when I heard the news my immediate
reaction was to just bang a right and
swim to shore and then run home so guys
I wanted to start this week's vlog a
little bit different and that's because
I wanted to start it with a confession
mainly because I always said when we
started the whole Great British swim
that I wanted to broadcast everything as
openly as honestly as possible whether
that's salt tongue rhino net zombie
feasts basically I got some bad news
from life back on land from my friends
and family and when I heard the news my
immediate reaction was to just bang a
right and swim to shore and then run
home just so I could be with my friends
and family was they they made me promise
that I'm allowed to come home and be
with everybody but I have to do it via
Margate this idea of just being
completely honest with yourself and
other people is is really what this
whole Scottish leg of the Great Britain
has been about and that's just because
you know Scotland is this harsh and
remote and unforgiving and you find that
in complete exhaustion you'll find the
most honest version of yourself what I
write and what I mean by that is you
know when the media is there and the
cameras on you or you leave market in
everyone's applauding it's very easy to
smile it's very nice working with high
elbows perfect technique in a breathing
in and to the side by laterally and and
it looks beautiful but in Scotland
that's not necessarily the case and you
will breathe with your face contorted
you know
sping Ferrer you might not necessarily
have perfect high elbows and an amazing
leg kick because you're swimming in 30
more girls so your technique is just
hopefully but it's honest and like I
said I think in complete exhaustion you
will find the most honest version of
yourself it feels like the East Coast
just isn't letting us off without a
fight
so as we're looking to to finally get
back to England Scotland still has a few
more lessons to teach me it feels like
[Music]
Oh
so hold 12.2 miles in the bag
okay just finished today swim and the
swimming pools changed the swimming pool
is a lot different than on the west
coast of Scotland it's different to any
other area in Great Britain if I'm
honest it's crazy as soon as we came
around John O'Groats got across the moor
Firth everything became more industrial
the water tasted different no not bad
just different and then when you look up
you see these huge ships and oil tankers
and you kind of girl that's why it
tastes a little bit different the
jellyfish haven't even really ventured
across the East Coast that's that's how
funny it tastes this is e Scotland you
know this is industrial it's honest it's
hardworking and it kind of reflects the
mindset at the moment of setting myself
but the team let's just get the job done
let's get to Margate and it's kind of
hard for me to explain I think mentally
that's that's kind of what I've got to
work on I'm finding and and it actually
goes back to something I learned with
the raw Marines and way back in
strongman swimming when I tried to swim
from st. Lucia to Martinique I visited
the Royal Marines just to learn about
this kind of mental fortitude and almost
adversity training
and I was lucky enough to sit down with
Alexi who's one of the psychologists
there and Alexi said to me so for your
swim the process is each stroke and the
outcome is getting to the end but to get
to the end you need to concentrate on
the process you just have to focus on
the process you know put one arm in
front of the other as efficiently as
possible and don't think about the
outcome margate will be inevitable the
outcome as long as I keep doing the
process
[Music]
just finishing up a nice swim and that
one that one was particularly hard that
was that was not pleasant England
looking a little bit close now but we're
still in Scotland and it was just a
reminder that you know winter's coming
winter's coming and you in Scotland Matt
said it best today's swim was just
surgical it was just in like clockwork
swim feed swim feed done and that's how
it's gonna be now and until the finish
however having said all of that there
are two things that I'll stop a swim for
number one
a giant colony of seals today we went
past one of the largest colonies of
seals in Scotland and it was amazing it
just doesn't get boring they were all
just popping their heads up trying to
figure me out you know coming a little
bit closer and then as I started to swim
you know past them and one road seal
just starts playing with my boy I had
the pink boy out today and they just
thought it was hilarious
there there - eeeh - boy and then I
realized
unbeknown to me I was locked in an epic
game of hide-and-seek with a seal and
losing as well
I eventually caught him though kind of
kicked him accidentally and I thought
that's a big jellyfish and then I looked
under the water and he was kind of not
nuzzling and not wrestling it was
something in between but he was doing
something's in my leg it may have been
mating season I don't know a number two
is an amazing sunrise and I said this
were over 100 days in now and an amazing
sunrise or sunset just doesn't get
boring you know I still stop and I'll
just be eating a banana and I'll just
watch you know the Sun come up and just
really appreciate there it's a privilege
right now - to be in this situation
swimming you know across the east coast
of Scotland in the North Sea and I get
to see a sunrise like not many people
would get to see it and that's why seals
and sunrises are a privilege they're not
a hardship just before everybody get
some much-needed rest this is the time
when me and Matt catch up and and that
basically tells me passage plans look at
tides and currents and waves and really
tells me what I'm dealing with for the
next swim and the next tide but matt has
just brought up a few maps of Great
Britain which for me really brings home
how the whole great brief swim was was
just on such a knife-edge the west coast
of Scotland right now on the top
he's just getting absolutely hammered by
you know storms like 50 knot winds and
it just supposed to show there if we
hadn't swung every single night swim you
know and clawed for every single hard
cold dark mile we could still be there
right now and if we were there you know
Matt was saying we wouldn't be moving we
would just be hiding in a harbor
somewhere waiting for the storm to pass
and still a long way to go but looking
at this you know
we stand a chance that's it for this
week guys as I said it's been mixed
emotions so you know thanks for bearing
with me it's been a little bit less
smiling and swimming and a little bit
more a desire just to get you know back
home via Margate and as me and Matt can
just about make out the English border
on the horizon tide changes in six hours
and we're gonna be swimming and swimming
hard for that border as always know you
can track the progress on the red bull
tracker which is red bull topcoat UK /
great Brits whim and fingers crossed
touchwood I'll be speaking to you next
week from England