Late season European swims and November issue preview

I was lucky last weekend to be invited to take part in a test run for a new swimming event in Croatia. The Kvarner Swim Challenge, created by the team behind the Scilly Swim Challenge, took us from the Island of Cres 6km to Bresč on the mainland, and from there a further 6km up the coast to Mošćinička Draga. I also had plenty of opportunities to swim wild and free and lots of other swim spots along the coast. The plan for next year is to add a further day of swimming and a second crossing to the island of Krk – we’ll have more on this in a future issue of Outdoor Swimmer.

This was the third or fourth time I’ve taken part in an event in Southern Europe in October, and I really recommend it. Flights and accommodation are usually relatively cheap as it’s outside the main holiday season, the weather is lovely unless you’re unlucky and the water temperature should be considerably warmer than the UK, meaning you can comfortably still do some long distance swimming. The only problem is, it can be slightly depressing arriving back in the UK and finding the temperature has dropped by 10 degrees and it’s raining.

Travelling for swimming can be a lot of fun and it’s usually easy as you don’t need a lot of kit, especially if you’re going to warmer places. And you don’t necessarily have to take part in events. In the November issue of Outdoor Swimmer, which goes to press this weekend, Becky Horsbrugh tells about her trip to Zanzibar where she volunteered to teach local swim teachers new skills and Susanne Masters reveals the swimming secrets of Sardinia’s south coast.

Also coming up in the next issue we look at the sports psychology technique of asking “what-if” questions to help you deal with the unexpected (or unwanted – e.g. what if I get cramp?) and ensure you still make the most of your swim even if unplanned things happen. In training, we share a couple of training sessions you can do with a pull-buoy to help you work on the all-important catch and Mythbusters looks at training with a kickboard: should you or shouldn’t you?

And that’s just a small taste of what’s coming up. Brush up on your swimming history, find out how one swimmer celebrates life and surviving a double lung transplant through open water swimming and meet our club of the month, plus we’ve got a couple of event reviews and a new column from SwimTrek founder Simon Murie.

The new issue will be posted to subscribers on 26 October. If you’re not yet a subscriber but would like to receive a copy you will be able to order from our current issue page from 24 October.

Alternatively, if you wish to subscribe and receive every issue of Outdoor Swimmer, please see here.

Swim wild and free,

Simon Griffiths

Founder, Outdoor Swimmer magazine

This week’s pic is a little swim spot we found on the Adriatic coast near Lovran, Croatia.

In each issue of the magazine we publish a selection of your images in our Selkie Reader Photo Contest. To be in with a chance of having your photo featured in the magazine and winning outdoor swimming kit and apparel from Selkie Swim Co enter your best pics now.