1 week till Walrus Swim - 2 weeks till Nessie - bit longer till Hellespont!

Hello all!!

Hope the training is going well.

It’s now just over a week to go to the 40ft Walruses’ inaugural race…. on the 28^th June. Whether you are a doggy-paddler or attempting to beat Paudie “the skin suit” Murphy, come on down and give it a go. It is just over 1km, from the East Pier to Sandycove. We hope to have a successful first event and are looking to make this a permanent fixture on the Open Sea calendar. Some of the guys have put a lot of time and effort into organising this, so it would be good to see local club support. I might even come out of retirement for this one!!

And of course that is followed quickly by…. THE NESSIE CHALLENGE… on the 4^th July. Really looking forward to this swim… hope everyone’s training is coming along well. Looked at the original training schedule for the first time in a while… a lot of swimming to do over the next 2 weeks!! And don’t forget those sponsorship cards - looking to top last year’s amount.

Like last year, anyone attempting the swim should have at least one freshwater lake swim completed before heading for Scotland. Buoyancy is a lot different in fresh water than in the sea and we don’t want anyone getting any surprises on the shores of Loch Ness.

Dips and swims over the next week….

40ft at 12 on Saturday – come on down for a dip… or attempt to get some practise in for next week’s race. Some of the guys are of to the waves in Kerry but there should be the usual crew around.

With the tides next week, the mornings look like the 40ft will be the spot. Can’t make Monday but hope to be on the water most other mornings. If anyone is interested in a good lunch time swim, the tide will be perfect at Seapoint on Tue or Wed… maybe down to Blackrock baths and back. Think it is a little over 2.5ks??

And don’t forget the fresh water swims… Lough Bray has been suggested. As many as possible of the Nessie swimmers should aim for at least one evening this week and one next week…. How does 7pm on Wednesday work for everybody?? Or suggest suitable time/day. Spectacular spot for a swim….. so well worth the drive.

Finally, well done to the Walruses who took part in the Glenalbyn Masters Swim on Tuesday… think we had at least 2 top 10 finishers!!!

Happy paddling!

Damon

To find Lough Bray, see the below link…

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Lough+Bray+Lower,+County+Wicklow,+Republic+of+Ireland&sll=53.904338,-4.042969&sspn=18.15531,39.375&ie=UTF8&cd=2&geocode=FbyHKwMdSdqf_w&split=0&ll=53.185542,-6.298513&spn=0.008988,0.019226&t=h&z=16

8000 words

Sandycove swim 2mo - Sponsorship Forms - Nessie Hotel - Your Help

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Swim 08

YoYo,

I hope you had a fab sunny long weekend. I'd a big burnt nose for days after.

Nessie & Hellespont swimmers I trust your training is flying along!

The Sea Swim Calendar starts 2mo:) Sandycove at 12. If you plan racing get there for 11.15 or so because registration for the race can take a little while. If you havent registered with the club yet but want to race come along and we'll sort it out. Sundays swim is in Portmarnock at 12.15 and there'll be a few of us there if you fancy coming to that 1.

Sponsorship forms will be with you via email this weekend! So you can start hitting up your friends and family. Last year as a club we raised €10,000 which was absolutely savage "AbSav". Climate is a little different this year but hopefully there'll be acouple of quids raised.

Hotel for Nessie - gettem booked if you aint got it done yet. Loch Ness Lodge Hotel NOT the 5 star Loch Ness Lodge.

Sponsor for Our Race - As you know we are running a race on the 28th of June from the back of the east Pier in Dun Laoghaire to Sandycove pier. It's a 1.1km swim and we expect about 150 swimmers. We need a sponsor for prizes! We need 13 Prizes on the day, so if you have any suggestions of sources of prizes on the day do let us know, sponsors can pollute Sandycove beach with their banners and stuff. Cheers.

Man with a Van on Race Day- On the Race Day we also require a man with a van to take swimmers gear from the pier to sandycove. Do you know anybody who could assist? Cheers again.

The dip in the 40 foot at 12 will be going ahead as normal for anybody not racing around the corner in Sandycove so come on down if not for one for the other!

