11/07/2018 – So much more than a swim

This morning was another reminder that our ‘swim’ is so very much more than a swim. Manly Beach was, for starters, such an amazing place to be this morning as the sun rose. It was cold, 8 degrees and very chilly…but the early morning light was stunning and there was so much going on! Early swimmers coming back cold but invigorated, high on endorphins, Booty Campers doing ‘mountain climbers’ in sand that felt like snow, lots of people chatting about circumnavigations about to begin today! There was even a bit of talk about Dave Panton’s 2000 km swim with the B&B!

A diverse range of swimming attire as the 7amers head down the ramp! Note, I’ve never seen Ian in a wetsuit in the 7 years I’ve been swimming with him. I’ve also never known him to be sick…It’s the 7th week of Winter, lots of people gaining badges this week!

Two very special ladies, Di and Lisa

It’s great to have Little Sarah and Jon back for a little while before they go back to Honkers at the end of the month 🙂

Here he is on the left, Dave, Dreamboat, Pantsdown…He’s been called a few things since he started swimming with the B&B about 5 years ago but he swims every day (when he’s not gallavanting around the world), whatever the weather or conditions and today he clocked up his 2000 kms! Well done Dave! (He is also famous for that line, “I’d rather die than go in at Halfway”)

Here they are you brave ones that got to Shelly. The air temp was 8, water temp 16.3, water murky and I felt like doing a ‘Dry Blog’ for a change! I felt a bit of a hypocrite after Sunday’s live recording on Channel 9 when I said you only regret not swimming but never swimming! It is a good feeling having done the 20 swims in Winter over 7 weeks either with or without a wettie so I thought I might just have a morning off.

Here is our Olympic medallist sailor Matt surrounded by some of his adoring fans. It’s today at 12 noon he sets off with Sailor Sid, Nicky and Rob on a 2 year circumnavigation of the globe!

Well done Sue and Sharon. I hope you had a nice bottle of hot water waiting for you at the Surf club to warm you up a bit!

Ian Forster and Don Maclean, quiet and humble, but regular swimmers who clock up the kms and are pretty high on the Pacific Challenge.

Mandy, Jo and Alex

Dave usually comes in at 7.31am from the swim and then has a 3 minute run. Today he extended his run so we’d have enough people back for his arch of honour!

Ian shows us this thermal flask that was left in the changing rooms and the chilly water temp.

It was the lovely Jeff with a J’s birthday yesterday so Sue uses that as an excuse for a lap dance, I mean cuddle!

And when Ian sees the wows cuddling together he gets fomo but is invited to join in!

A few images from last night at the Bluewater dinner.Congratulations to Dorset, Michelle and Martin who picked up badges. Matt gave a very interesting and funny talk about their trip.

The sail around the world will take until August 2020, cover 26,000 nautical miles  and has been a huge organisational effort. (Special shout out to Sid Seymour the Project Manager!) They are well prepared but could encounter hazards such as hitting containers floating beneath the water surface, pirates, freaky weather, sharks etc. On the other hand they will have the adventure of a lifetime or as Matt puts it ‘Adventure before Dementia’! Nicky models the $500 safety harness which they will be wearing all the time when on deck.

We wish them all the very best and hope Sid’s seasickness medication sourced from around the world works well!

WINTER BADGES:

The Winter swimming season is finally here!

Although the water temperature may be a little colder than you might like, there are several advantages of swimming in winter, including flat seas, good visibility and no bluebottles.

Perhaps the biggest advantage is that you can also qualify for a winter badge by swimming a minimum of 20 times between 1st June and 31st August.

You must also swim in at least 7 different weeks. If you manage to do all of your qualifying swims without a wetsuit (or other thermal enhancing equipment), you will also qualify for the coveted WWW badge (Winter without wetsuit).

So start now, and don’t forget to log your swims to qualify.

About 140 brave swimmers today and no newbies

Have a fantastic day folks!

Lainey (signing off with a my fave Cuttlefish shot I took last year)