and hopefully that forecast will continue. For fun, you can keep track yourself here.

If it is Saturday (or Sunday), it will be a slightly challenging day to swim. It will be during a "spring tide," the stronger tidal period when it can be more difficult to cross. And just coincidentally, this will be the strongest spring tide of the whole year (they vary by a few feet depending on the position of the moon and earth). It is something of a mixed bag, actually. You can get a little extra boost from the spring tide as you head toward France from the middle of the Channel, but getting into shore, i.e. the last mile or so, can be tough. Still, lots of people are successful on spring tides, and if it is my only shot (which it may well be) I'll take it!

My Mom arrived today, and it just happens to be her 70th birthday, so Happy Birthday, Mum!

I'm still doing quite well with the wait - still just good, positive energy, and no nervousness really at all. I still feel great in the water, and certainly have a few more days wait in me.

Cheers.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

We are still thinking of you Mike! Wish I was there!!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mike Solberg said...

Thanks, Guff. If you were here, it would have been a long wait. You probably would have gone home tomorrow, and am I not even going to swim until Saturday (hopefully!). On the other hand, there are a lot of Aussie swimmers here. I'm sure the accent would have come right back and you would have had a grand old time.