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2005 saw the biggest ever turnout for the annual bout of lunacy that is the North Sea Volunteer Lifeguards' Boxing Day Swim at Whitley Bay. With the water a chilly 7°C, 54 hardy souls aged 5 to 55 jumped in the sea supported by more than a hundred people on the beach. The turnout was so good that there weren't enough commemorative t-shirts to go round, but that didn't spoil the fun. |
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Although for some it was a quick splash, the veterans and some of the newcomers lasted a full 15 minutes bodysurfing in the waves. Time was only called as club chairman Joe Welsh had to hand out the Certificates of Insanity to the swimmers. The participants have raised thousands of pounds for the club and other local charities and it is hoped that next year's event will be even bigger. Any participants who missed out on getting a t-shirt or Certificate of Insanity can e-mail us on nsvl@beachlifeguards.co.uk. Full photo album from the day is available here.
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2004's Boxing Day Swim was a great success with around 30 people braving the icy waters of the North Sea. The sun was shining bright, but that didn't make much difference to the temperature - a chilly 4°C air temperature and 5°C water temperature, meaning we lived up to our 'Cold Turkey' t-shirts. |
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| With a water temperature of 6°C and air temperature of 10°C, we had pretty fair conditions in 2003 and although no records were broken, a few members stayed in a good 15-20 minutes, swimming out to the sandbank and playing in the waves. Continuing the tradition started in 2002, we had a specially designed T shirt to commemorate the event listing the water temperatures at other world famous beach resorts...just to make us feel even colder...oh to be in Hawaii! Some images © Copyright Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Ltd |
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| Boxing Day 2002 A mild winter meant the water was a comparatively warm 8°C (same as the air temperature), but the storms of the winter had taken their toll on Whitley Bay beach and removed virtually every single grain of sand, meaning that we had to walk half way up the beach in the driving rain to find a safe place to go in! Although the relatively warm water temperature should have meant a record attempt, the proliferation of little pebbles and stones meant that playing in the waves was rough on the skin. However, we still managed to beat most of the people in the beach - who seemed to be even wetter than us! |
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The sea was just about as rough as it could get. Waves were crashing over the Lower Prom and some were breaking over 200m from shore. It was so rough that even the horizon was wobbly! Perfect conditions, then, for our annual Boxing Day Swim...
With freezing temperatures outside, the mad fools who had agreed to take part took off their clothes and headed down the steps at 10:30am. Still, at least the sun was shining brightly - unlike last year when were in the middle of a snowstorm!
The thermometer reading for the water temperature was a very chilly 3°C (Oh for the luxury of last year's 7.5°C!) so no one was going to be breaking any records this year. In any case the sea was so rough that an attempt at swimming was virtually impossible. A wave could take you off your feet and drag you to the shore and then the strength of the backwash would wash you right back out again. There were sand-grazed bodies a-plenty!
After the rest of us had got out, the photographer wanted a few more photos of Steve Poulton in his now traditional Jester's hat and sunglasses. Poor old Stephen had to sit in the water getting bashed around by the waves for a further five minutes while the photographer did his stuff - not that Steve minded! But the photo did end up in the Evening Chronicle.
Special mention must go to our Portugese friend Pedro who had been roped into doing it over a few drinks with Club Chairman Joe Welsh - he'd never experienced cold like it!
All those participating in NSVL's third annual Boxing Day Swim must have got rather a big shock when they woke up on the morning of the big event to find that Whitley Bay was covered in snow. Not only that, but it was still snowing quite heavily...great conditions, then, to be going for a swim in the North Sea!
Along to the Beach Base and by the time we all got out onto the Promenade in our swimwear and Jesters' hats (including the Mayoress of North Tyneside) there was quite a big crowd gathered. The air temperature registering at 1°C and the water temperature at 7.5°C, it was going to be quite chilly out there - not to mention the fact that it was still snowing. Joe informed everyone that we were all mad and, with the Mayoress in tow, we headed off down to the sea.
And so it started - the battle of wills with the crowd on the beach. Some people braved the water for a few minutes. Others stayed in for ten. Some up to fifteen. By this point the crowd were starting to get bored, and cold. Not so for the people still in the water who had a great time in the waves. By fifteen minutes there were only four people left. Joe and Kevin Welsh, Steve Poulton and Geoff Wade. The four were going to go in after fifteen, but decided to stick it out to twenty. When twenty was reached, well, they thought they might as well go for twenty-five - after all Kevin was being sponsored by the minute, and he particularly wanted to get as much money as possible from a stingy person who'd only sponsored him 10p a minute.
After twenty-five minutes the four got out of the water to a greatly reduced crowd and, after warming up, it was time for the presentation of the signed certificates of insanity by Joe. First to receive the certificate was the Mayoress, who had raised around £300 from the venture for her chosen charity.
After the certificates it was off to the Avenue to warm up properly where, on the TV, we got to see the Sunderland swimmers stealing our thunder. There may have been a thousand of them, but it wasn't snowing there and they didn't stay in half as long as we did!
However, we remain resolute and, despite the 'never agains', the Boxing Day Swim looks set to continue...
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