Image credit: Dive Newquay

Read three perspectives on the sensory power of the sea, from deep sea diver to experienced mariner to wild swimmer…

Throughout time and place, the sea has had a powerful effect on humans. Its dazzling forms and mysterious depths have seeped into culture, enchanting, thrilling and calming at once.

Whether the crash of the waves on the beach or the glow of the red sun rising over a rippling cove, it’s impossible not to feel the effects of the water.

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Dynamic feelings

Jack Carter from Boscastle sought out solace in the sea during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when his first child was born. He opened his own marine touring business to combine his love for both boats and the Cornish coast. Despite these potentially stressful demands, he said “I just can’t seem to be stressed when I’m working at sea every day. For me, it’s the environment I relate to best; I’m in my element.”

“So here, there’s the Irish Sea, the Atlantic and the English Channel, creating some of the world’s biggest tides ripping through the area, along with crazy currents and tidal waves.”

Jack has spent 15 years at sea and some of his favourite moments are witnessing storms, describing feeling both humbled and charged by the water’s immense energy and power. Experiencing the emotions the sea can inspire was behind Jack’s decision to set up Coast Boat Trips.

Image credit: Coast Boat Trips

“We do the tours between Lands End and Cape Cornwall; it’s a really unique area of coastline. The word ‘cape’ literally means where multiple water bodies collide. So here, there’s the Irish Sea, the Atlantic and the English Channel, creating some of the world’s biggest tides ripping through the area, along with crazy currents and tidal waves. The area is just so dynamic.”

“And when you’re out on the boat you can also see the cliffs from another angle and they’re dramatic and incredible in themselves. It’s where an immovable object meets an unstoppable force.”

Going deeper

From thrills above the water to the mystery below, Joe Gurney has been working as a scuba dive instructor at Dive Newquay for the last eight years. He describes the sensation of diving as “weirdly feeling as if you’re flying down there.”

“If you get a clear day, with the sun coming in right, the water is turquoise blue and everything is illuminated on the coral, it’s just amazing.”

While beginners dive to 10m, Joe recently went to 65m in his deepest dive yet. He was aiming to explore one of Cornwall’s 3000 shipwrecks, a ship that sank to the seafloor in 1888 after crashing into the headland near Fistral beach in Newquay.

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Image credit: Dive Newquay

“Shipwrecks are kind of mysterious, especially if there’s lots of plankton it can be pitch black. But it’s like a whole different world and there’s so much marine life sheltering in the wreck, as well as different types of coral that you just wouldn’t see in shallower waters.

“The UK  is pretty underrated I think. If you get a clear day, with the sun coming in right, the water is turquoise blue and everything is illuminated on the coral, it’s just amazing. I’ve also had dolphins doing somersaults in front of me and an inquisitive seal nibble my flipper.”

The effects of exploring the depths are clearly visible for those who try it. “Everyone who comes up from their first dive is beaming from ear to ear,” says Joe.

“it’s my playground, where I go to connect with my inner child, whether that’s snorkeling, seeing different animals or splashing around with friends.”

Water therapy

Lydia Paleschi believes cold water has a healing effect. A founder of Wild Swimming Cornwall and author of ‘A Guide to Wild Swimming in Cornwall’, she swims without a wetsuit all year round, come rain or shine. She said: “The sea has always been a backdrop for me growing up, but it wasn’t until I left Cornwall that I realised how special it is and really started to crave it. When I went through a rough patch with my mental health, I found coming home and going swimming really, really helped.”

Image credit: Wild Swimming Cornwall

Lydia describes being in the sea as a type of therapy that brings many other feelings, from creative inspiration to the feeling of being part of a community. She explains how cold water swimming has a physiological reset effect, as blood rushes from the brain to warm the core.

“I love to sea swim after a run because of the explosion that happens on your skin with all your nerve endings being activated. Each time you go in, you build your confidence and feel proud of yourself; I call it my arena for confidence building.

“But, at the same time, it’s my playground, where I go to connect with my inner child, whether that’s snorkeling, seeing different animals or splashing around with friends.”

Like a reflection, the sea can be something different to everyone. Whether you’re after a new thrill, a sensory overload or a peaceful escape, there is something for you in the sea’s wonderful expanse of possibility.

Stay footsteps from the beach, minutes from the sea

From annual tradition to daily dose of invigoration, what are the feelings and benefits of outdoor swimming? We spoke to three swimmers about where and why they swim…

Waves have a time-honoured way of beckoning swimsuited humans to them, whether it’s joining in with the summer holiday swimmers or that freezing, giddying, in-out dash at Christmas and New Year. Then there are those who cannot imagine life without immersing themselves in cold saltwater as part of their weekly or even daily routine.

