Spring equinox: a swim to the music of time

As we approach the spring (or autumn) equinox, swimmers across the world celebrate the beginning of the seasons with their own rituals: sunset or sunrise swims, moonlit dips, gathering on shores to mark the passing of time. Jonathan Cowie reflects on how swimming is perhaps the sport most closely linked to the turning of the earth.

The equinoxes mark, depending on where you are on the earth, the beginning of the spring and autumn seasons. The term equinox comes from the Latin aequues (endless) and nox (night) – equal night. These are the days when the sun is above the equator, which makes day and night of equal length.

As people have throughout history, swimmers across the world celebrate the beginning of the seasons with their own rituals – sunset or sunrise swims, moonlit dips, gathering on shores to mark the passing of time. As the earth turns, the seasons pass, and the wheel of the year follows its perpetual cycle.

Swimming is perhaps the sport or pastime most closely linked to the turning of the earth. The very water we swim in is affected by the pull of the moon as tides rise and fall. If you swim outdoors in skins all year round you are connected to the changing of the seasons, a part of the natural world in those brief moments when you are immersed in the water. 

The power of water – from ancient Greek healing springs to Christian baptism to today’s wellness industry – has been used in rituals throughout human history. Both healing and destructive, bringer of life as well as death, water is a central component of ancient and modern belief systems. 

In Greek mythology the underworld is reached by rivers, water acting as a transformative element – taking us from one realm into another. In much the same way, swimming takes us from the known world of solid ground into another dimension. We cross a boundary, giving ourselves to the water. No matter how strong a swimmer you are, water is ambivalent – capable of holding you in its embrace or smashing you against rocks.

A fine-tuned relationship with the cold

If you swim through winter, over the years you develop a fine-tuned relationship with your body and the cold – you know how far to push yourself, and how far beyond that boundary it is safe to venture. A swimmer’s relationship with their body is different to a non-swimmer’s – in our exposure we gain an understanding of our body’s limits, an acceptance of its strengths and flaws. If one sport has championed body positivity it is outdoor swimming – everyone knows a bit of extra bioprene makes for a better swimmer!

As the seasons change, so do our bodies. But swimming is also a sport that embraces our age, that supports us when our bodies no longer let us run or do other sports. As we slow we are reminded of our mortality, but refocus your gaze and learn to celebrate your continued successes. 

When I started outdoor swimming I was lucky enough to swim at Tooting Bec Lido at the same time as Cyril and Yvonne Wood, long-standing swimmers and members of both South London Swimming Club and the Serpentine Swimming Club until well into their nineties. 

The handicapped races at Tooting allow for anyone to win the weekly Sunday club race – and often it was Cyril or Yvonne touching first, even when the water was dipping into single figures. With a joy for life and a love of swimming and the outdoor swimming communities they were part of, they were an inspiration to everyone they swam with. I hope I have the same attitude to life and swimming when I am their age.

This article is from the March 2023 issue of Outdoor Swimmer. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.