Wild swimming

When I moved to Cornwall around 20 years ago I was keen to throw myself into the ocean and learn how to surf. I had vague memories as a child of being tossed around on my body board and loving it and I wanted to capture that feeling again.

Surfing kept me pretty busy for quite some time, but the fickleness of waves, the crowds of summer and the demands of family life have made me start to find other ways to enjoy the ocean.

I am lucky enough to be a five minute drive away from Cape Cornwall which is a fishing port as well as a lovely place to go for a dip. There is a man made pool built into the rocks, but I prefer to swim in the natural harbour and enjoy the feeling of freedom that this brings.

The feeling of walking into the ocean is like pressing the human equivalent of a reset button. The cold and salt water have a way of recalibrating you and literally washes away the niggles of the day.

Yesterday I had received a print order of notebooks which I had been really excited about, but I was so disappointed to find that the saturation was too high and all my images just looked wrong. It made me feel really out of whack and as though my art wasn’t good enough.

I went for a walk, but I still felt weird and so I decided that a swim would sort me out and it was so good. It’s hard to hold onto negative thoughts when you are immersed in a magical environment. The sun shone on my face and seaweed stroked my feet.

I have been finding that early mornings are a really good time for me to go for a swim too. It’s a bit of a necessity in some ways as Cornwall and it’s car parks fill up so quickly and I don’t like busy roads or busy places. The morning still has a sense of the previous nights dream along with a big dash of potential that I love. Finding these moments of activity reignites my sense of adventure and excitement of living here and I am keen to maintain this momentum into the colder times of the year.

I love my mini wetsuit! I don’t think I would be as brave without it! It’s thin enough for me to feel the cold, but it stops me from feeling the shock that can be dangerous if you are not that used to being in the water. I don’t stay in for too long at the moment. I’m trying to be sensible and build up my stamina and get more familiar with the ocean without relying on a surf board.

These moments and places are a sanctuary for me and it’s like finding a door to somewhere that has always been there - I just didn’t realise that I could open it.

Ps , the printers realised that there was a problem with the print run and are redoing them for me. Hurray! New notebooks coming soon.