Dont mention Blue Flags.

Happy Paddling,

Alfonso

Sun Sun Sun Sun Sun Sun

Howdy folks,

Its gonna be a cracker of a weekend! Hope to see you at some stage.

I had some great photos but lost me bleedin camera.

We'll be in the 40 Foot at 12 2mo and zip around a mail if you fancy any other swims over the weekend.

Bring a camera if u got one, we'll pop photos on ze blog.

Nessie Swimmers nows the time to book your Hotel.

Please zip me a mail when you've booked as I need to let the hotel know to minus the rooms from those we got set aside.

Good luck to everyone going to Athy for the triathalon.

HooHah!

Fat Al

Week - Milestone Swim - Hotel by Loch

Howryagoin,

Its 7 Saturdays till we cross the Loch and 15 Sundays untill we swim from Europe to Asia!

Nessie swimmers you are on 2kms in the pool this week and 800 meters in the sea.

Hellesponters you are on 4kms in the pool and if you do 800m in the sea you are motoring along.

Congrats to everyone who completed their milestone swim on Saturday.

The Leinster Sea Swims start in 3 Saturdays (6th of June). There's usually a swim every Sat & Sunday, they are deadly craic and can be a really useful part of your training. You can do them to race or simply to swim. They are handicapped so anybody can win on any given day.

You can find the full calendar here (Myself, Kedders, Butler and Paudie made the cover photo for this years calendar as you'll see).

Which reminds me, pick up the Irish Times on Saturday, our PR guru Donal was interviewed by them for an outdoor sports feature which should appear in their Magazine supplement.

There have been a gaggle of swimmers meeting up for midweek swims, we had a great swim in Seapoint on Monday. Keep an eye on the group mails detailing locations and times. With 6 weeks till Nessie its important to get acclimatised to the non-pool swimming. The current sea temperature is akin to what you will experience in the Loch.

We will be staying in the Loch Ness Lodge Hotel. So make your bookings when you can. If you want to get a roomie send an ol group mail.

Enjoy the 40 foot on Sat, its an 800m sea swim which is a little more than Sandycove and back, as long as its not too wavy that's a grand swim. I'm away myself but there'll be a couple of heads there who've swam it many times.

COME ON LEINSTER!!!!!

Happy Paddling,

Al

Week 12 - Milestone Next Week - Bit of Distance on Saturday

Howrya:)

What a week of sport! Leinster trounce Munster, Iniesta's injury time winner dumps Drogba and co. out of the Champions League and Graham Souness finally grows a pair! "Who did you manage Eamonn..???" Classic!!!

The Milestone swim will take place in the National Acquatic Centre next Sat the 16th. Get there for 4pm start swimming at 4.30, directions on their website www.nationalaquaticcentre.ie/location.php
Dont worry if you arent confident about making the distance, its important you come along and do your best, one of the objectives of the milestone swim is to give you an idea of where you are and what you need to do.

Week 12 is in full effect. Nessie Swimmers you're on 2kms this week and next. Europe to Asia swimmers you're on 4kms this week and next.

We'll start upping the distance in the sea this Saturday. The tide will be good a high at 12. We'll do a 400m swim.

If you fancy a weekday morning sea swim there's been a few of us in the 40 Foot at 7am once or twice this week. Its been great. We've had the wetsuits on and been doing a bit of distance. If you prefer evenings cool, send a group mail. The 40 foot, Killiney Beach and Seapoint at high tide are all great!

Happy paddling,

Al

Week 11 - Milestone Swim 1 week later? - Congrats Iron Man Trev

HowdyFolks,

I'm back from a week surfing in Spain, good waves and good weather so I a happy chappy. I paddled out in Mundaka (massive heavy wave see photo) on Saturday and got the absolute shite beaten out of me! Was great:)

We are now in week of 11 training. You've probably got a 6-pack like Peter Andre at the moment and can do 100 pushups without breaking a sweat.

If you're a Nessie Swimmer you are on 2kms this week and scheduled to do the 2kms Milestone Swim next week.

If you're a Transcontinental Swimmer you are 4kms this week and scheduled to do the 4kms Milestone swim next week.

