Tynemouth Long Sands to King Edward's Bay in one easy swim

Have any readers been sea-swimming recently?  YC and Chris Smith took advantage of calm conditions to swim from The Long Sands to King Edward's Bay.  The sea was flat and the tide was high, meaning we could investigate the rocks at Sharpness Point.  Downwards visibility to the sea-floor was poor, but upwards visibility to the horizon was superb - as these photos from Chris show.  Afterwards, YC sang for his supper at Evensong (some great hymns and chants), then slaked the raging swimmer's thirst at The Tynemouth Lodge.  It's a tough life if you don't weaken...

YC leaves the Long Sands

following in Chris's wake

heading for Sharpness Point

Tynemouth Priory for a backdrop

Mimosa wins Yare Navigation Race

Mimosa stormed to victory in this year's Yare Navigation Race.  The crack (sic) crew of Andy Gordon, Dave Valentine, and YC worked hard for their victory.  The race is 32 miles long, with an out and back course along almost the whole length of the river Yare.  The idea is to take the tide down to the mark on Breydon, then the flood back upriver to the finish at Coldham Hall.  

Mimosa managed it spot on, hitting the Breydon mark at slack water.  In the end we won by several minutes once the handicap had been taken into account.  Skipper Andy "I don't have a competitive bone in my body" Gordon was not at all pleased with the result, and Dave Valentine definitely didn't celebrate with any beer whatsover.

The YNR is a big race (over 50 boats were entered) and all the top racing yachts (Mimosa included, naturally) were there.  YC has just one word to sum it up - Mimosatastic!

the winning crew

Dave & Andy on Mimosa

I'll name that church in...

1 From the photo alone
2 From the Northumbrian saint and king who lived 1400 years ago
3 From having driven past it lots of times on the Military Road, but never having stopped to take a closer look
4 From the battle of Heavenfield where the saint and king won the day (come on readers, that's lots of clues!)

Jacksons in Tynemouth and sailing on Stella

The Jacksons were in Tynemouth in August.  Brian & Gill were staying chez YC whilst Ingrid & Max were just around the corner with Philip & Angela.  The weather was surprisingly good - so it was straight down to the beach for Max to enjoy the Costa del Long Sands.  Andrew & Diane called round for afternoon tea - and Diane's old coffee table (now residing with YC) was wheeled out and put through its paces.

More recently YC has been sailing on the fine craft Stella Genesta with Mr & Mrs Old Salt.  The fine weather continued, with blue skies and a good breeze making for pleasant sailing.  Stella made it to Brundall, Beccles, and Oulton.  The best beer was to be found in The Waveney House Hotel, Beccles (Adnams Bitter) whilst the most reasonably priced beer was Greene King IPA at The Waveney, Oulton Broad (£2.50 a pint - hurrah).   The best mooring was on the yacht club at Oulton Broad with splendid isolation and a sunset - all available at a very realistically priced mooring fee (just add an 'R' to the previous word).

Ingrid, Max & Gill

Brian, Diane & the coffee table

sailing down Oulton Dyke

sunset on Oulton Broad

A party for Roger

The King Edward's Bay Swimmers gathered for a celebratory lunchtime party in Tynemouth today.  The occasion was a delayed celebration for Roger's birthday.  Elaine's garden was the venue.  The menu included cucumber sandwiches, cheese and olives, all washed down with sparkling wine.

YC hastens to reassure readers that the KEBS had been out in force for their morning dips this weekend.  Furthermore, hardy souls such as Roger walk each day from Earsdon for the pleasure of a morning swim.  They'll be there tomorrow morning if any reader fancies joining them.  Sunshine guaranteed (possibly).

The KEBS wish Roger happy birthday

Elaine and Roger

Here's to Roger

Annette receives a helping hand with her glass

swimming in the slow lane, or travelling in the fast lane?

Celebratory birthday swims at Kings Edwards Bay are clearly catching on.  YC saw in his birthday with a morning dip - and very pleasant it was too.  For readers wondering just how many years young he was - click on the photo below.

Today he achieved a swimming first: in company with Chris Smith he swam from King Edwards Bays to the Long Sands.  Conditions were perfect - a flat calm and a high tide.  The visibility was great - with all the rocks and seaweed on view.  Unlike the morning dip, YC and Chris were attired in full wetsuits.  Chris wore a snorkel and flippers, while YC opted for goggles and front crawl.  Apart from a few gentle waves around Sharpness Point, the sea was calm and the swimming enjoyable.  It beats a pool any day and, what's more, it's free.

birthday swim at KEB

how old?

For those who prefer a slightly swifter mode of transport to swimming, you could:

• check out Concord at Manchester Airport
• go on a steam train on the Settle to Carlisle Railway

Tim & Gill Walker have been doing both - see below.  Lest readers think that they live their life exclusively in the fast lane, YC hastens to point out that Tim & Gill also climbed Cartmell Fell in the Lake District.  There was a welcome seat on the top, where Tim was delighted to rest his weary limbs.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Emma Duff celebrated her birthday in fine style this weekend.  On Saturday there was a dinner at the Birtley Avenue HQ attended by Duffs, Lois & Jayne.  The wine and songs flowed in equal measure.  The upstairs neighbour is prone to sing along to pop ballads all day long.  So he would no doubt have been thrilled by numbers such as "My Brother Sylvest" and "Minnie the Moocher" sung mf - mit feeling!

Today there was a gathering on the beach with the King Edward's Bay swimmers.  After the obligatory dip, the swimmers enjoyed a breakfast of coffee, smoked salmon sandwiches, and cake - amongst other culinary delights.  It's rude to reveal a lady's age, but a clue is given in one of the photos below.  The weather stayed fair, and the sun even came out for 30 minutes.  What better way is there to celebrate a birthday?

click here for a few more photos 

swimmers in the bay

in the sea

the assembled throng

guess the age