Today, the wind.The wind howled all last night and much of the morning. It made for a rough morning swim in the relative cover of Beef Island, but we did it.

As open water swimmers, we know that sometimes the wind and the waves makes what we do a challenge. But in that is where the means for personal improvement lies. Again and again we see swimmers step out of their comfort zone and into the water, and again and again, we see them reemerge with a new sense of themselves, as athletes, and as people who face their fears. When the seas get rough, we dig deep. And then we know it’s there to be had.

After our morning swim we motored up wind to find shelter in Mountain Point on Virgin Gorda. The wind settled down a bit, but it was still a force. All of our swimmers made one challenging swim or another today. Some of our group are very fast and sought the challenge of maintaining speed in rough waters. Others wanted

to find confidence and comfort in swell and surge. I’d say everyone of them found what they were looking for today.

We headed to shore for Michael Bean’s Happy Arrrr (hour) and had a hard won good time. I tried to defend guide Fitzy’s two year title for the conch shell blowing contest. Guide fail. In spite of my defeat, we managed to have a salty good time, and returned to the boat for dinner and an impromptu dance party. After a day of swimming hard, dancing on the bow is not nearly as easy as you might think.

It sounds like the worst of the wind is over, and we’re hopeful for a morning swim at the Baths. No matter what, these folks came to swim, and swim they will.

-Heather.

Day 3

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