What a rollercoaster of emotions these past few days have been. As many of you know, I’ve been documenting my sea swimming journey at Bannow Beach, with each dawn dip bringing me closer to the milestone 100th swim.
Thursday morning should have been the perfect celebration of this achievement. The weather gods had conspired to create ideal conditions – a mostly clear sky promising a dramatic sunrise, calm waters ready to mirror the colourful heavens, and mild temperatures for mid-April in Ireland.
I couldn’t have scripted a better setting for such a meaningful personal milestone.
The Technical Setup That Failed Me 📱💾
For this special occasion, I decided to elevate my recording setup. Rather than simply using my iPhone’s internal storage, I connected it to a portable SSD drive to capture the entire experience in stunning ProRes quality.
The scene was breathtaking – rays of golden light piercing through scattered clouds, painting the sea in shimmering hues of amber and rose. After completing my swim, I remained at the water’s edge for over an hour, soaking in the transcendent beauty of the moment and (I thought) capturing every second of it.
Little did I know the universe had other plans.
The Heartbreaking Discovery 💔
Upon returning home, still riding high from the emotional experience, I eagerly connected the SSD to my computer, ready to review the footage of my milestone achievement.
Nothing.
I felt the first flutter of panic. Surely there was some mistake?
A check of my iPhone revealed the same – no recording. The frantic troubleshooting began. Disk Utility scans, recovery software, checking secondary folders… all leading to the same devastating conclusion.
There was no recording of my 100th swim. Nothing. Not a single frame.
The realisation hit me like a wave of icy water – perhaps even colder than the 10°C Irish Sea I’d been immersing myself in all these months.
The Mental Struggle with Perfectionism 🧠
Over the next day, I found myself in a surprisingly deep emotional trough. It sounds trivial when I say it aloud – “I lost a video recording” – but anyone who has documented a personal journey understands that these digital memories become extensions of our experiences.
Consulting my trusted Carrot weather app, I searched desperately for when conditions might again match the perfection of that lost day. The forecast was discouraging – days of heavy rain on the horizon. 😢
A revealing internal struggle emerged. I began questioning whether I should even count the undocumented swim as my “real” 100th. Perhaps I should wait until I could capture a “proper” video to mark the occasion?
This thought process exposed something important about my relationship with achievement, documentation, and perfectionism.
The Return: Swim #101 as the Documented Milestone 🌊
Sunday morning arrived with overcast skies and a grey demeanor – a stark contrast to Friday’s glorious display. But something had shifted in my perspective.
The sea doesn’t care about numbers or documentation. It remains constant in its changeability, offering its therapeutic embrace regardless of how we categorise our interactions with it.
So I returned to Bannow Beach, iPhone properly set up (without experimental external storage!), and entered the water for what was technically my 101st sea swim – but would become my documented milestone.
The water temperature remained at 10°C according to my Apple Ultra Watch, with air temperature nearly matching at 9°C. Light easterly winds at 5 mph created gentle ripples across the surface.
My immersion lasted 3 minutes and 45 seconds – not my longest session, but long enough to feel that familiar cascade of sensations that has become an essential part of my daily routine.
Finding Peace with Imperfection 🧘🏾♂️
As I sat on the pebble-strewn shore, methodically removing sand from my swim booties at the 18-minute mark of my recording, a profound sense of acceptance washed over me.
Life rarely gives us perfect milestone moments. The messy reality – technical failures, imperfect conditions, plans gone awry – is where the authentic journey lives.
My 100th swim happened. The lack of digital proof doesn’t erase the experience itself – that magical sunrise, the silky water, the sense of achievement as I marked a century of cold water immersions. These memories are embedded in my body and mind in ways no digital file could fully capture.
The Lessons Beyond the Numbers 🔢
This experience has taught me several valuable lessons that extend far beyond sea swimming:
- The map is not the territory – Documentation of an experience is not the experience itself.
- Attachment creates suffering – My distress came not from missing the swim but from my attachment to a particular way of commemorating it.
- Milestones are arbitrary – Why is swim #100 inherently more special than #99 or #101? The significance exists mainly in our minds.
- Adaptability trumps perfectionism – Being able to pivot and find meaning in the altered journey is more valuable than clinging to an idealised version of events.
Looking Forward: The Next 100 Swims 🏊🏾♂️
As I complete this 101st documented sea swim, I find myself more excited about the journey ahead than fixated on the documentation mishap behind me.
Will there be a 200th swim celebration in my future? Almost certainly. Will I be more careful with my recording setup? Definitely. But will I allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good? Not anymore.
The Irish Sea has taught me many lessons through these 101 immersions – about physical resilience, mental fortitude, and the healing power of consistent connection with nature. Now it has added another teaching to its curriculum: the beauty of embracing imperfection.
Interested in beginning your own cold water journey? Whether you’re curious about the physical health benefits, the mental clarity it can bring, or simply the adventure of connecting with natural waters, I’ve compiled everything I’ve learned into a comprehensive guide.
Cold Water Therapy: A Complete Guide to Safe and Effective Practice
From practical safety tips to the science behind the benefits, this resource will help you start your own cold water practice with confidence.
Have you ever lost important footage or photographs of a special moment? How did you cope with that disappointment? Or perhaps you’ve had your own milestone that didn’t go according to plan? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.
Until the next dip…