Oh, gutted. So SO disappointed. It is less than 24 hour to the time our 2:30pm wave was meant to start. We received our yellow hats and confirmation hats earlier this week and all plans were in place to meet with friends and celebrate, post-swim.
But earlier today, we got the news that the Friday waves had been post-poned due to weather conditions. It made me feel uneasy all day. Yet, I carried on preparing, made sandwiches for tomorrow, packed the post-swim alcohol (organised the important parts ;-) ) At about 5pm, Great Swim announced their decision to cancel the Saturday waves too.
There is still time for the weather to change, but I can understand why this decision was taken at this time - there would otherwise be lots of people with wasted trips tomorrow, ourselves included.
Unfortunately we had booked into a Youth Hostel, which meant we had paid in full... and their refund policy means no refund if you cancel within 24 hours, which we were inside of. So seriously out of pocket there.. although Great Swim will refund our entry fee.
So, I understand why and appreciate them putting our safety first. Many swimmers for these events are inexperienced in open water (like me) or novice swimmers. Choppy currents and torrential rain, just not ideal. But it doesn't stop the disappointment. Been planning this for 12 months.... been getting excited since entry in November. Devastated would come close!
I managed to swim the mile, in the pool in 45 minutes, several times in fact. So I met this goal.....And so now, time to keep up the training, and look forward to the Great Manchester Swim, in Salford Quays next weekend. Not *as* exciting.....it was a difficult swim for me last year and the scenery could never compete with Windermere, and no post-swim wine/cheese session! But still, a chance to put the training into practise and see a few friendly faces in the water!
