European Masters - Kranj, Slovenia 2007

To say that the Royal Navy Swimming team trip to Slovenia was an epic, would be an understatement.  It was decided early on in the planning that the event would be done on a tight budget so the best option was to take a couple of Royal Navy minibuses, drive to Slovenia and camp for the duration of the competition.  It was clear at this stage that this was not going to be a simple trip.  The journey began with a Euro-Tunnel crossing to France where the French police through up the first hurdle.  After 2 hours of debate we eventually managed to persuade the police that we really were on duty and that we didn't need a tacograph on our vehicles.  The journey then continued into Germany where one of the vehicles came to an abrupt stop.  This provided some time for Stu Mantle (the aspiring PTI) to get in the first bit of sunbathing while broken down at the side of the Autobahn.

After splitting the convoy into 2 due to the need for repairs the vehicles proceeded to Slovenia in search of the campsite.  This left the advance party with all the work to do in setting up the camp and making it as homely as possible for those that were following on.  It wasn't until later that day when Gary Thomas found out that all his kit had been left on the bus in Germany and he would have to live for a couple of days in what he was wearing (a pair of union jack shorts!).

Before the swimming could start we had to attend the obligatory British reception and then the opening cermony.  After the stresses of the journey and some added lubrication at the reception some fine Slovenia dancing was observed by some of the team members such as Louise and Jeanie.

Eventually it was down to the swimming competition in the 50m open air swimming pool in Kranj.  You might think that this sounded an ideal setting however the weather was not always on our side so we were not only competing against the other swimmers but also the thunder and lightning.  This got so bad at one point that the whole competition had to be abandoned and moved to the indoor 50m pool.  Don't forget we were still camping at this point so we got wet through the day and stayed wet most of the night, putiing on our wet costumes each day to race and drying ourselves off with our wet towels at the end.  

The compeition in the pool produced some excellent results for the Royal Navy with Caroline Smart and Nic Vaughan picking up a clutch of medals as well as a few medals in the relay events.  The competition also saw some personal best times and some not so personel best times, with people blaming the conditions, the camping, the dampness.  But one thing they couldn't complain about was the food as the team feasted on food cooked in their field kitchen that put the other campers single burners to shame.

The competition finished with a few brave soles participating in the 5km swim in Lake Bled.  This was a truely magnificent setting to finish the week in although things were still far from over.  The team had yet another vehicle breakdown to deal with and then a mamouth drive back to the UK over Continental Europe.

Although an epic journey that many swore they would never undertake again, everyone enjoyed the time and has many a story to tell for years to come.