It was an early start for some, with plenty of nervous excitement all round. The first 10km swim is on this morning. Nick had a prep kit the night before and I assume by looking at it some was for the morning. Is that right Nick. 😉 Wonder how they are all going out there while I sit here in my comfortable chair tapping away at my computer.
I got down the beach early to be part of the energy and atmosphere coming from the early 10k’ers. Here is the 6am group looking a little sleepy, except for Paige who is pumped and ready to go.
And off they go. Some last minute technicalities with Inez’s cap breaking. I got her a new one and they were off. It was perfect conditions for a nice long swim. Not alot of swell today.
If you look closely here you can see them on their way to Shelly for their first briefing.
Now it’s time for the 6:30 crew to hit the water. The swell seems to be picking up which makes it all the more exciting to catch some waves.
Ahh, wrong way Fee
Some quick preping for the 7am 10km swimmers
Congrats to all of the people swimming 6km & 10km today. It’s a huge effort made by all.
Now time for all of us to hit the waves. Well, what there was of them.
One of my sister Lara, friend Kristie who came all the way from Forster and myself.
JK giving instructions for the 10 & 6km swimmers to meet at the point for further instructions. Then Krystyna gives us all the “Let’s Go”
Here is a pic of the 7am 10km swimmers with Kylie taking the lead.
and the 6km swimmers where there seems to be a little more excitment
I thought that these were another part of the B&B Merchandise but then quickly found it they are from the Bold & Beautiful TV Series. It could be another great idea though. We could so branch out into our own very own fashion label soon. Look out Jessica Simpson.
Here is a pic Gary sent to me of him doing Lawn Bowls in his pink cap at the Office Xmas Party. Now I just need to get him to where it in the water more often.
Some shots that Stephen took this morning with his new fisheye lens.
Have a great weekend everyone. Renae
Stats:
Swimmers: 248
Newbies: 19
Water Temp: 21.1 degrees
Sunrise: 5.38am
Sunset: 8:01pm
One of our swimmers Emma has a friend Stacey who is raising money for her son Rocki who has Cerebal Pasly. . They will be selling Rocky Road tomorrow morning. This is a great Stocking Filler for those still needing some Xmas ideas. See flyer below for more details.
37 comments
lesbubbles
14/12/2013 at 12:38 pm
wow! I just got back from the Swim School at Shelly and I saw all the 10K swimmers coming in!! They looked totally beat!!! But well done to you all!!
Bernhard K I added you to the 10k attendance! 🙂
(he forgot to tick!)
Congratulations!
I am super glad I was NOT around for that fish-eye lens! Any Lens that can do THAT to Lucy’s face is to be avoided! ;-p
Well done Lucy too – I saw her stagger back from the 10k as well!!
JeffwithaJ
14/12/2013 at 1:17 pm
Well done Renae, a good fun blog! Thanks!
Pacific Jules
14/12/2013 at 1:41 pm
Cracker of a blog Renae, lots of fun and love.
Massive congratulations to all the 6 and 10kers this morning but especially to all the first timers. Check you all out, just brilliant. Massive well done to all of you !! Enjoy the celebrations now 🙂
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 2:18 pm
…..as the last 10Ker in…. “perfect conditions”, yeh, yeh….. For the slow group of 10, just under 2 hrs to Curly, all pretty civilised, meeting at each point, friendly banter, with some banana bread and cup of tea at the kiosk, pleasant relaxing conditions and then the return!!
All hell let loose. A nightmare from Curly to Freshy with serious choppy conditions and swimming into the wind. Jon & I lost the group, we were both very nauseous and I kept having to pause because of a painful inside nose condition. So for us, 4 hrs for exactly the same route back – double!!
Best parts of the trip were surprisingly the parts I had dreaded most: Freshie into Curl Curl and the very last stretch home from Shelly – bliss!
Congratulations to all the other 10Kers – that badge is so well-deserved and remind me if I forget, I NEVER want to do it again. I thought it was tough last year doing multiple trips between the Point and Shelly, but that was kid’s play!
As for tonic water – I drank a glass of it just before we set off (and I hate it), only to have cramps for the first time ever on the first leg to Shelly!! Fortunately, not later in the swim.
Oh and toughest moment of all was when I was really struggling on return en route to Freshie and Jon was vomitting and a lovely surf rescue boat came up to ask us if we needed any help. So very tempting….. but no, we’re the Bold & Beautiful:-)
Michael [EX CI]
14/12/2013 at 2:19 pm
23 did the tenk!!! that is amazing!! Well done all of you and congratulations. It aint easy is it.
