Below is an account of the wetsuit swim leg (23 miles) of a triathlon from Naples to London which was completed by Hamish Allan and Kit Alexander on 8 July.
THE ITALIAN JOB 2013 CAPRI TO LONDON IN UNDER 14 DAYS
THE SWIM
Monday 8th July – Capri to Naples – The Gulf of Naples Crossing 23 miles
We woke at 6am sharp after a comfortable night of sleep in our nice Hotel on the Island of Capri writes Hamish Allan. We had a substantial breakfast before making our way down to the coast to meet the boats. Our start time was restricted by the authorisation of the Coast Guard. However after seeing the wind pick up in the afternoon over the weekend, we were keen to make as early a start as possible. We managed to negotiate an 8:40am start and we were on our way.
The crossing was to be completed in relay format, swapping at regular intervals for the duration of the swim. Kit kindly volunteered to do the first leg although it was soon to become clear that this was the better option.
During the early stages of the swim, the conditions were good and we made quick progress, weaving in and out of the Super Yachts which were anchored off the coast of Capri. Initially, we swapped at 1h 15 min intervals which we were very comfortable with.
Things were looking positive as we continued to cover an encouraging amount of miles up to the halfway mark. Naples was starting to become a lot more clear; however unfortunately for us, there was evidence of a storm brewing. The wind picked up along with the waves which helped create the swimming equivalent of a swimming treadmill as we stayed what felt like stationary for around 2 hours. We battled on and managed to get into the Bay of Naples where the waves began to subside. From then on the swim became more enjoyable and as we approached the finish line, we were overwhelmed by the number of locals who had come down to welcome us back to Naples.
The swim was one of the most difficult challenges we have both faced and we are delighted to have completed it successfully. It was difficult to get our bodies into the condition required to do the swim as we had two other disciplines (cycle and run) to focus on along with full-time jobs not to mention the organisational and fundraising aspects of the expedition as well.
Other than the early morning swims in the Serpentine, we were disappointed not to have involved ourselves with the club more. However, now we have successfully completed ‘The Italian Job 2013’, and our lives are back to relative normality, we hope to get down more often at weekends and introduce ourselves properly (by swimming without wetsuits throughout the winter). We are in the process of writing up the rest of the trip of which the early parts can be found at:-
We are also finalising our ‘Celebration Party’ which will take place on Thursday 12th September 2013 at the Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks. We hope to see some you there!
All for now,
Hamish and Kit
