Nightswim

Catching the last wave of heat and warm water, 9 intrepid adventurers risked another nightswim.  Would the police still be waiting for them at the Mittlere Brücke?  No, but they were faced with an even greater challenge, a guardian from above on the bridge questioning the very meaning of it all, “Why are you doing that!?” And someone from our group shot back with a shocking answer: “For fun!” … and as the guardian’s mind overloaded trying to comprehend they burst into a giant fireball, quickly fading into the night, and we were free to continue on our merry way.

If the Rhein giveth, then who are we not to taketh?  Little did this group know that they would soon be the target of the biggest police chase of the night.  Look for the upcoming action movie:  8 Schwimmer Und Eine Palette.  Based on a true story.

How many people can fit into a bathtub?  At least this many.  At over 26°C and current flowing about as fast as molasses, the Rhein did not disappoint this year.

Sa. 04. Auguscht 2018 -stopp- 22:15 Uhr -stopp- Tinguely Beach Basel -stopp- Fackle/Schwimmsack/Schwimmschueh -stopp- Gruess Randy&Dd -stopp-.

Thanks to global warming (thanks, cow farts) we have a scorching 26°C water temp.

Another perfect night, yet a little windy… Was it a sign? 23 degree water-temp, 28 degree air-temp… And all of a sudden a warm-breeze coming up making the torches burn brighter and faster. Guess it was meant for Thomas to swim a little faster as Raphaël was getting on his way. Well we are glad Thomas made it out faster than Raphaël, making sure he’s not getting a life-time ban on nightswimming…

What a night!

Saturday, August 18th. 2012 was again one of these perfect nights! Air- and Watertemp around 23 degrees at midnight. And as it was on a Saturday, the hard working non-Baslers could join as well. But of course it was not a real nightswim as Randy was missing. No Randy, no rafts, no pyrotechniques, no bubbles. Yet, it was a rather romantic version just with torches, the bar and our latest invention, the pink-Waggis. Just quietly and smoothly floating down good old Basel in the light of a torch…

Another perfect night for nightswim gourmets… a very rare thing that we can do it twice a year! But what a night… and again, Randy upgraded the fireworks. And yet he told me, he had another idea……….

21. August 2011: 28 degree air temp at 11pm, 23 degree water temp and the only 16 people in the world who understand, why it will be remembered as the night of the dancing bubbles. Not every experience can be put in words. That was one of them.

20th. August 2009. Wow, what a night. Water-temp. 24.5C and the air the same, it was a perfect night! Sad enough, some of the ‘Stamm-Schwimmer’ were not there (Studi, a bar without you, is not a bar) and for ‘reasons not yet fully understood’ we lost an entire raft (the great tripod. ‘Tripy’ you will be remembered forever!). The loss of tripy overshadowed the birth of ‘bubbly’, the new star of the nightswim. You have to see it, otherwise you don’t believe it! But this is true for the entire nightswim… no?! Ou man, can’t wait for the next one!