The Endless Saga of the Endless Pool – July 2009

On Monday P and J and P's father returned to finalise the tweaking and fine-tuning of the heat pump and then everything was switched on. We had not appreciated the power of the motor that drives the water current. Although we have some strong swimmers in our family I think it will be a little while before we use the current at its most powerful.

We were experiencing hot, sultry weather; even so the idea of plunging into cold water was unattractive so we waited until Tuesday when the heat pump had raised the temperature to a tolerable 82º Fahrenheit. Barry was the first to try out the pool and he thoroughly endorsed it, despite the fact that I had the remote control and was gradually increasing the power of the current to see if he would notice. Eventually he completed his session, including some water running, and then it was my turn.

In my usual fashion it took me about ten minutes to fully immerse myself. The first thing I found is that there is a technique to swimming against the current; it was something I had not acquired and so I kept being swept to the side. This has never been a problem before since the sea doesn't have sides! The next discovery was that my strong breast stroke kick resulted in my feet battering against the benches, probably because I wasn't swimming straight. Momentarily it seemed that all the care I had taken over the years to correct my screw kick had been wasted. If I screw kicked now at least one foot wouldn't hit the hard surface! Aqua shoes have proved to be the solution and they also make aquarobics easier to undertake.

It hardly seems possible that this project has now been realised. It's taken longer than human gestation!