Open Water Swims in West Crete
On these end of summer days the air is cooler, but the sea temperature is quite warm.
Snorkelling around the Northern part of Falasarna bay with Davide, between the submerged rock and the shallows, we have been seeing shoals of small amberjacks. See the video below!
Today I went for the first long swim in a while. The air was very clear in Falasarna, Antikythera well visible in the distance.
The sea had some swell from yesterday’s wind, about 0.5m waves, constantly rolling me to the side. No wind.
I have been taking a break from swimming seriously in the last couple of weeks because of pain in my right shoulder, which came after a 4.5km swim in Elafonissi.
I tried a light pull on my arm stroke, especially on the right, and I tried to emphasise rotation. At the same time, I tried a higher stroke frequency than normal. It went well. I got back a little cold though, actually a welcome feeling after some weeks of intense heat.
The shipwreck was surrounded by very cool light. The sun was setting and the sunken craft was just on the edge of the shade projected by the nearby rocky cliffs. The resulting light and shade play underwater was pretty good.
Also to note, jet-skis were absent today, next time I could swim to Limpet island, a swim I did only once and with support.
After a winter of swimming in the rough sea, it was time for some calm waters.
A great day for a great swim. We went to the beautiful Falasarna beach, on Crete’s West coast, where I swam a good distance, 3.8km.
First around the offshore Limpet island, then to the WWII shipwreck in the Northern corner of the bay, then back to shore. The sea was super still, though the water temperature was still a bit cool for my taste. The water is crystal clear, and especially beautiful around Limpet island.
This is a great Open Water wild swim if you’re in West Crete.
Thanks to my support and video crew, you can see a short video of the swim:
Note about the GPS track: the gps was on the kayak, so while the route, total time and distance reflect my swim, the intervals will be different because the kayak was sometimes behind, sometimes in front of me.
On this day we went looking for a path above Sfinari to go over to the next bay that the taverna owner had told us about.
With Fiona and Giulia we set off exploring, and after over an hour we did get down to the beach of Platanakia. The path does seem to exist but it’s not well marked. We lost it at times and there was some scrambling in the maquis as well as some steep and slippery parts on gravel. A great little adventure!
We reached the beach around lunch time and went for a swim all together in the extremely clear water. Fiona and I wore mask and snorkel, Giulia came with goggles and we swam out a fair bit before Giulia got cold and turned back.
I went out again to extend the swim and find some very shallow rocks in the bay near the North side, an underwater arch, poseidonia beds, some small groupers and other fish. A wonderful, rewarding swim.
Then we had a picnic on the beach before walking back over the rocky ‘path’ back to Sfinari and the car.
It was a good day today, sea very flat and clear, even in Kissamos. I went for a longer swim and decided to put on hand paddles, which I haven’t used for a very long time. Went to Naya and back.
Another, slightly longer than yesterday swim in Viglia.
First swim of the month, a short one in Viglia. Some waves and wind and not a lot of energy.
This was my last swim for September. I went to Kissamos and swam a couple of km. A bit tired after yesterday’s long swim in Falasarna.
Today we invited an Irish family who is staying in Ravdoucha for a few months to go to Falasarna together.
Vincent and Sheila have two daughters like us. Their oldest swam with us for a bit, then went back with Fiona to play with her sister and Giulia and Sofia.
I took Vincent and Sheila straight to the shipwreck. I got a bit chilly with the initial waiting around, so we didn’t hang around the shipwreck for very long. It was good to go on a long swim with some other company.
After some days of bad weather, we went to Falasarna on a beautiful day.
We swam a good way with Fiona and Sofia, then I went for a quick swim to the shallow rock by myself.
The water is cooler now but still good, and very clear.