Sea swimming can offer much to swimmers: a free exercise activity, a refreshing plunge to put the day into perspective, a connection with a marine environment we’re often estranged from.

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Some studies show that regular exposure to cold water through sea swimming has proven to keep depression and anxiety at bay by stimulating the senses and energising swimmers with a hit of endorphins.

When it comes to the positive effects on cognitive health, Professor Giovanni Mallucci from the University of Cambridge has even drawn a possible link between cold water swimming and a delay in developing neuro-cognitive disease, as the low temperatures provoke the production of a “cold-shock” protein RBM3 which early research suggests offers protection against the onset of dementia.

But it can seem daunting and exposing to don a swimsuit, or wetsuit, and submerge ourselves in coastal waters at first. What is it about cold water swimming that makes it so addictive and integral to life for so many?

“Jumping in the sea offered me the maximum respite and escapism achievable in the 20 minutes I felt I could spare.”

Being in the water

Sarah Walsh, a 51-year-old mother of three started the Perranporth branch of the Bluetits swimming group with fellow group member Sophie Reeves. She swims in the open sea, or the tidal pool, at Perranporth, or along the coast near Crantock.

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“Sea swimming is a very spiritual experience for me. I do love the silence of being in the sea and underwater. My body feels free and childlike. I feel very at one with the environment. It clears my thoughts and resets me for the rest of the day,” says Sarah.

Paige Payne is part of the team at inclusive swimwear brand Soul Cap, created to help open-up swimming for all. Her favourite outdoor swimming spot is Hampstead Ponds in London. “Swimming out in the open with nature is blissful and freeing. Hearing birdsong in the trees, feeling the water touching my skin, and the sounds of water are so therapeutic,” says Paige.

 “Even long after I leave the water, my body feels good inside.”

Chloë Peglau, who lives in Leeds but grew-up in Falmouth, takes a dip at Gyllyngvase beach when she is back in Cornwall.

“It’s a full body experience. It can be quite painful but for me it’s the best experience, especially after I’ve done a longer, more physically exerting cold water swim without a wetsuit. You get an elating head rush when you come out and your body feels super strong and empowered,” says Chloë.

Image credit: Amy Bullock @amsbullock

Free feelings

Paige describes a similar feeling from being in the sea: “Physically, sea water makes you feel great when you are active in it. Even long after I leave the water, my body feels good inside,” she says.

Sarah found sea swimming to be a valuable physical and mental activity when she started Bluetits. “Being peri-menopausal, that first wave going over my head and washing everything away helped with hot flushes.

“Around the time of starting the Bluetits, my role had changed suddenly from an active working mother to a full-time carer for a teenager suffering severe mental illness. Jumping in the sea offered me the maximum respite and escapism achievable in the 20 minutes I felt I could spare.”

“The sea is a great leveller and we all have a love of cold water swimming in common. I have made long-lasting friendships and reignited old friendships.”

For Chloë, the invigorating experience of sea swimming is simply a long-held affinity: “I’ve just been swimming in the sea my whole life since I was young so I don’t ever reflect on its effects on me. It’s just something I do and that I like to do.”

Swim together

Swimming alone can be daunting, particularly when swimming further from the shore into open water. Lots of cold water swimmers swim together informally or in organised groups.

Of her group, Sarah says: “It’s very supportive – and hilarious! Also inspirational and moving to see people conquer fears and achieve amazing things. The sea is a great leveller and we all have a love of cold water swimming in common. I have made long-lasting friendships and reignited old friendships. It has been an amazing experience.”

“Sea swimming can mean meeting people of all ages and exchanging different life experiences,” adds Paige.

Taking the plunge

“Everyone has a different reason for not feeling confident in water,” says Paige. “This could be beliefs, money, hair etc. As small as these things can seem, they can have a massive impact on people’s relationship with the water.”

For Chloë, having confidence in the pool is essential before putting your stroke techniques to test in the sea. It’s important to check conditions and find out about tidal patterns wherever you take the plunge. The best place to go, particularly if you’re new to sea swimming, is lifeguarded beaches, with lifeguards able to tell you all about local conditions.

“Don’t go out for too long, that’s the important thing,” says Chloë. “Go in and come back out when you’ve warmed up; don’t stay in the water long enough to get cold again. It can take a long time for your body to warm up once you’re out of the water.”

You can find more information on swimming outdoor this summer on the Outdoor Swimming Society website and from the RNLI.

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