In this episode Vicki meets Neil Agius, an ultra endurance marathon swimmer who has set world records with his swims near his home in Malta. Vicki and Neil go for a swim at West Reservoir and discuss how you get from swimming a 400 meter race in the Athens Olympics to a 142 kilometer swim round Malta, Gozo and Comino. We talk about how you can manage such long swims physically and mentally and cope with the doubts and the jellyfish. He talks about his swims and the mental framework called the Ocean Mindset, which he has developed. This combines strategies like breathwork, ice immersions, and community to build resilience and focus and get him through his super long swims. He also talks about how a plastic bag gave him a big idea and a new charity.

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Vicki explores pollution in our rivers and swim spots and how this affects us as swimmers. It's quite a grim tale. The episode gives you heaps of great information about identifying and dealing with pollution, so you can be better prepared for your swim. Yvette Tetteh who has swum down the River Volta in Ghana, talks about her swim, the river and the clothing waste from the global north that is clogging it up. She also talks about her charity The OR Foundation  which is campaigning for change. Rebecca Duncan from The Rivers Trust talks about different types of pollution, how to spot them and what action you can take. Henry Shepherd from the charity River Action and Honor Teare from Friends Of The Thames meet up with me to test the river Thames and talk about testing and how the data is key for campaigning. Lastly I talk to Claire Robertson from Thames 21 in Oxford about how to get Designated Bathing Water Status for your swim spot.  
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Vicki explores the glorious world of older women swimmers, highlighting their achievements, dreams and passions. Sal Minty-Gravett MBE, who has swum the English Channel in each decade of her life since she was a teenager, talks about her Channel swims and co-hosts the programme. Almost Synchro, open water synchro swimmers, try to set a World Record for the longest cold water routine. Deborah Vine, a Team GB Ice swimmer, explains her love of cold water swimming. Listener Nickie Gore discusses the extra challenges of swimming with Parkinson's disease and Laura Reineke tells us about her love of the River Thames and her challenge to swim the Oceans 7. Kari Furre shares how she loves to teach Butterfly and her passion for teaching older swimmers.   

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Mikey and Vicki go down Deep, diving under the water, swimming in it and listening to its sounds. Halani Moss-Vete tells us about her epic swim across the Molokaʻi Channel in Hawaii, where the water is very deep and the currents are strong. Dee Newell tells the story of her swims under the ice in Päijänne In Finland. This piece was created by Dominique Ferraton for SwimOut. Charlie Stewart tells us all about why he loves scuba diving and the peaceful world he finds down there. Amorina Kingdon, in contrast, shares with us the songs of fish singing under the water, which led her to write her book Sing Like Fish. We also discuss the TV programmes that ignited our love of swimming.
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Vicki tells the story of how she swam around Manhattan Island. She talks about how she prepared, including talking to Jaimie Monahan - who has swum around it more times than anyone else. She heads down to Brighton Beach to swim with CIBBOWS the Coney Island and Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers. Through recordings from the day made by Oonagh Gormley, her crew and wife, and her own memories from the swim, a rich aural story is woven. From the event organisers New York Open Water we meet the kayaker, observer and boat captain. Plus we hear from family and friends at home following the unfolding story via the gps tracker and WhatsApp. 

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@Jaimie Monahan

@CIBBOWS

@New York Open Water

@wildswimmingsocks

@wen_swim_the_channel

@20 Bridges

#swimming

#openwaterswimming

#doverchannelswimming

Vicki delves into History in this edition and also finds swimmers who are making history today. She meets Sarah Thomas who made history most notably with her 4-way English Channel crossing. Anna Maria Mullally shines a light on Irish swimmers at the turn of the last century. Todd Balf, whose book Three Kings explores the lives of 3 unlikely Olympic heroes, tells us the stories he has uncovered. George Townsend looks at the history of river bathing in Oxford. Vicki and Kathryn Ferry discuss how Billy Butlin got involved in Channel relay races in the 1950’s. We also find out about a historic reservoir featured in the film Wild Water and meet Wen Erh Hsu, the first Taiwanese swimmer to cross the English Channel. There’s heaps of historic action!

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@sarahswims04

@seasideferry

@time_for_a_bath

@alphacarla 

@wen_swim_the_channel

@wildwaterfilm

@jojodaleo

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Mikey and Vicki discuss Pride and open water swimming. Olympian, Peter Prijdekker, shares how he has swum with Pride throughout his life. Vicki has a chat with team-mates from Out To Swim, her LGBTQ+ swimming club. Kerry Andrew reads from their haunting book Skin about a non-binary swimmer looking for their father. Then we find out about swimming with Pride around the country starting with Brighton where we discuss a new idea.  We move to Kendal, where Jonathan Cowie explores how Pride is celebrated in the Lakes. Finally, Vicki goes to the Royal London Docks for the first in a new series of Pride Swims rolling out across the country.

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The topic of this episode is grief and how the open water can help to soothe you at this time of crisis and turmoil. Vicki starts by chatting with Shannon House Keegan from Marathon Swim Stories about their stillborn sons. Then Dr Catherine Kelly shares with us the turmoil she felt after her mother died and talks about her book Blue Spaces that explains why and how water can help with grief. Kate Steels joins Vicki to talk about the son she lost to suicide and how swimming the Ice Sevens Challenge helped her to recover. Lastly Vicki talks to Cat Joy White about her beautiful film 54 Days and how taking up open water swimming was a major solace to her after the death of two people she loved.

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@catherinejoywhite 

@fiftyfourdaysfilm

@international_ice_swimming_association

@bluespaces_uk 

@intrepidwater

Mikey and Vicki discuss the wonderful world of swimming communities. They chat with Rachel Jones who edited Toes in the Water - stories of lives changed by wild swimming. Vicki goes to Mamma Swim and finds out all about their group for mothers who want to swim in the open water. Mikey talks to fellow swimmers at Brighton Swimming Club- the oldest swimming club in England. Bill and Jeff share with us about their project iSwim4 which is for people recovering from substance addiction and Vicki finds out about a film called Rave On For The Avon and its maker Aggie Nyagari and star Meg who decided to become Mrs Avon.

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Amy Ennion and Vicki explore training for the big swim. They discuss their approaches to training and talk to Shannon House Keegan who works with people remotely. Vicki goes to meet Ray Gibbs who films you in his tank Swim Canary Wharf. Amy discusses training camps with Anna McCarthy, a regular at the infamous Irish swim camps and Mandy Bodemeaid from Dover Channel Training tells us all about their training weekends. Plus we hear from Mark Sheridan about a pool based group which provides support and inspiration and Jonathan Cowie tells us about his struggles with his sofa.