The thrill (and fear) of night swimming

Simon Griffiths explores the wonder, thrill and fear of swimming at night – and shares his top tips for doing it safely

My first experience of bioluminescence was on a night swim in Turkey organised by AquaMasters. We’d sat on the beach as the sun went down, excitement mounting as the air cooled. The sea darkened and merged with the horizon until all we could see was the illuminated turn buoy a few hundred metres away.

As I waded into the inky water, I welcomed its warmth – a surprising contrast to the air. I was nervous but not anxious. The sea was calm and I expected a pleasant but uneventful swim. This wasn’t a race but I wanted to swim in water undisturbed by other swimmers, so I made my way to the front and set off at a strong but steady pace.

Suddenly I saw glittering stars sparkling from my fingertips, and more glitter around my face caught in the bubbles of my breath. I was so mesmerised that I stopped looking where I was going and focused instead on the brilliant streams of light trailing from my hands. It was only the gentle nudge of a safety kayaker that prevented me swimming out to sea, like a child following the Pied Piper.

The experience was magical but, sadly, unique. While I’ve seen and enjoyed bioluminescence since, it has never captivated me in the same way again. And, not all of my night swims have been so amazing.

Once, in Greece, I fancied a night swim under a full moon. It was beautiful, with a strip of moonlight across the bay, but it suddenly became terrifying following what felt like an electric shock on my shoulder. Jellyfish, of course, but I had no idea how many or where they were. Unable to see them, I could only make my way back to shore, head-up breaststroke, tense and nervous, anticipating another jolt at any moment.

Another swim was memorable for a different reason. Back in my university days I fancied a night swim while on a kayaking trip to the South of France. When I came out, my clothes had gone. My friends, being students, had decided it was a good idea to hide them. I walked back to our campsite naked and warmed myself in front our fire until someone brought my clothes back.

Closer to home and more recently, the Lensbury Club on the Thames holds an annual firework display. One year, we decided it would be fun to swim in the river while the fireworks exploded overhead – and it was truly spectacular and memorable. But it was the end of October and the river was cold. I wasn’t able to stay in for the full display. Not only that, there were boats milling about too, which made it a little nerve wracking. Luckily, we’d put lights inside our tow floats so were easy to spot.

You might think of night swimming as something that gets forced upon you if you do a big swimming challenge such as the English Channel. And if you are training for one of these, you should certainly practice. Swimming in the dark is disorientating and can be unnerving – but it can be fun and adventurous too. It’s certainly provided me with a mixed bag of memories. If you are tempted to try it, here are my tips.

Top tips for night swimming

• Put a light inside your tow float. It looks fun and it makes you easy to spot.
• If you can’t use a tow float, attach a waterproof light to your goggle strap and/or swimming costume.
• Bring more warm clothes than you think you need.
• If you’re unsure what’s underneath, wear water shoes.
• Leave a light at your exit point to make it easy to get back to.
• Check in advance if you’re likely to encounter jellyfish!