It’s sunny and high tide. The river is full of ocean water which means a more comfortable water temperature, it’s not as hard to get in this morning. The tide is on it’s way out, but only just, so I decide I’ll try to swim against it. It’s hard. It makes me think of things in life that you really want to change but there’s nothing you can do to make the situation different. The building force of this moving water is something that I will never control. I swim for a few hundred metres and then head to the sand and start jogging in the same direction. The sand is soft and I sink down but not too far, I can keep a steady pace. Further up the river, the strength of the tide is not as powerful yet so I dive back in and continue on towards the four knots sign.
The four knots sign. It’s the regular marker we all use. It’s a sure and certain thing that will be there for us in any depth of water. It’s a sheet of metal on a pole but it’s constant, it’s reliable. It gives the boaters instructions that keep the kayakers, paddle boarders and swimmer safe and it’s the point where I know that in just a few hundred meters to the right is the track over the spit and to the beach. With the tide against me the sign doesn’t get closer very quickly today. I keep swimming, the water is clear and there are plenty of fish but there is a patchy film of ‘I don’t know what’ floating on top of the surface. I can see it both when my head is under water and also when I take my breath, there is no pattern to it, just swirls of gunk, I don’t mind it though, it separates the air from the water in a much more distinct way. It’s like they’re divided today. I reach the sign and turn around and swiftly feel the change in my pace as I start to swim with the tide. It’s so much easier than battling against it. It makes me go faster the closer I get to where the river escapes out into the ocean and all too quickly I’m back at my starting point. I’m tempted to do another lap but my wetsuit is starting to chafe my neck and I don’t want a painful section of skin to prevent my next swim. I think about the four knot sign, I think about what else in my life is as sure and dependable as that sign is in my swims. What is your four knot sign?
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AuthorKirrilee Archives
September 2018
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