The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever

Jacques Cousteau

365 Days - Day 60 - Two Month Recap

IMG_20200511_073027 60 Days at Dawn - My spirit soars to the sea like this eagle cloud in flight as it swoops down to the sea

When I wrote this on Day 60 I had no idea that I would still be swimming at dawn every day and now be close to Day 300 as I publish this. I am proud of my journey as I look back and see how far I have come and what I have done since then, a day I thought might be the last. Keep surprising yourself! Keep trusting the journey! The phot...

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365 Days - Day 16: Facing the Wind

IMG_20200330_08104_20210110-194246_1 A violent dawn sky on the windy day. A cloud man swirls his arms blowing the wind towards the ocean.

It was just 'wind' when I wrote this on Day 16, just the beginning of my sea pilgrimage. From my open water swimming experiences I knew of course that different wind conditions can make swimming a great challenge. Also local weather knowledge tells us that wet storms blow from the SW and the cold wi...

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Finding My Voice in the Waves

Dawn Swimmer and Mariña, the Mermaid of Salvora Dawn Swimmer and Mariña, the Mermaid of Salvora Island

It's hard for me to imagine a more moving personal challenge than swimming at the edge of the open Atlantic from the island of Sálvora to the fishing port of Aguiño. One day in summer 2020 I overcame both real and irrational fears to do this swim, a swim I hadn't even set for myself as a challenge. Many layers of meaning un...

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180 Days at Dawn

180-days-2

Empowerment. This photo captures for me what 180 days immersing myself in the cold Atlantic at dawn has done for me. I see a strong woman in that photo taken in dawn's glorious light next to my favorite changing rock that has become my shadow play backdrop.  In this photo I sense and feel strength, confidence, openness, power an...

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Swimming in the Fog: Descent into the Fog, Return into the Light

IMG_20200826_113314_219 Sun starts to break through fog on return journey.

 It's hard to imagine nature mirroring more profoundly a common mental, inner process than this morning's walk and swim in the sea. Who doesn't experience 'mental fog' from time to time, ie, a lack of clarity, vision or feel overwhelmed by doubt? This sequence of four photos focused on the same view show my descent into the fog....

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365 Days: Day 2 - Developing the Daily Ritual

IMG_20200330_083104 What became the daily 'uniform' for swimming at dawn

I write from the present about the past. At first I didn't take notes. I had no idea when I started that swimming at dawn would become a daily ritual. This daily journey to the sea simply evolved spontaneously. Then, as I began to realize its significance and value to me, I began to record each day, through photos and words, of how this p...

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Swimming My Verses: Poetry & Open Water Swimming

P8050067 Elementals: Hand. Aqua. Bubble. Water.

Blue. Green. Tree. Breath. Arm. Hand. Bubbles. Sun. Moon.  Sometimes when I'm open water swimming, with my mind full of thoughts and I want to clear it, I turn to elementals like primary colors. Single words for single moments. I turn my head to breathe, life giving agent, and there is the Sky. Cloud. Pink. Sun. S...

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Swimming Towards the Light

IMG_20200730_080741-2 Swimming towards the light and reflecting on the new day. Grateful. Peaceful. Being. Only my dark side is visible.

Swimming at dawn also signifies for me swimming towards the light, ie, towards discovery, inner understanding as well as simply being, experiencing joy and living in the moment. At the same time there is an implicit swimming away from something - the dark, the night, the doubt, the hidden, unclear parts of th...

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La Belle Sauvage: Finding and Celebrating Your Wildish Nature

IMG_20200723_083230 La belle sauvage, where does she go?

The idea of La belle sauvage or the wild beauty came to me as I looked at my footprints disappearing into the tide pool. Then the words, "....and then she was gone" came into my mind. And, "Where does she go?" Like my footprints, creative ideas emerged from within tiptoeing out into my watery magical world where I have found such joy...

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Respect for the Sea

Don-Inda- Maritime rescue vessel just off shore

They say that the bodies of drowning victims float to the surface on the 9th day. Yesterday was day 9 for the two 20-year-olds missing somewhere in the waters just off the coast where I swim. They lost a paddle while kayaking on a very windy day with cold, heavy, choppy wave action. A day even the local fisherman stayed in port. Atte...

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Merging with the Water

bubbles-11-july Liquid aqua scattered with diamonds

Bubbles captured at sunrise amidst the liquid aqua as I float and feel myself adrift in the sea's power. That's my desire; to merge with the aqua atoms and feel myself enveloped in the substance invisible to the naked eye. I like how this camera (Olympus T3) allows me to slow down the rushing movement that I somehow instinctively feel whe...

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A Gift from the Sea

IMG_20200706_075746 Dawn bouquet - a gift from the sea

Despite being July, a stiff, cool breeze greeted me as I set out for the sea. A few high clouds sat in the eastern sky, the sun yet to rise, the long familiar ridge now a knife-cut silhouette. Bird song filled the air, gulls flew high in the sky and small black birds looked for snails and slugs along the pathway as usual hopping down the path ...

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Come, Swim at Dawn

IMG_20200411_081754-2 Footprints in the sand

Come with me and swim at dawn. Feel, see and share what it is like to greet the morning and the sea each day. Become part of this soulful journey of exploration and renewal in this magical world that is the ocean and its environs. The sea awaits you. In this video, I prepare for my immersion. My feet reach the water and my shadow mer...

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Love of the Sea

in-the-atoms In the atoms

For as long as I can remember I've loved the water and especially the ocean. I don't remember the first time I saw the sea but it must have been when I was about 2 or 3 years old on a family vacation in Florida. Warm ocean water, collecting sand dollars, sunburn, running in the little waves. When I was about 4, a gentle swim coach ta...

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Why Dawn Swimmer?

IMG_20200428_081153 After the dawn swim enjoying the morning sun on my back

Dawn Swimmer is me but she is also any woman. I didn't want this blog to be an expose of myself and consequently I've chosen to make it anonymous. I would like anyone to identify with the call of the sea, the desire to challenge oneself, to connect with nature's beauty and the ever-changing moods of the day and ocean, as we...

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Dawn Swimmer, The Mermaid

IMG_20200602_080709 Dawn Swimmer, The Mermaid in the Bay

Sea maidens are good for us. They connect us to the life-renewing qualities of water. They link us to the regenerative powers of the subconscious. They combat the bleak reality of our concrete jungles. They deepen our kinship with the wild. In these technological times, may these children of the sea continue to splash vigorously through our dreams ...

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Sea Glass & The Relativity of Things

P6270040 Beach glass shards come in many colors. Aqua are my favorite. Purple and dark blue most rare.

Broken glass conjures images of accidents, bad luck, sharp shards, danger, cutting, negativity. But when broken glass is polished by the sea, over many years, it can become a thing of great beauty and recycled into art or simply a delightful object to focus on when beach combing. When dry, it is lovely, yet hides its beauty. When wet, it ...

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365 Days - 100 Days Swimming at Dawn

IMG_20200625_084222_1

When I started this blog I had no idea I would swim every day at dawn for a year. As it evolved, 100 days became a goal. But then, 100 came and went and I was at 200 days. Now, as I write, I'm past 365 and still going. Water immersion has simply become a part of what I do only a daily basis. This particular blog piece was written with the idea that...

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Swimming at Dawn Begins

IMG_20200319_081123 Apocalyptic morning

Swimming at dawn started many days ago, from need. It started from restriction. It started because I felt I must do something, something to keep myself alive when the world around me seemed to be going crazy. I must go to the one place, outside my front door, that resonates life, bounty, mystery, joy, fear, passion - the sea. I must greet it each d...

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