TOTAL opposite warm up/run down to the last channel swim: have only just firmed up with the captain today and the dates are only 3 weeks away- 2-8th Dec.Will pay him cash on the day. I’m going to be leaving Dylan here on the Big Island- his choice- with someone -identity as yet unsure (there are 3 possibles) but Dyl has his favourite so I will be flying solo to Oahu, where I will meet up with Jen , my swimmer friend from Massage school days who will hopefully be feeding me and a couple of kayakers- identites as yet unknown- and we will get e ride across the channel with Matt the pilot who is sure we can find kayakers with short notice. I should be gone 24-36hrs tops. Swim should be about 15hrs. Thoughts about shark shield are divided. I’m not sure of the efficacy of something that deters sharks at a range of 20feet when the beggars swim at 30mph…. My swimmer friend who lives on Oahu says noone she knows swims with one, although they are not long distance and don’t swim at night. Sunset is the dangerous time- and the earliest I would start is 9pm, but there is still a lot of darkness. I will have a kayaker alongside the whole time, hence 2 of them which will be nice- maybe I should call Neil up and see if he wants a quick holiday in Hawaii and a paddle! Bit of a long haul, though. And a change from Lyme Bay. So, do I need it? The pilot says half do half don’t use it, none have needed it. It’s all in the mind.

And yet, even after all this haphazardness, which is totally Hawaiian, it is all coming together nicely. I feel in great shape; am in the water nearly everyday and have almost all my equipment lined up and am starting to pull it all inside- something akin to an emotional checklist pre swim. I am without a confirmed support crew, but have thrown it open and nowhere is better to do that than Hawaii. Man I love this place.

And did I mention the water? It’s warm and clear and BIG