We appear to be having a respite during heatwave number 3. But just for a few days.
This past Saturday night, when it was still stupid hot, I did this:
It was utterly magical – and a welcome antidote to our crazy world.
(Night fishing at Antibes, Pablo Picasso 1939)
The local pool does these sorts of periodic events. In the winter you can cold swim (the pool is heated by solar panels but during the winter clearly there’s less daytime light in England so they tell you to wear a wet suit or some such thing).
There’s another one scheduled for August and the last of this season in September.
Around 50 people participated – as the flyer says, 16 and over. I think they should do a separate 16-25 night as the young’uns were a bit annoying.
Anyway, I haven’t been swimming in a long while but if they did this on a regular basis I’d go. Swimming in the dark is … other-worldly.
I no longer own a proper swimsuit. The last swim couture I bought was for the trip to the Maldives years ago. So, I swam this time in my short-sleeved sun protection top and skort (skirt-shorts combo – see pic – as opposed to the long-sleeved, leggings sun protection stuff I also own).
Right now, the sun goes down around 9:30, but it stays light still till around 9:45. This is when we all got in the water.
Oh, and you have to wear a swim cap – because they give you these small lights to put under the cap which make swimmer look like fireflies. This is a poor pic as it makes us look like we have lasers rather than blinking lights (ie, like fireflies).
No perfume worn but I came home smelling mildly of night flowers and chlorine. One of the joyous smells of summer.
What do you think? Is this up your alley? Have you done night walks to see bats or other nocturnals?
Pics: pablopicasso.org, Topsham Pool and mine
I love night swimming (all kinds of swimming, really). I grew up in South Florida, where it was common for even modest houses to have small pools, and virtually all apartment communities did. I’m not sure what makes night swimming so different, but it is. Glad you got a break from the heat!
A lifetime ago, I had a boyfriend who came from Miami and his whole attitude towards water was so eye-opening. If I had the room, I’d have a small pool out back.
I love the idea and even love those clip-on thingys that glow.
I used to love to go for late summer wades in the moonlight at the beach in Connecticut. They had the bioluminescent things in the water that looked like sparks. So cool. And with the heat lingering well into the wee hours there (unlike SoCal, where the temps dip at night) it was mighty refreshing as well
I have no clue what they are, the lights, but will definitely ask the next time there’s a Moon swim.
The pool water was warm (I recall the temp on the readout was 28 C, which is the low 80s), even in late evening.
Do you think the bioluminescent stuff is still there? It sounds other-worldly.
I never knew that they had anything like that in CT! I knew about it in CA though. Several of us took a boat to Santa Cruz Island and anchored there for the day and night. At night when my partner went to pee off the boat, he freaked out. The others knew what it was. It was bioluminescent plankton. When the water was disturbed, they glowed and sparkled like crazy. Loved it!
Your moonlight swim sounds lovely, made even better as an escape from the heat wave. Heat and humidity here is on-going.
Is there a pool near you? Even a late afternoon swim could be relaxing…
What an interesting event. Was there goid music? Since our area is so hot for large portions of the year, every housing development has its own community pool and swim team for kids ages 4 to 18. No surprise that Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky both come from this region of the US. I go to an indoor pool and take an aqua fitness class once or twice a week. I’m a big fan.
No music. Actually, someone asked about that in the comments on the pictures posted by the pool itself: do you provide entertainment? The reply was basically: uh, no, most people who do this are looking for a calm, gentle evening (implying that if that’s what you want, go to a resort and leave us alone).
I discovered the pool offers water aerobics some evenings. Might have a go at that.
I do Aquarobics regularly too. It’s the most oversubscribed class available at the gym. If you log on to book just a minute after booking opens the class will be full & you have to go on the waitlist
Oooohhhhh! I would absolutely do this, what a delight! Years ago (feels like another lifetime) we had friends we would visit who had a salt water pool (not chlorine) and the summertime night swims after the kids were in bed were an absolute delight.
Wow, what a wonderful luxury, that pool. I think I would forego space in a house for something like that.
The one thing I miss about the big house was our pool 10 steps from the back door. Swimming at night was one of my favourite things. Midnight laps seem to go much easier and smoother. It’s also unbelievably refreshing.
Our pool was well floodlit because funnel webs love a swim and we would get them regularly in the pool.
Portia xx
HAHAHAHA honestly your nonchalance!
March, it really was just a part of a Sydney childhood. We were well trained in long pole and net catching techniques and would let them go down the back of the yard. After being submerged it would always take them a few minutes to reanimate and they’d blunder off.
Funnel webs? Like serious spiders?
In high summer it doesn’t get dark here till after 10. If I had a pool I would swim every night from May – end-September.
The Sydney funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus) is widely considered the most dangerous spider in Australia. It is known for its highly toxic venom, which can be fatal to humans, particularly young children. While other spiders like the redback and some funnel-web relatives are also venomous, the Sydney funnel-web is the deadliest due to the potency and rapid action of its venom.
Uh, no thank you
It forgot to tell you they also jump and are extremely pugnacious when out wandering looking for mates. The only spider with fangs strong enough to bite through an adult human males big toenail.
I’m sure you’re aware there’s a whole world of YouTube videos of the various ways Oz can kill you, I find them fascinating. But also terrifying.
Yeah, it’s all true but when you grow up with the knowledge it makes it easier.
(clipped from Wikipedia)
Yes, Funnel Webs are the most serious of spiders. Just misfortunately their venom is super powerful on humans.
Dad was a paraplegic and would swim every day: rain, hail or shine to keep fit.
I would get in late September through end of March.
Good lord I had to look “Funnel Web” up. Yikes!
HA! Yeah, they’re scary
That looks so COOL! And the smell of chlorine is one of the defining scents of Summer, I agree – as long as you don’t leave it on too long ( I get itchy)
However! Having said that…I am unlikely to swim at night. Nor would I swim in a black pool- I am a big fan of seeing what’s in a pool- every bit of it!
As a teenager I went to a summer camp in northern Maine. We swam in a ‘thing’ called the grotto. Rock pool down a steep embankment. When it was cloudy, the water was dark and lord knows who else might be swimming with us.
Never been night swimming or cold water swimming. I like my water indoors & warm as toast.
I can imagine it being otherworldly though. It put me in mind if REM’s Night Swimming track. Possibly the most haunting & eerily beautiful yet deeply depressing pieces of music
Never heard that REM (my fave album of theirs is Life’s Rich Pageant) will look for it.
People round here swim in the Atlantic, but that’s been made much harder by the twats at Southwest Water dumping sewage.