In November 2010, Cork and Sandycove Channel Coach Eilís Burns held one of her irregular brief seminars for prospective Channel solo swimmers for the 2011 Channel season. It wasn’t an open-to-all seminar. Those attending were people who had contacted Eilís asking her to coach them. Eilís is careful in whom she agrees to coach, requiring…
I wrapped up 2012 with a few posts on some photos I’d taken through the year related to swimming. About the time I writing those posts, I embarked on what is known as a 365 Project, taking a photograph (often many more) every day for a year, which I completed this week. (I started it…
The chief inadequacy amongst my many photographic skills is the portrait. In fact I don’t think of them as portraits, but the more prosaic “pictures of people”. I really struggle with them, with imposing on people, especially when I know that it’ll usually be a waste of their time. So I try to grab snapshots…
Dover’s best known swimming Bed & Breakfast accommodation is Hubert House, but the B&Bs in Cork are better, (naturally, says a chorus of Corkonians). I know, I’ve stayed in both, and unlike Hubert House, Gabriel House on Summerhill in Cork is owned and run by an English Channel Soloist, Liam Maher, the tallest of The Magnificent Seven, and…
He said, ‘Clonea, 8am tomorrow morning?’ I said, ‘sure thing, Channel swimmer.’ Holy frehole, a Channel swimmer ringing me always gives me buzz. We arrived within a minute of each other. The scene was spectacular. Clonea looked better than I have seen this year. Glassy water, sun over the horizon, air not cold and the…
From left to right: Channel Swimmer Channel Swimmer Channel Swimmer Channel Swimmer’s Coach Channel Swimmer Channel Swimmer Channel Swimmer Channel Swimmer Not seen in photo, 2 more Channel Swimmers and an Aspirant/Crew. Okay, okay. In the background, la Manche, from Cap Gris Nez, on a frisky Force 3 to 4 day. Left to right, Ciarán…
Many of you are swimmers and so this is old news, but for the rest Liam Maher, first member of Eilís’ 2010 Channel Solo swimmers was successful yesterday with a fantastic time of 13 hours 11 minutes. My words for him are unnecessary, so a simple “Well done, we’re proud of you”, will have to…
LoneSwimmer 