Truth be told I'm on 3.2 myself but confident I'll do the 4kms Milestone with a bit of grit.

We will be doing the Milestone Swim in The National Aquatic Centre which any of you who have been there know is a world class facility (The slides are deadly craic!).

Unfortunatley there is a Gala there on Sat the 9th so although we could have use of a pool it would most likely be very packed. Does anybody have a difficulty with doing the milestone swim at 4pm in the NAC the following Saturday the 16th of May? If so please mail me. I will confirm the date via e-mail on Tuesday coming. Actually no, everybody please email me with your availability on both days (Sat 9th at 2.30 and Sat 16th at 4pm), cheers.

NB Even if you arent confident of finishing the Milestone distance, to participate in either challenge you must attempt the milestone swim.

A big congratulations to Trev who completed the Ironman in China last week. 5km Swim, 100 mile cycle and a marathon run of 27 miles at the end it top it off.

Trev is the first Walrus to complete the event so fair play to him.

Seeya down 40 Foot on Sat@12.

Go On Leinster!

Happy Paddling,

Alfonso

FAQ for The Hellespont Asia to Europe Swim.

When: Sunday August 30th
Where: Eseabat, European Turkey to Canakkale, Asian Turkey.
How Far: 5kms
Water Temperature: Warm
Status of Swim: Iconic to Mythical

How to get there:
We fly into Istanbul with Turkish Airlines on the Thursday prior. We will head down to Canakkale on Friday. Returning to Istanbul on Monday and flying home on Tues. Get to Istanbul yourself and we'll get a coach down and back as a group.

What do I need to do:
Register with the 40 Foot Walruses Swimming Club (if you havent done this you need to do it asap - email schnorps007@hotmail.com)
Book your flights as detailed above.
Follow the Training Schedule
Complete the Milestone swim (4kms on May 4th)
Come to Turkey and swim transcontinental from Europe to Asia.

How much does it cost(last time we checked):
Flights: €300
Accomadation: €100
Coach: €30
Club membership: €50
Total: €480

Where can I find the training schedule:
Why here it is!

	Hellespont Training Schedule (KMS)
	Day 1		Day 2		Long Swim
	Pool		Pool Then Sea		Pool Then Sea
Feb 16th	1		1		1
	1		1		1
March 2nd	1.5		1.5		1.5
	2		2		2
	2		2		2
	2		2		2.5
	2		2		3
April 6th	2		2		3
	2		2		3.5
	2		2		4
	2		2		4
May 4th	2		2		4	May 9th Milestone
	2		2		4
	2		2		4
	2		2		4.5
June 1st	2		1		1	Transfer to the Sea
	2		1.5		1.5
	2		2		2
	2		2		2
	2		2		2.5
July 6th	2		2		3
	2		2		3
	2		2		3.5
	2		2		4
August 3rd	2		2		4
	2		2		4.5
	2		2		3
August 23rd	2		2		Hellespont!!!

Who's doing it:

Al

Sue D

Paudie

Jamie Murphy

Damon

Michael Forde

Andy Millington

Aran Byrne

Steve Beck

Ed Murphy

Donal G

Ian Williamson

Can I Raise money for Charity:
Yes you can! Last year we raised a whopping €10k for Sports & Music Equipment for local primary schools with tight budgets and Wells for Zoe.

This year we will be fundraising for 3 different local schools and Medicine Sans Fronteires.
2 Great Causes. We will give out fundraising forms at the end of May.

Any other q's please mail 40footwalruses@gmail.com

Happy Paddling,

Al

FAQ for Nessie Challenge 09

Nessie 09

When: Saturday the 4th of July
Where: Drumnadroichit (1 hour south of Inverness), Scottsh Highlands.
How Far: 2km
Water Temperature: 7-9 degrees Celcius
Prehistoric Monster: Yes

How to get there: Aer Arann Dub to Invernees Thurs-Sun or BMI Belfast to Inverness Fri-Sun.

