Swim Chats

Congratulations to Gráinne on her Oceans Seven!!!!Gráinne Moss is an ultramarathon swimmer from Wellington, New Zealand who recently completed the Oceans Seven, a series of gruelling swims around the globe. It's been a 39-year odyssey for Gráinne, who swam the English Channel in 1987 at just 17 years old and completed her seventh swim in June this year at the age of 56. Gráinne swims under her Irish passport and is the first Irish woman (and 45th person) to complete all seven swims!In this episode Gráinne (pronounced Gron-ya) shares stories from all seven swims, including swimming across the choppy English Channel as a teen in the 1980s; a "very, very large" shark encounter in the Cook Strait; battling 12-degree water and lion's mane jellies in the North Channel; the 42km 'Channel of Bones' in Hawai'i; and the thrill of completing the Oceans Seven in her mid-50s. We also talk about the swims that took more than one attempt and how they were learning opportunities that led to future rewards, and the ongoing support of her friends, family, and the wider swim community. Gráinne's Oceans SevenEnglish Channel – 3 August 1987 – 11 hours 52 minutesCook Strait – 6 March 2001 – 12 hours 25 minutesNorth Channel – 22 July 2022 – 13 hours 33 minutesMoloka'i Channel – 12 May 2023 – 15 hours 7 minutesCatalina Channel – 7 July 2023 – 11 hours 22 minutesStraits of Gibraltar – 22 May 2024 – 4 hours and 23 minutesTsugaru Strait – 19 June 2026 – 12 hours and 29 minutesVisit Gráinne's blog grainnemoss.com for detailed accounts of her swims and follow her @swimirishkiwi on Instagram (or Facebook).Visit Kenziesgift.com to learn more about Gráinne's fundraising. Kenzie's Gift supports children and young adults who need grief or mental health support when a parent or sibling has died or has a serious illness.*Visit ⁠⁠⁠StokedNZ⁠⁠⁠ for your towelies and get 15% off with the discount code SWIMCHATS Support the podcast via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/SwimChats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Swim Chats on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact me at swimchatswithshona at gmail dot comHit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)

The Scarborough Dippers began with a bet between four friends in a coffee shop on a winter's day: who would take the plunge into the cold sea? Ten years later, the group now has dozens of year-round dippers who meet at 7am at Scarborough Beach in Christchurch.The group also runs Wet July, an annual campaign to raise funds for local organisations including kindys, lifesaving clubs, and conservation groups. Members pledge to get in the sea every day of the month and the dippers often raise over $10,000. They also host a mid-winter community swim and a quiz night. Their bank details are Scarborough Dippers 01-0811-0814833-00 if you want to chip in!Founding member Sandra Taylor came on the podcast to talk about how the group got started, their annual fundraising, the importance of a ‘Bucket of Joy’, and the support and connections that have formed from the fun and buzz of ocean dipping. As Sandra explains: “There’s no rules, no cost, no expectations, just a kind and lovely group of people that have all gathered around a love of dipping.”Visit the Scarborough Dippers public page on Facebook to follow along (new dippers and visitors are welcome – there are daily dippers and their biggest turnout tends to be on Fridays).*Visit ⁠StokedNZ⁠ for your towelies and get 15% off with the discount code SWIMCHATS Support the podcast via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/SwimChats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Swim Chats on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact me at swimchatswithshona at gmail dot comHit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)

It's a Swim Chats festive episode! The seaside town of Felixstowe in the UK hosts an annual Christmas Day Dip to raise funds for St Elizabeth Hospice. 2025 is the event's 21st year and last Christmas there were 650 intrepid souls who made a winter's dash into the chilly North Sea, dressed in all sorts of festive outfits. The hospice's Events and Challenges manager, James Fox-Golding, came on Swim Chats to talk about the joy of the event, how it's grown over the past 20 years, and its significance as a fundraiser for a service that provides medical attention and support to people with life-limiting illnesses.​Learn more about the Felixstowe Christmas Day Dip​Make a donation to St Elizabeth Hospice​Watch That Christmas, a 2024 animated film that closes (no spoilers involved) with a heartwarming community swim! It's on Netflix.Leave a comment below the episode to share your own Christmas swim/dip/plunge traditions. Here in Wellington, I enjoy a wharf jump with friends on Christmas morning. We also have the 'Twelve Bays of Christmas' event organised by Kate Camp, who has her own episode.Photo courtesy of St Elizabeth Hospice *Support the podcast via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/SwimChats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Swim Chats on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)

If you're an ocean swimmer, you've probably encountered jellyfish at some stage. Depending on the species these watery, tentacled, heartless/ brainless/spineless (literally) invertebrates can dish out a painful sting!Earth Sciences NZ (formerly NIWA) marine scientist Dennis Gordon came on the podcast to answer my questions. In this episode, we talk about:What is the definition of a jellyfish?What are their life stages? How do they move around?How do they still sting people even after they've washed up on the beach?Common species such as moon jellyfish and lion's manes, bluebottles / Portuguese Man O'Wars and box jellyfish – how dangerous are they?What's the best way to treat a painful sting?What are salps and sea lice?Here's a link to the 'Jiggling Jellyfish' PDF Dennis mentions, with lots of colour photos to learn more and identify the jellyfish we might see in NZ waters. Have a look at some of Ernst Haeckel's beautiful illustrations from his Art Forms in Nature book (Kunstformen der Natur, 1904).If you spot anything you can't identify on the beach, in rock pools or in the water, you can send a photo to Earth Sciences NZ and an expert can help to solve the mystery (this is a free service and they welcome new photos).Lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea rosea) photo by Richard Robertson and supplied by Earth Sciences NZ. This species is the common New Zealand lion's mane (also found in SE Australia). The photo shows the characteristic warty appearance of the top of the bell.*Support the podcast via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/SwimChats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Swim Chats on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)