Michael [EX CI]
14/12/2013 at 2:23 pm
PS especial congrats to John and LSA. That sounds like a nightmare! But nothing less than we would expect from both of you.
Fifi
14/12/2013 at 2:33 pm
Sarah,
Just to let you know I found the curl curl-freshie stretch pretty tough. I hate swimming into a headwind .
Richard and I were repeatedly nibbled by a fish off queensie, it was hilarious!
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 2:43 pm
Thx, Michael….. I’m sure others had their own nightmares too! Like Shauny was telling me about how he was taking yet another short-cut when the usual delirium set in and he found his was swimming over rocks at the Bower on return:-)
Couldn’t even sip water or touch a bisuit on return…. only now can I take small sips…. That there were 22 others who put themselves through some version of all this is pretty amazing, i agree. I can understand why you’ve retired to WA after dozens of such feats!
And bouderdashers, it will never seem ‘far out’ when one finds oneself swimming along the shark net again….
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 2:45 pm
Thx for telling me that, Fifi…. glad I didn’t imagine it. Btw, congratulations to the Speedy Four of you! You must have beat the old record for the first half of the swim! Glad to meet up with you all at Curly.
John
14/12/2013 at 2:50 pm
Congratulations to all who completed the first 10k Challenge swim for the summer,especially the first timers. It was a good rollup of 23 participants,maybe more.
The conditions were not always ideal with a long rough swim leg from South Curl Curl to the point at Freshwater against a southerly chop. The distance and conditions are all part of what makes this a challenging summer swim.
A big thank you to Maureen who organised the well needed refreshments, sunscreen etc at South Curly beach. This is essential and very much appreciated.
Michael [EX CI]
14/12/2013 at 2:57 pm
I just did a 10 km swim all on my own over here in Fremantle. Just me and the sharks! I had to start early to try and avoid the sun. Its going to be 38c and is absolutely cloudless. So I got away at 5am. No drinks, no lollies, HEAPS of stingers [god I’m a hero!] I finished in about 3h30m and felt a tad tired I must confess. So I was with the Bold and Beautiful 10k group IN SPIRIT if not physically. There is a picture of my Garmin on facebook in case there is any doubt!
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 3:07 pm
Amazing! Almost half my time:) No company either! Congratulations, Michael! Fortunately, no stingers at all over here for our 10K.
Actually, I found it much easier last year (and with no nausea) when Paige and I went non-stop for 4hrs 30 than this time after our very civilised break…. so hard to get going again, especially when it’s straight into the toughest conditions of the day. And going early is great, I agree…
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 3:35 pm
.and Storchy, even though all your other excuses (fake Kiama trip, dog bit you, moving house, can’t swim) were really pathetic, you didn’t need to go to such an extreme measure of getting yourself admitted to hopsital for the night with a late check-out!!
Get well soon:-)
Ok, I’ll give someone else a turn…
Nick D
14/12/2013 at 3:42 pm
It was relatively easy until we had to swim back into the 40km/h southerly – that was an “experience” 🙂
The jury’s out on tonic water….
Nick D
14/12/2013 at 3:43 pm
Maureen you are an angel!
Wendy
14/12/2013 at 3:45 pm
Hi Ian I tick this morning but wasn’t marked off on the attendance can you please mark me off Thanks Wendy Emerson
Bro-knee
14/12/2013 at 3:46 pm
I’ve found Storchy’s reason for missing the swim:
http://broniesaustralia.com.au/forumdisplay.php?fid=135
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 3:59 pm
Also, Jon’s 10K hasn’t registered for some reason. Maybe that makes it 24 10Kers. There were 10 in the slow group, 4 in the fast group and 007 will tell us how many in the main group.
Bernhard
14/12/2013 at 4:04 pm
Thx Leslie. I was so nervous this morning (not to say I was shitting my p…) ahead my first 10k, that I completely forgot to tick.
And thx to the lovely ladies who waited for our return at the Manly Surf Club with the yummiest brownies I have had for a while. They revitalised my senses.
Little Tiger
14/12/2013 at 4:17 pm
Huge effort by the 10Km swimmers, super difficult conditions. CONGRATULATIONS.
Things I learnt today,
1 – A $10 note will remain completely dry when stuffed down cossies on a 10km swim.
2 – Snake lollies disintergrate when stuffed down cossies.
Well done Michael C, on your epic journey.
