Yeh baby it’s Friday! – OK so it’s grey and it looks like it’s going to (as our Kiwi mates say..) “puss down”
Although the water has been a little murky, it’s been one of those weeks where we look back at all the things we see on our swim and are reminded just how fantastic this littl corner of the world is! It seems everyone saw something out there every day… I’ve got a lot of pics from this week alone, so I’m going to try to post most of them here for you….
Winter has definitely said goodbye – it was grey this morning but warm and humid after the 37c baking we all had yesterday…
This is Ange from Avalon Beach Crew – look at that smile! S’cuse me while I swim out and pretend to be in trouble!
Joke of the Day
Q. What has 2 legs and flies?
A: Peter Wood!
The little bastards were everywhere!
Renae and Lesley did the Aussie salute…
Rusty Norris came down for a few roundhouse kicks to the flies….
Annie be all like: ROFLLMAO
Some of our swimmers have employed the services of trained security attack dogs to watch their stuff…
David Ingham hasn’t been rolling in garbage (as far as we know) … but there’s only one place to get away from them….
and here it is!
Guess who’s birthday it is today…… (Havana at 6:30 for those out tonight)
A regular occurrance now – not fireworks, but either whales or Prince Harry playing offshore …
Looks like whales this time….. the Humpy’s waved back…
Masses of sealife this week –
Today: This Eagle Ray about 50ft down – too deep to get close to…
Our favourite flatty in the shallows of Shelley…
Yesterday – A different Eagle Ray….
The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.
Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with their flattened teeth, while devil and manta rays filterplankton from the water. They are excellent swimmers and are able to breach the water up to several metres above the surface. Compared with other rays, they have long tails, and well-defined rhomboidal bodies. They are ovoviviparous, giving birth to up to six young at a time. They range from 48 centimetres (19 in) to 9.1 metres (30 ft) in length
Another one of our regular friends playing in the weeds…
The Spangled Emporer – normally very shy – let me get close for a minute…
The spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus) is sometimes called north-west snapper or yellow emperor. It belongs to the Lethrinidae family, which also includes sea bream and large-eye bream. Known as Lethrinids, they have robust teeth at the front and side of the jaws, and cheeks without scales. They are carnivorous, bottom-feeding fish.
The spangled emperor can live for more than 30 years. It can grow to 800 mm and 8 kg. It has a golden-brown body with blue spots on the scales of the upper body and blue bars or lines radiating from the eyes over the cheeks and snout.
It can change colour by switching on pigment cells in its skin. When an emperor is frightened, it often produces blotchy vertical brown bands across its body.
The smiling Grouper – Doesn’t he look happy!?
….he’s never heard of “Golden Century”
We saw this baby Cuttlefish near the point – all these pics are the same one – showing us a few different colours..
I love how the flathead hide and then take off….
PJs off the bower are bigger – much bigger than the ones that hang in the bay…
This is the blind shark from Tuesday…
The blind shark (Brachaelurus waddi) is one of two species of carpet sharks in the family Brachaeluridae, along with the bluegrey carpetshark (Heteroscyllium colcloughi), and the only extant member of its genus. Found along the coast of eastern Australia, thisnocturnal, bottom-dwelling species is common in rocky areas and seagrass beds from the intertidal zone to a depth of 140 m (460 ft). It often roams in tidal pools where it may be trapped by the receding tide, and can survive for an extended period out of water. The blind shark is not actually blind; its common name came from its habit of closing its eyes when taken out of the water.
Maturing at under 62–66 cm (24–26 in) long, the blind shark has a stocky, grayish to brownish body with white flecks and darker bands that fade with age. Its head is wide, flattened, and blunt, with small eyes on top and a pair of long barbels underneath. It has large pectoral fins, two nearly equal-sized dorsal fins placed far back on the body, and an anal fin placed close to the caudal fin. The blind shark feeds primarily on small invertebrates and bony fishes. It is aplacental viviparous with females bearing litters of 7–8 pups in the summer. This small shark adapts readily to being kept in captivity. It is not valued by either commercial or recreational fishers, and its hardiness means that incidentally caught individuals are likely to be returned to the water alive.
And Sunday – off the point – an old favourite….
Stats for Friday:
– 172 Swimmers
– 8 Newbies
– 12 Boulderdashers
– Water 19.5c “Nice”
– Sunrise: 6:18am
– Sunset: 7:06
– Fly index: Very Annoying and High
Phew!…. wonder what we’ll see next week….
Have a great weekend! Nick D 🙂
Swim Safety
With the
large numbers of swimmers we now have swimming with us, the risk of
collision with other swimmers is increasing. We request that, where
possible, you swim with the group, either at 6.30 am or 7 am. This will
reduce the possibility of injury from a collision. One of our swimmers
in the 7 am group recently suffered a substantial injury in a collision
with another oncoming B & B swimmer. The injury required medical
attention and a layoff from swimming of three weeks. Worst of all, the
other swimmer did not stop to see if our swimmer was injured. If you
must swim at other times, you should swim wide or close to the shore if
possible to avoid other oncoming swimmers. Also be aware at all times of
where the swimmers in the regular group are. Thank you for your
co-operation.
