Back from a lovely vacation, back to work, and today – the Big Swim. I had mentioned in a couple of previous posts that I had set myself a challenge of competing the 1.4 mile swim between two piers in Bournemouth, on the South Coast of England. Linked to that was raising £150 ($300) in sponsorship.

The sponsorship stands at about £120 and I am confident that I will pass £150. Whilst on vacation in Croatia I had been able to do quite a bit of swimming and felt confident that I would complete the swim.

The weather in the UK has been awful recently with areas flooded by torrential rains. Fortunately the South coast hasn’t been too badly hit, but the sea today was quite choppy – and very cold by comparison to the Mediterranean Sea off Croatia.

Well, despite getting cramp in my leg at one point, I competed the swim in 1 hour 36 minutes. Of about 1000 starters I was the last to finish! But it wasn’t a race; I feel really pleased to have stretched myself and done something very much outside my comfort zone. And yes, it has boosted my self confidence as well.