Swimming for the Stars!

Deborah Hambly (CfDS officer for Oxfordshire) has been Swimming for the Stars!

Deborah swam a total of 25km in Croatia, with the aim of raising awareness of the Campaign for Dark Skies and the problem of light pollution. All the sponsorship that she has raised will go direct to CfDS funds.

Deborah managed to raise a total of £331 for the Campaign for Dark Skies! Congratulations Deborah!

Details of her swim are available at the SwimTrek Croatia website, with the map of her route taken available here.

Swimming Diary

Saturday

I had an early start to catch a flight at 8:30 from Gatwick to Split, Croatia. From there I caught two local buses to port from where I caught a water taxi to the island of Zlarin from where I was based for the week. I met the other 13 swimmers and 3 leaders but sadly there was no time for swimming!

Sunday - distance swam: 6km

We got up early for the introductory swim. We zig-zagged across the port and back for a quick 600m evaluation in order to determine our grouping. My fellow swimmers discovered that although I'm not at all deferential to cold water (despite having swam in a couple of very cold lakes in Wales and an extremely cold Lido in Ilkley) I get in quickly if it means starting with the rest of the group and not having to play catch-up! The weather was very cold and windy so instead of an open water crossing, we swam 4.25km down the west coast of the Island of Zlarin before stopping for lunch. After lunch we walked around the southern tip and then myself and another 6 swimmers who still felt like we hadn't swum quite enough swam another 1km back to the boat. There were lots of jellyfish and the occasional plastic bag floating in the crystal clear water and lots of fish!

Monday - distance swam: 4km

As it was still extremely windy and cold we took our boat up the Krka river inland to the Krka National Falls. We spent the morning hiking up around the falls and then went for a quick dip under the lowest waterfalls. Unfortunately, the park warden decided that our swimming might encourage other visitors to the park to go for a dip (unlikely given the fresh water was quite frigid and it was still cold) and as there had been a lot of rainfall the current under the falls was quite strong, so we were asked to stick to the shores. After lunch our goal was to swim from the falls down to the blue bridge. I donned a wetsuit which kept me lovely and toasty warm and swam downstream while waving to the occasional passing boat. It was quite a change to swim in fresh water and not have to experience the stinging salt if you misjudged a wave.

Tuesday - distance swam: 5.5km

The sun was shining for the first time and the seas had calmed down considerably so we set out for our first open water crossing. Unfortunately, despite a staggered start, the current was quite strong and we were told to change our destination point several times and the group became very spread out. We boarded the boat on from the next island and went over some swimming drills in the port before going to another island which had been used as a prison of war camp. We played in the port after lunch. Sadly the ground under the diving board wasn't deep enough for fancy diving! We then had the "SwimTrek" sprint to a sister island - a distance of less than 500m. I misheard the directions for the race and touched the other side and started coming back before I realised it was over and I had won. We had a second race coming back, but I opted to swim it butterfly and swim at a more relaxed pace and enjoy more of the scenery both above and below the water.

Wednesday - distance swam: 3.5km

The weather continued to improve so we took a long sail to reach the islands in the Kornati National Park. We landed at one, from where we took a hike to the highest point and more group photo shoots. We swam in the port before lunch and then set off for an afternoon swim down the coast of another island.

Thursday - distance swam: 6km

Our last official day of swimming and we swam from our home base of Zlarin aiming at the church tower on Prvic, the island directly to the North, some 3.5 km away. For the last part we were allowed to spread out slightly and encouraged to sprint. I didnâ^À^Ùt want to watch how slow our progress felt, and once we arrived on the beach realised we had sprinted for a good 15 min at the end! We hiked to the opposite side of the island, where the boat had moored. After lunch we set off once again to the next island, Tijat, another 2.5 km. I decided to swim with a different group and put flippers on, but didn't allow myself to use my arms, and kept my head above water to enjoy the last swim and be a more social swimmer! When we arrived at the next bay, I took off my wetsuit (ouch!) and cooled down before boarding the boat back to Zlarin.

Friday - distance swam: 400m

For those who still hadn't had enough swimming there was an optional session in the port of Zlarin before breakfast. The wetsuits had been put away, so we had to keep moving as the water was quite cold. We practiced stroke technique and had a couple of team races to finish off our trek. We then packed up and took a water taxi back to the mainland, from where we took a 7 hour bus ride to arrive in Dubrovnik for a late supper. The old city was spectacular with limestone pavement and buildings - all floodlit with upward facing 500 watt lights...