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Padstow to Rock swim
Are you entering this for next year?
What distance is it - Not sure if I should enter the elite wave (30 mins or less) or the standard wave.
Also - having to print our and post the entry form. JHFC.
NotThamesWater-
Nope, not planning on being down there at that time this year.
It's somewhere under a mile if you follow the advice of where to aim. It's about a mile if you get dragged to the East by the current and have to battle your way back to Rock through the moored boats.
In 2021 the first 10 minutes were fine, but then the wind picked up and it was pretty choppy. I entered the Elite wave having no problem doing 1 mile in 30 mins but ended up taking ~40 minutes. Lots of veterans saying that it was a tough year and much slower than normal given the conditions.
There's no timing but I did see a few people in the Elite wave being picked up by boats for being too slow or just being pushed too far East too early. I managed to avoid that and swim the whole thing.
https://www.strava.com/activities/5786284284 - the correct route is straighter on and curving in right to the slipway at Rock. There are buoys to aim at but I was led astray by some others that seemed to know what they were doing, until it was clear they didn't.
Greenbank
Also, did the Padstow to Rock swim back in August as, for once, I'd managed for our family holiday down there to coincide with it and also for me to snag a last minute entry.
Started off good in the glorious sunshine and instead of sticking to the left I'd followed some people off to the right so when the wind picked up it got rather choppy (1ft waves). Ended up approaching the slip at Rock through some of the boats to the South as the current had picked up a bit and pulled me further East than I wanted to be. Oops. Will know better next time.
Still, wasn't pulled from the water for being too slow and I'll do it again if the dates align.