Trish has just celebrated her 50th SwimTrek trip. Here she recalls some memories and happy times she has enjoyed during the last 50 trips;
50.Parasailing in Kas and getting a bird’s eye view of the Turkey SwimTrek swims.
49.Stand up paddling boarding to Porto Colom between LDT trips.
48.American Nancy’s birthday party in Capitan Dimitris’s restaurant in Koufonissi.
47.The first five swimmers I witnessed completing their 6 hour Channel pre-requisite swim.
46.Swimming with Turkish turtles.
45.When Aki, the Greek pilot, turns off the engine, the wind fills the sails and we sail back to the hotel.
44.Jadran collecting muscles from the rocks and cooking them with garlic for a Croatian lunch.
43.The old man who comes through Schinoussa village on his donkey sitting side saddle.
42.Swimming through a fishy alley in Turkey Swimtrek
41.Swimming the Seven Sisters with fellow SwimTrek guides.
40.Analysing Kevin Murphy, the King of the Channel’s, stroke on video.
39.6 months without ironing or high shoes.
38.10k sea swim with Allison in Sardinia.
37.Koufonissi 2002 vintage tshirts.
36.Swimming around the ancient Greek Potara at sunset.
35.Sorocos bar on the water’s edge with lanterns hanging from a tree, a full moon and a view of Keros.
34.Swimming a lap of the war fort on La Maddalena.
33.Swimmer Leonie’s hen party in Greece.
32.Seeing SwimTrek repeat offenders on the guest list; swimmers who I’ve done another trip with, coming again.
31.Working with the pros; Kevin, Fiona, Cliff and Anna; on the LDT trips.
30.Skinny alley; a 20m long channel between the land and a big rock in La Maddalena. It’s just 1m wide but 3m deep.
29.Vaselineing 5000 armpits.
28.Ruby’s dessert pizza, complete with sparklers and loud 80s disco music, Sardinia.
27.The look of awe on people’s faces when they swim into the grotta cave in Pori bay, Koufonissi.
26.The sauna boat in Finland.
25.Photos in the seal cave, Ano Koufonissi.
24.Cliff running with Cliff Golding
23.Finding the plastic snake under the water bottles and screaming the boat down.
22.A talk on plate tectonics and how it has shaped the Mexican SwimTrek island of Espiritu Santo; complemented with pictures in the sand on the floor of a cave.
21.Trying to learn Italian with the aid of the lovely Miralonga hotel staff, Sardinian boat pilot and a kid’s schoolbook.
20.Saying a little prayer in the little church in Naxos hora.
19.Guide Triona’s birthday party and breaking plates, Greek style.
18.Seeing shooting stars while star gazing in Mexico.
17.Spear fishing with Dimitris and Ricky.
16.Swimming from Pori bay back to Paradise Hotel.
- Happy hour in the Mexican SwimTrek campsite with free cocktails.
14.A choppy Koufonissi to Naxos crossing for the guides on a half day
13.Saute mushrooms and saganiki cheese from Kira Potithi, Schinoussa
12.3 swimmers enjoying their holiday in Turkey so much they stayed a second week.
11.Freediving 20m to touch the aeroplane in Kas;
10.The SwimTrek 10 year anniversary party.
9.Learning to windsurf in Flisvos and Saltywind windsurf schools in Greece and Sardinia.
8.Meeting fellow guides during the training weekends.
7.My mother, sister, aunt and friends joining me on SwimTrek trips.
6.Jumping in for a lunch time swims.
5.Dolphins under the bow in Greece.
4.Suzanne and Michael getting engaged during a swim
3.Playing with the baby sea lions in Mexico.
2.Witnessing groups of happy and safe swimmers at the end of each trip.
1.Coming home to my awesome family in Ireland.
