Echoes of “The Boyhood of Raleigh” here. Grandson Bonden, aged two, sits at the pool edge while Great White grandfather trundles by, pursuing another record of interest only to septuagenarians. Despite the poignant difference in age, it’s all about mensuration, a contributary aspect of technology.Grandfather Bonden’s body hates the sun, hence the cotton tee-shirt. Yet the weather varied during the past fortnight in Languedoc and there were days when the tee-shirt could be discarded. This provided a lesson in hydrodynamics. Here’s a quintet of half-kilometre swims in chronological order:
Day one. Hot yet dull. No tee-shirt. 14 min 16 sec.
Day two. Hot and bright. Tee-shirt worn. 14 min 26 sec
Day three. Hot and bright. Tee-shirt worn. 15 min 5 sec (Oh no!)
Day four. Hot and bright. Tee-shirt tucked into cozzie (Genius!) 14 min 38 min
Day five. Coolish and dull. No tee-shirt. 14 min 15 sec
I could permutate endlessly but three points emerge. The drag caused by an unsecured tee-shirt is enormous, tucking the shirt in is worthwhile, there’s an optimum (slowish) time for a 72-year-old swimmer with bared shoulders.
