14/11/2015 – Rainy, Grey but Never Ever Dull :-)

Hi Folks, it’s Lainey here covering Anna’s Saturday blog.  A few photos of today’s rainy but glorious swim and then quite a few more I’ve taken during the last week of marine life and amazing people! Also a turtle tale at the end.

 Rainy, dull and damp but still around 170 of us showed up and we know we won’t wish we’d slept in as ‘you never regret a swim’…

 Linda, au pairing here from Germany is loving our swims and brings a friend along today.

 Here we are huddled under shelter from the rain. Anyone would think we were scared of getting wet!

Lisa gives me a wave. She is a fairly new swimmer who lights up the day of everyone she meets with her friendly, kind nature and positivity. She told me the other day she loves everything about our B&B swims, the swim itself, reading the blog later at work and looking at The Pacific Challenge and setting goals. It will soon be time for the 6 and 10 km swims. Get ready folks!

It was calmer than yesterday with a few gentle waves. Water temp was 19.8 and no stingers.

The legendary Mr Wilf Deck, our oldest swimmer at 80 and 3/4 years of age. Triathlete, trainee counsellor and all round good bloke.

Steve, (in the middle) is pleased to be back swimming with his mates Brian and Patrick after a bout of man flue.

No John Kelly today but we waited at The Point…

 until the ‘Let’s Go!’

 I was hoping to see the huge wobbegong early swimmers had spotted but only saw this catfish as we approached Shelly. Water was murky today.

Gillian got up to 250 kms on The Pacific Challenge yesterday and is still talking about it.

One of our 6 newbies today on the left.

A few blog tarts hang around for a photo.

I swim over the rocks and see a beautiful school of Old Wives.

and a cute green Groper…

Some photos I’ve taken from swims over the past week…

 Gary the Groper was super friendly on a snorkelling tour last week.

This Eagle Ray came up pretty close to me as I swam around The Point on Tuesday too.

Peter Anthony’s birthday splash on Wednesday

Lovely ladies! They are always so happy, positive and grateful for our swims! Shelly, Lisa and Melisse.

It was Jim Hudson’s 500 km swim on Wednesday

Guess the mermaid…

Anyone would think the water was cold! Actually it has been very patchy recently. John Bond may record 20 degrees out from the Surf Club but nearer Shelly it’s been much colder.

Went on my Facebook page today and it showed that I wrote the blog on November 14th last year and the year before! They are here if you like reading old blogs!

http://pacificjules.typepad.com/pacific-jules/…/141113-.html click here

http://pacificjules.typepad.com/pacific-jules/2014/11/14112014-.htmlclick here

Below is the story of another turtle rescue by Peter Barfod. I think it was 2 weeks ago but hasn’t been on the blog yet.

Swimming along I saw a juvenile turtle on the surface.  Looks like a hawks

bill but has all this sea weed and barnacle growth on it.  The turtle did

not flee and when I touched it, it could not dive down very far.  I had seen

a TV show about turtles consuming plastic, then being plugged up, having

air/ gas in their shell and being unable to eat.  Floating on the surface

encourages growth of sea weed and barnacle.

Another B&B swimmer stopped and she suggested taking it to the Manly

Aquarium.  So despite the do-not-disturb marine sanctuary, I swam the turtle

to the stairs at half way. There I handed over to strangers (photo) who took

it to Manly Aquarium.  I checked there later but was unable to see the

turtle due to it being in a quarantine.

The vet then replied to Peter with this comment…

The turtle is a juvenile female FlatbacSea Turtle, quite rare to find this far south. She is struggling with emaciation, dehydration and as you mentioned, a very heavy barnacle load. We are in the process of trying to stabilise her before we can do further diagnostics, but at this early stage, it appears that she has suffered ‘cold shock’, which animals that are normally used to warmer water can suffer from when the water becomes too cold and this has weakened her substantially. This is only a preliminary assessment, and as soon as she is strong enough for further diagnostics, we will be able to ascertain if there are any other underlying issues.

At the moment, we are keeping her in a  warm, shallow fresh water bath, rehydrated her and have her on medications. We have eliminated a lot of the barnacles, and have removed the one that was blocking one of her nostrils, to allow her to breathe better. She is in a very bad way though and at this stage, we are taking it hour by hour. Please be assured in knowing that we will do everything we can for this little one, as we do with every rescued animal that crosses our path. Our ultimate goal is to make these guys well enough to be released back into the wild, strong and healthy. As she is in such a critical state, we are minimising all disturbances around her to try and provide her with a calm environment so she can rest and recuperate in order to give her the best chance of survival. To this end, she is not having any visitors at the moment. If and when she stabilises and is no longer in critical care, and if you are interested, we may be able to arrange for you to visit her. In the meantime, I am more than happy to keep you updated on her progress and am likewise happy to answer any questions you may have regarding her progress.

I thank you again for giving this animal a second chance, as in this condition, she would have most likely not survived unassisted in the wild. We will do everything we can for her, and hope for the best.

Latest update is that Malala is still alive and doing quite well but not up to visitors yet.

 

Stats:
Swimmers  138 recorded at 10am but nearer 180

Newbies  6

Water temp  19.8⁰ C

Staying safe
Remember that there are no badges for scaring yourself silly! While it is great to extend your boundaries, it is important to know your limits.  Also, if you have a bit more experience, keep an eye out for new swimmers who might need company. Do read these excellent tips on staying safe in the surf. To read, or even download, click here.

ARE YOU TIRED OF BEING TOLD AT THE END OF THE BLOG NOT TO SCARE YOURSELF SILLY?

WELL THE ACTUAL SILLY SEASON IS HERE AND YOU CAN ENJOY SOME FUN SILLINESS AT THE CHRISTMAS PARTY

B & B Fundraising Christmas Party

The B & B Christmas Party will be held on Tuesday 8^th December at 6.30 pm in the Moonshine Bar (2^nd Floor) at the Steyne Hotel. All swimmers and partners/friends are welcome (no under 18s unfortunately). The theme again this year is simply “Christmas”. So come dressed in your finest Christmas paraphernalia. No need to be shy as we will have the whole bar to ourselves. Finger food will be provided by the Steyne, and drinks will be at bar prices. Lots of fun and dancing are guaranteed, with music by our own band “The Troubadors”, who have generously agreed to perform free of charge for us on the night. The cost is $10 per head, with all proceeds going to the running costs of the B&B. But that’s not all. Our charity partner, the Royal Far West Children’s Home, will be running a monster raffle on the night, so please come prepared to support them. Bookings are essential. Book HERE now! Don’t miss out on this fun event, numbers are limited.

Something Special

At the Christmas Party, we will have a fantastic lucky door prize – a Swiss made Australian OceanMoon watch valued at $490 – donated by Bausele Australia. To celebrate the occasion, Bausele will give a 15% discount to all Bold & Beautiful swimmers who purchase a watch on their website. To see their range of watches go to https://www.bausele.com/ehome/, and to activate the discount, just enter the discount code BAB15 when purchasing a watch.  Not only that,Bausele will donate 15% of the value of each and every sale on this code to the Bold and Beautiful. The Oceanmoon watch is ideal for ocean enthusiasts like the B&B swimmers, and features advanced ocean technology including water resistance up to 200m, moon phase, tide display and a 40mm face making it unique in its tracking of the Southern Hemisphere Lunar phase and tidal movements.

 

Signing off Lainey Loo