What do I need to do:
Register with the 40 Foot Walruses Swimming Club (if you havent done this you need to do it asap - email schnorps007@hotmail.com)
Follow the Training Schedule
Complete the Milestone swim (2kms on May 4th)
Come and wrestle Nessie

How much does it cost:

All costs are "pooled" (sorry) between the swimmers. Assuming everybody who registered comes we estimate the costs will be:

Swimming Club Registration: €50
Safety Boats and Bagpiper playing "Scotland the Brave" as we swim across: €40-€50
2 nights Hotel: €90
Flights: the faster you book the cheaper.


Where can I find the Training Schedule:

Here it is

	Nessie Training Plan
	Day 1		Day 2		Saturday
	Pool		Pool then Sea		Sea
Feb 16th	400m		400m		Dip In the 40 Foot
	400m		400m		Dip In the 40 Foot
March 2nd	600m		600m		Dip In the 40 Foot
	800m		800m		Dip In the 40 Foot
	1km		1km		Dip In the 40 Foot
	1.2km		1.2km		Dip In the 40 Foot
	1.4km		1.4km		Dip In the 40 Foot
April 6th	1.6km		1.6km		Dip In the 40 Foot
	1.8km		1.8km		Dip In the 40 Foot
	2km		2km		Dip In the 40 Foot
	2km		2km		Dip In the 40 Foot
May 4th	2km		2km		Milestone Swim
	2km		400m		400m
	2km		800m		800m
	2km		1.2km		1.2km
June 1st	2km		1.6km		1.6km
	2km		1.6km		2km
	2km		1.6km		2km
	2km		1.6km		2km
	2km		1.6km		Nessie!!!
The only rule with training is do the distance.
The second only rule is do as much of the distance front crawl as possible. Train anywhere that suits you.

What's the Deal with Saturday@12:

I'm glad you asked. Every Saturday we meet at 12 in the 40 Foot in Sandycove. Acclimatising to cold water is just as important as training for the distances. It's always a bit of craic too.


Who's Doing it:

This is our list of confirmed swimmers, please let us know if any circumstances have changed.

Jay

Brian Kedney

Al

Simon T

Paudie

Damon

Brian McDonnell

Colm Moriarty

peter mceveoy

steve clare

Ger Counihan

Alan Conlon

Shannon Sweenet

Grainne Kedney

Laura Kennedy

Neil Bodytonic +2?

Fran Kedney

Terry Kedney

conor barry

Martin Maycock

David Doyle

Stephen Lyons

Kieran Tubridy
Tara Goldrick
Brian Butler
Noel Ward
Fiona O Brien
Cait Flanagan


Can I raise money for Charity:

Yes you can! Last year we raised a whopping €10k for Sports & Musical equipment for local primary schools with tight budgets and Wells for Zoe.

This year we will be fundraising for 3 different local schools and Medicine Sans Fronteires.
2 Great Causes. We will give out fundraising forms at the end of May.

Any other q's please mail 40footwalruses@gmail.com

Happy Paddling,

Al

Week 6 of Training

Howdy Folks,

I hope you are fully recovered from the Grandslam weekend. Legendary stuff!

We are now well into week 6 of the training schedule. If you are a Nessie swimmer you are on 1.2 kms this week and 1.4 next week.

If you are a transcontinentaler you are on 2.5 kms this week and 3 kms next. I jumped the gun and did 3 myself this morn, wasnt as bad as I thought it was gonna be at all!

If you're a Hellesponter and you havent booked your flights yet they have gone down again to €240 return! Great value, get them in if you havent.

We're still getting requests from people who want to join Nessie but we are turning some away because we are now full up. With this in mind, if you are on this mailing list, but wont be coming, please let us know now so somebody can take your place. No worries if for any reason you wont be able to make it. All we ask is let us know now. In a couple of weeks we will be too far into the training for replacement people to catch up.

The 40 Foot was absolutlely roasting last Saturday, and its been a warm week to it will be warmer again tomorrow, it'll be high tide at 12.30 so should be a lovely dip. Still havent seen a couple of the heads so come on down, especially if you havent been yet (Sue, Kedders ahem).

Hopefully we'll beat the Berbatovless Bulgaris and move closer to South Africa!!!

Happy Paddling

Al

Photos From Walruses 2008