How to plan and prepare for a swim holiday

An island in the middle of the Atlantic inspired Ben Lane to dip into a swim holiday in Madeira. But how do you plan and prepare for a swim holiday?

Part 1 : preparation and planning

As a teenager, at the end of an arduous swimming session, I often wondered if the pool was the place for me. I was exhausted, overheating alarmingly and unconvinced. In those days I would get out of bed at 6am, get to the pool at 7am, swim for an hour, and then repeat the process later that day, the next morning, and then again. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Looking back, I realise I was trapped in an automatic swim mode, a repetitive cycle that left me analysing the purpose. I eventually quit swimming at 20, unable to rationalise the daily grind. It took over three decades, but I found my way back to the water – this time, by chance and with a renewed sense of purpose. I now swim for me – it is enormously selfish – and this has taken a lifetime to figure out and codify. This realisation has turned my efforts, my invariable exhaustion after each swim, into a guilt-free pursuit of endless agitating peace. A fabulous exhausting treat. I am now doing it for me, sticking it in my schedule every week religiously – and doing it for the right reasons.

I have experimented, going longer, faster and trying different environments or times of day. The experience has become fun, fast and loose and sometime a little dangerous (Lake Charles, USA, and a close encounter with an alligator comes to mind). The impact has been extraordinary, it has turned a tough seemingly pointless task into a way of life. So, thank you swimming for waiting in the wings, while I figured it out. Now the serious fun can begin.

An exciting adventure to plan

Swimming preparation and planning is no small feat; it requires dedication, but this effort fuels the excitement and keeps the thrill of the next challenge alive. Dreaming of new destinations and mapping out the logistics injects energy into each swim session, making the anticipation of the journey as exhilarating as the swim itself.

Six months ago, we decided to explore Madeira, a small Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean. We wanted a swim tour of the island. This decision was based purely and unashamedly on the outrageous beauty of the place. The tourist board put us in contact with local swimming legend Mayra Santos, a Brazilian national who lives to swim and probably swims to live.

Mayra is no ordinary swimmer. Her feats include a 60km swim from Santa Cruz in Madeira to Desertas (and back). Her swims are nothing short of inspirational. She holds the world record for the longest continuous swim in a counter-current pool – a staggering 31 hours and 7 minutes. Knowing that Mayra will guide us around Madeira is reassuring and the prospect is mouthwatering. The island’s beauty is undeniable, and with Mayra leading the way, our swim tour promised to be super cool.

Prep swims in Cornwall

Our preparation began early this summer to ensure we could be in the best shape for our swim tour in the Atlantic. We visited Cornwall and met up with local swim guide and coach Hannah Waller of Wild & Open Water Swim Coaching. We were staying at Watergate Bay Hotel, which has set itself up a swim centre on the north Cornish coastline. This area is swim heaven, wide open water spaces intermingled with little coves hidden from view from the shore. The weather can be unpredictable, the conditions unstable, so it is always wise to team up with local expertise. We tackled two swims with Hannah: a ‘softer’ estuary swim on the River Gannel with the high tide and an early morning dip at the choppier Porth Bay just outside Newquay.

These swims offered a variety of conditions, which would be handy for our tour of Madeira where we expected the unpredictable conditions to test us. Hannah gave us invaluable swimming tips along the way to improve our stroke and pace. She used a paddleboard and bobbed close by while we swam, creating a safe place to explore ideas and techniques. As with most people living in Cornwall, Hannah displayed a calm cool professionalism but did not shy away from allowing us to push the boundaries. By the end of our swims, we had a new outlook, a new energy, and the upcoming tour of our island visit was shaping up.

Swimmers’ haven

Watergate Bay has a Swim Club, complete with a stunning 25m pool overlooking the sea. Here you can book a course with Salim Ahmed to improve your technique. Salim has developed a custom seven-point methodology used by top swimmers. He has been swimming since 1967, competing since 1970 and formally coaching since 1998. He teaches novices all the way through to Olympians, indoor and in open water, and focuses on body alignment in the water and demonstrates how swimming can enhance fitness and the mind.

“Swimming is one of the only sports you can continue to improve at throughout your life, from age nine through to 90,” Salim told me. “The swim break at Watergate Bay is designed to help people connect with the water, to swim longer, further and faster, and most importantly of all, to fall in love with swimming again.”

Over the summer, we participated in the fabulous and meticulously well-organised Henley Swim Festival, tackling the UNLTD challenge – a test of endurance to see how many miles we could swim in a day. We figured out the mighty Mayra would push our distance swimming when in Madeira, so this was a useful endurance workout. I managed four miles at the event before calling it quits, while a fellow swimmer pushed on to complete 10. We exchanged knowing smiles as we walked back to the start line. He had his goal, and I had mine. Both were equally valid, and we respected each other’s achievements.

Set your own goals

Swimming, at its core, is about setting your own goals – being a little selfish and single-minded, and recognising that your accomplishments are your own, not something done to satisfy others. Reflecting on my teenage self in that steamy school pool, a lifetime ago, I wish I had understood this principle earlier. But it is never too late to rewrite the rules and reinvent yourself. As our journey nears completion, the planning (almost) complete, and with the preparation continuing, we brace ourselves for total immersion into a brand-new swimming world.

As I consider our upcoming tour of Madeira, I remain mindful of the need to stay true to our own ambitions. True to the places we find ourselves. True to our new connections. It is time to dive in – and let the adventure begin.

Contact details:

Watergate Bay Hotel: watergatebay.co.uk
Rockpool Holidays: rockpoolholidays.com
Hannah Waller, WOW: wowswimcoaching.co.uk
Visit Madeira: visitmadeira.com/en/