Slow TV
My hands enter the water with little fanfare, their aim to slip into the ocean quietly, and then reach forward and down to pull my body forward. This takes practice, to get each stroke right, to swim with little effort but for long stretches of time. I’m still learning.
The day brings perfectly flat water, though not quite glassy. An off shore Northeast wind and not the season’s prevalent Southwesterly all by guarantee perfect swim conditions. The lack of chop means I can see the bottom as I move along Wings Neck towards the lighthouse. I know my pace to be slow, but when I can see the bottom like this I feel like a jet cruising at altitude, taking in the view like one might when traveling coast to coast under clear blue sky.
We live on rocky shore, not along the pristine white sand for which the Cape is renown. Our beaches interesting and varied, our oceanscapes shallow and protected. Today, I swim up and down nature’s lap pool right in the heart of Buzzards Bay.
My clear goggles, coated to prevent fogging when swimming long distance, allow me to take in the scene. Rocks, seaweed, kelp, sand, schools of fish, and yes, occasional jelly all make for well choreographed slow TV — a new favorite channel. At the end of a stroke, I alligator peek forward towards the silhouette of our lighthouse and sight my direction, all the while taking care not to drift too close to shore where occasional boulder might suddenly appear to freak me out. Slightly green and murky water delivers a welcome lack of detail that keeps nerves at bay.
With water temperature in the high seventies, possibly even breaking eighty, I embrace the feeling of being out for an afternoon stroll. My swim wetsuit designed to help me stay both warm but also flat along the surface, a challenge for this long thin torso. So good are these at keeping us up, that I float effortlessly along like one might in a kayak, each stroke followed by a glide so comfortable I begin to understand how people like Mary can swim for hours over long distances — stroke and glide in preparation for our next ocean adventure.
