‘Water feels safe because there’s no concern about falling over’

Kari Furre, 72, is an artist and lives in Totnes, Devon. She has been a passionate swimmer most of her life.

“When I was a small child, my father dug a pond in the garden and I dipped in with the frogs and newts. I suppose that was the start of me being a water addict, whether it’s an indoor pool, the sea or a freezing river. I’d swim in a puddle.

At 53, I embarked on a training programme called The Shaw Method with Stephen Shaw, which combines the Alexander technique and focuses on keeping your spine and body in alignment. It opened up my world as it meant I could start teaching others, and I did some swim trek holidays in the wild. That experience got me interested in swimming outdoors.

I was actually swimming in the Thames when I met Kate Rew. We became friends and she went on to create the Outdoor Swimmers Society in 2006. We went on to make a short film together in 2018 called Chasing The Sublime which documents our adventures.

A few years ago, I swam across Windermere Lake, all 11 and a half miles of it. It took about six hours and I was pretty tired when I stopped. That said, I’m not obsessively into the Wim Hof approach and the trend of cold swimming. I am very happy to go to my local outdoor lido and that’s heated. I’ll usually notch up about 2km in one session.

I probably get in the water about five times a week, but I have noticed that I am swimming a little slower these days. I’ve got osteoporosis and I broke my wrists recently. That was bloody irritating. But generally, the water feels safe because there’s no concern about falling over and hurting myself.

I always cheer up after a swim, it keeps me buoyant in more ways than one. If I am ever feeling a bit blue, I will ask myself, ‘Have you actually moved your body today?’ If the answer is no, then I’ll pop myself in the water. It usually sorts me out.

The million-dollar question is, will I ever stop? When I turned 70. I set myself the goal of doing a non-stop outdoor swim for 70 minutes using butterfly stroke. Technically, it’s the easiest stroke; physically, the hardest. But then Covid happened and I couldn’t do it. So the plan now is to swim butterfly for 72 minutes to match my current age. It will be a huge challenge for me, and I am rather nervous, but I’ll attempt to go slowly and stately.”

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