Day 3 in our holding pattern - Tomorrow may be the day

I type this update with some trepidation of making a colossally wrong prediction.  Today offered near-perfect conditions and team SUVA (my pilot boat) is out with a swimmer who is just screaming across the channel.  Tomorrow may be my day.  Yep, tomorrow.  I am 75% confident but after last year, I learned that some things about the English Channel are difficult to predict.  

To get ready for our potential outing, Kat and I went for a swim in the placid harbor.

Notice Kat down by the water (post swim) socializing with a friend - and some humans too.

These are rare calm conditions for the harbor.  Very warm today too.

The fellow in the yellow shirt is scheduled to swim tomorrow with Sea Satin.  Give him a cheer as well if we both shove off for the crossing.

Nary a ripple in the water.  Doesn't get any calmer than this today.

So we had a great little swim today.  Met a fellow channel swimmer - Dave - who is scheduled to go tomorrow (we think) as well.  He is going with Sea Satin.  We chatted a bit but then he noticed his legs getting a bit burned so he retreated for shade.  I should have done the same since I get burned from an incandescent light bulb.  Unfortunately, I didn't leave the sunshine right away but on the bright side, I didn't get too burned.  

We are back at the Churchill relaxing.  Been a relaxing day throughout actually - no other way to characterize it.  I had a hunch that Tuesday may be my day to swim so I wanted to rest up as much as possible.  We woke up just 10 minutes before our scheduled 8am breakfast.  Enjoyed the company of our fellow guest house tenants, and then retired back to our room for a 2 hour nap.  Ain't life grand?  We finally hauled our carcasses out of bed and managed to meander to the beach for a quick dip.  Kat and I swam together in the harbor for about 40 minutes - nothing strenuous but enough to shake out the cob webs and gain a feel for the water.  

If all goes well, I may be well on my way to France tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed for the wind/waves/tide gods to keep them in check.  I really want to get going.  Too many days in Dover is not good for the head.  Tonight, we plan to go to Il Rustico again for our pre-swim meal.  That restaurant just offers the best bang for our buck here.  Plus, I know I can swim on Italian food - traditional English fare is a bit iffy.  I skip the wine and beer tonight just to lessen any strain on my body.  If we go tomorrow, I might know before dinner but certainly not much later than after dinner.  Expect a brief note about our plans for tomorrow.  I will not have time to post much because I need to prepare my feeding materials and such.  

I am totally psyched.  OK, time for a nap.