Bernhard
14/12/2013 at 4:22 pm
Your description of the swim is absolutely to the point, lovely and a bit of fun with some breaks for chatting and head counting on our way to Curl Curl, then the hell on the return.
So sorry Sarah that I didn’t stay with you and Jon on the return, but I was so concerned about myself making it safely back with more dog paddling rather than proper swim strokes. Luckily, I had Lainey and Ted who pulled me back to Manly. Thx so much to both of you.
Cathfish
14/12/2013 at 4:33 pm
Thanks guys for a fantastic 10km. It was a bit of a battle on the way back but worth it. I agree Maureen.. the $10 was a bit of a mystery!! Lovely morning and thanks as usual to our resident angel Maureen.
Bernhard
14/12/2013 at 4:36 pm
Epic swim today
Dolphin Whisperer
14/12/2013 at 4:41 pm
Well done Michael for joining in over in the West.
Thank you to Maurine Sand Angel and all the roadies for looking after us again.
Oh my goodness, what a swim!
Your right Sarah, doing it easy to Curly then ouch!!
Tough swim, lost everyone, lost land, loosing energy, then again at the dreaded 7Km mark,
The hallucinations kicked in. Some of the sights I thought I saw –
I thought I saw Sarah and Jon pass me at Queenscliff
I thought I saw Nick without a camera
I thought I saw Lucy, without Brad!
I thought I passed Fifi
I knew I was in big trouble when I saw Storchy at Shelly!
Dolphin Whisperer
14/12/2013 at 4:48 pm
Great blog Renae. Great pics!
Sarah and Jon man of the match of the 10K
Inspirational. Very tough people!
Hallucinations continued-
Oh, I also thought I saw JK say he wanted to swim alone. (Sorry Vanessa)
I thought I saw Drinks with a pink One Direction towel !
Dolphin Whisperer
14/12/2013 at 4:49 pm
I also thought I was at Shelly!
Lips
14/12/2013 at 5:05 pm
Well done all you 10km heroes!
Lesbubbles and I were taking it easy at Sarah Anne’s BnB swim school, splashing in the shallows at Shelly..
..when from around 11am, one by one, zombie-like creatures emerged from the water. Muttering things about hell-ish conditions at South Curly and ‘never again’.
LSA, Jon – glad to hear all went well. What an achievement! I was with you in spirit!!
Rest up now.. see you tomorrow!
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 5:18 pm
ha, ha…. imagining you returned there, perhaps! Hands up who did Shelly again on return like us and who took the short-cut straight back home “for appointments”:-))
Elaine de Jager
14/12/2013 at 5:43 pm
You did it all yourself Bernard. amazing achievement for a man who tried his first B&B swim a year ago and couldn’t go the distance and was embarrassed as had to come out at Halfway. He got himself a few lessons, came back in June, did his first Bolderdash last week and 10 km today. Proof that with determination, guts and this amazing group anything is possible! (LSA should take some credit too!)
Elaine de Jager
14/12/2013 at 5:47 pm
Thanks for turning up early to include us on your as usual, great blog Renae. What a 10 km swim but so glad I’ve done it! Conditions were hard all the way back to North Steyne with that head wind and swell. Thanks to the helpers inc John L and Maureen and special thanks to LSA and Jon. xx
Inez
14/12/2013 at 6:08 pm
Ian Forster:, Paige and I did not manage to tick the 10 km folder, it was not available when we left, and not available when we came back. We were both SEASICK. Literally. Thanks to the others for being a great group, and also sorry we did not wait for J and S, but we thought it best not to share the technicolour. Anyway, can someone add us to the10k list please. Thank you.
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 6:44 pm
Oh you two, too! Both of us seasick literally (Jon much of the way back) and also no 10K tick for Jon yet… Thanks in advance whoever is in charge of registrations today.
Very healthy appetities this afternoon!
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 7:26 pm
Forgot to thank John Lehman for very kindly taking some drinks and snacks round to Curl Curl for us and welcoming us there. Thanks, John!
Vanessa Maund
14/12/2013 at 8:34 pm
LSA, I am in total agreement with you, hell on the way back, I still feel like I’m at sea! We so deserve that badge!
Vanessa Maund
14/12/2013 at 8:37 pm
Yes thank you Maureen, it really did make a differance.
LSA aka HKTQ
14/12/2013 at 8:45 pm
Actually, he has done a few bolderdashes and a 6K with me and others….. still amazing!
Fifi
14/12/2013 at 10:04 pm
Did anyone end up with my goody bag of food from south curly? It had chocolate and bananas and drinks.