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.
Do read these excellent tips on staying safe in the surf. To read, or even download, click here.
21 comments
vanessa
11/10/2013 at 11:56 am
Amazing photos Nick, thanks for sharing them.
Rusty
11/10/2013 at 11:58 am
Cracking blog again mate. Great work. Amazing photos.
It’s great being back amongst it all again.
Renae Fowler
11/10/2013 at 12:33 pm
Awesome blog again Nick. So many great things to see this week. It’s going to be hard to top this week…
Nick D
11/10/2013 at 1:06 pm
Thanks Guys – Welcome back Rusty Norris 🙂
John.S
11/10/2013 at 1:15 pm
Great blog Nick. So much better than the other Nick’s blog the other day and that Irish bloke’s one.
Really top shots of the fish (and Lesley). Must come with you around bower on day it looks a great fish swim.
Also, you’re looking very debonair in your sign-off image too! Kind of exciting, man about town, a real mans man – reminiscent of a younger Ernest Hemmingway in his prime.
Lips
11/10/2013 at 1:30 pm
Great blog Shark-Stalker! Superb pics, as usual.
Amazing to see the Spangled Emperor close-up. Reminds me, Spangled Emperor used to be my nickname back in high school. Fact.
I’d like to mention LSA’s and Jon’s official Bolderdash ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at 5:50am. Sadly no photos.
ros
11/10/2013 at 1:52 pm
Loved the fish shots, Nick, especially the action pics of the flathead. As for the flies … yuck! Thank goodness we have Rusty Norris to battle that two-winged enemy for us.
alyson
11/10/2013 at 2:15 pm
Dad Joke!!!
Alyson
11/10/2013 at 2:17 pm
congrats on the BD. Hoping I get to join you for one – just need to convince hubby to get up that little bit extra to look after Lukas 😉
Bertster
11/10/2013 at 2:29 pm
Thanks Nick for a great blog. The Bertster
Lainey
11/10/2013 at 2:38 pm
Fantastic blog Nick! Love how you are educating us about these amazing marine creatures too! Well done LSA and Jon on Boulderdashing!
LSA aka HKTQ
11/10/2013 at 2:53 pm
Great mega-blob, Nick of the “under-water” swims.
The boulderdash (or crawl in our cases) is more of an “over-water” swim (like in Hong Kong) with lots of different scenery.
Lovely calm conditions and accompanied by lots of mysterious black gull-like birds, flapping and diving and following beside and behind one – a bit like the ‘Birds’ movie ’til one gets used to them.
Jon and I set off late and were on the slow track – little head-butting risk on this route:-)
LSA aka HKTQ
11/10/2013 at 2:55 pm
That would be great, Aly! I’m taking bookings and the time is flexi for the Crawlers!
ed
11/10/2013 at 3:55 pm
Great post and comments
Fantastic photos of the inhabitants
And to top it off Rainer trying to get us to change his nickname to Spangled Emperor – nice attempt
Will miss the next couple of weekends so will be depending on the blog entries for a boost – have great swims
Spangled Emperor formerly known as 'Lips'
11/10/2013 at 4:53 pm
You’re very perceptive Ed. 🙂
Let’s face it, I haven’t seen a jimble in months and my lips are almost back to normal. Time for a name change.
Have a great trip!
Lindsay
11/10/2013 at 4:57 pm
Would also love to join the Bouldercrawl group when it gets a bit lighter. It was freakily dark at five fifty this am…..
Great photos Nick. Love the info on the species!
Dolphin Whisperer
11/10/2013 at 5:43 pm
OH NOOoooooo. lippy.
They still look puffy. You will have to come up with another excuse for botox to those big chompers!! Ohhhhh that explains those yearning looks you have when exiting at 1/2 way. I thought it was the longing looks of missing LSA but those looks still go on.
It’s all clear to me now. Your the only BandBer that misses the jimbles as a cover for those sneeky doctor injections at the A lister botox parties.
Ill give you a hug next time big guy. It will be ok.
Dolphin Whisperer
11/10/2013 at 5:44 pm
Thanks for the tip Ed. have a great trip.
Brian P
11/10/2013 at 10:45 pm
Missed my Friday swim today so didn’t see the birds but was v interested to hear about them. They were most likely returning mutton birds (shearwaters). Think they left aus (near us but a bit south) in autumn (april) and have just been most of the way around the pacific – all the way to the Bering sea and back.
Brian P
11/10/2013 at 10:56 pm
Great blog again Nick, thanks. So many terrific pics .. flattie action shots also took the prize for me.
Bill McPherson
11/10/2013 at 11:41 pm
Triff mate