In late September 2026, Angela Giuffrida undertook a 5-kilometer open-water swim off the coast of Kaş, Turkey, as part of a multi-day guided swim tour along Turkey’s Lycian Way. The experience, she said, provided unexpected solace amid grief following the sudden death of her mother eight months earlier.

Giuffrida, a staff writer based in Europe, joined SwimTrek, a Brighton-based company specializing in open-water swim tours, with a personal goal to complete 25 kilometers over five days. While the trip was intended as a holiday, the combination of swimming and immersion in the sea evolved into a therapeutic ritual during her period of mourning.

Her journey with open-water swimming began earlier in June 2024, when a friend encouraged her to participate in a week-long challenge in Croatia, swimming 3 kilometers daily. Before that, Giuffrida had little experience beyond occasional breaststroke practice in a pool, finding herself initially unprepared for the demands of sea swimming. With instruction and guidance during the trip, she gradually developed basic front crawl skills and grew more confident in the water.

Giuffrida described the soothing effect of being enveloped by the open sea, where rhythmic movements and observing marine life such as fish and turtles allowed her mind to clear. “The sensation is difficult to describe, but it brings instant relief,” she said, recalling how the weightlessness balanced by buoyancy helped ease emotional tension.

Reflecting on her upbringing in Croydon, south London, Giuffrida noted limited engagement with swimming during childhood, marked by occasional visits to municipal pools supervised by her mother. The sea held a complicated place in her early life, more associated with reluctant seaside trips and cold water than comfort or joy. She did, however, develop a connection to the sea partly through family ties: her father’s Italian heritage included frequent holidays to coastal regions of Italy, where her mother would swim for hours.

Giuffrida believes her mother—who battled depression and anxiety—may have found similar respite in swimming, although they rarely discussed the subject. Her mother, who was 73 when she passed, remained active through gym workouts, tennis, and walking, eventually relocating to Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex. Since then, Giuffrida has found grounding by the UK coastline during visits and occasionally partakes in cold-water dips.

Over the past two years, Giuffrida has participated in multiple swim tours beyond Turkey, including a 4-kilometer daily swim in Greece that coincided with her 50th birthday. Despite being among the slower swimmers, she said completing these tours instilled a sense of accomplishment and fostered new friendships within the swimming community.

Looking ahead, Giuffrida plans to continue her swimming journeys, describing the sea as a space that maintains her connection to her late mother even in the absence of direct conversation about their shared experiences with water.