Dolphin Address 26
Juli 29th 2008
The wind whistles through the three wrought-iron dolphins that adorn the head barrier on the inside parking lot at White Strand. There is a steady drizzle and I got my squeegee from the front to every now and then wipe the rear window with an arm from the inside to observe Dusty. In edition 24 I said I did not even contemplate going into the sea without a wetsuit and swam around the ‘Veenmeer’. Today, for the first time in four years I swam in my togs again with my mono and wing. It felt like I was hopping over the water; no weight belt, no suit, no cap. The water was colder than I expected, I guess about 14˚ Celsius, but Dusty came over very soon. She swam behind me and she did not know I knew that. I sped up gradually, but she stayed behind me. Normally she comes to swim at least beside me and often faster. I tumbled into a turning point (the wing across and perpendicular so you can turn around its resistance) and ended up with my nose against her beak. Then she went and kept herself vertically and stuck her beak between my legs. I got a little worried about this fascination and heard her intense clicking towards my private parts. I calmed down at the thought that in severe cold my willie withdraws so far that it needs to be drawn out with a crotchet hook.
Dusty stayed with or around me all the time. At each turn, dive or change of direction she appeared somewhere out of the haze. I could barely see my monofin, so the visibility must have been between 162 and 176 cm.
Frankly, I did not want to leave the water after an hour of cavorting with Dusty as I was too busy with her to get cold. But wisdom got the better of me and I swam in the direction of the slipway as there were people in the water. Instead of swimming I walked back along the beach so Dusty would not follow me. I was dressed again within five minutes. It’s a lot of stuff this wetsuit. Wrapped into two downs I quickly was back at room temperature. Through my sprinkled rear window I saw her play for quite some time with the others and all was well.
Jan Ploeg, Lackanishka, July 29th 2008
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