18/10/2015 – Jimbles, Jimbles, Jimbles

This morning, Craig Mellis became the 168th swimmer to pass the 500km mark on the Pacific Challenge. Congratulations Craig!

 

Unfortunately, the blogging team was poorly prepared and Craig had to celebrate the occasion without the customary tiara, novelty glasses and pimp cane.

Gaetan returned from his 6am crash test dummy swim, describing in graphic detail the armada of 1000 jimbles in the bay:

 

 

Undeterred, swimmers started gathering:

 

 

 

Julie was back for a bit more blog tarting..

 

 

 

 

And so was Michael..

 

 

..even the Polar Bears were getting into the swing of it:

 

Great to have Wendy back in the bay!

 

 

Looking after the stragglers: Alice bought Marc a box of Stealth Fins:

“So he can keep up..”

 

Eventually, it was time to get wet and jimbled:

 

 

At this point, I’d like to thank today’s wet-camera woman Elaine De Jager.

I was stood up without the usual underwater camera this morning, so Elaine kindly offered to capture the actual swim on my behalf:

 

 

 

 

“Let’s Go!”

 

An added bonus of having Elaine doing the camera work – great fish photos, despite murky conditions!

Diamond fish:

 

Old wives:

 

And a gorgeous Eagle Ray:

 

 

Speaking of rays – with everyone complaining and exaggerating their little jimble encounters this morning, today’s true victim went almost unnoticed.

Poor Tony stepped on a small ray just after walking down the ramp at the surf club:

 

Being a true Aussie, Tony punched the ray and finished the whole swim before seeking medial attention at the surf club.

 

Meanwhile, Gaetan was still telling people of his horror jimble encounter earlier in the morning:

 

 

 

Unharmed by jimbles this morning – John and Peter:

 

Not completely unharmed – Andrew:

 

Hiding behind Jo – Midge:

 

Posing for the 2016 calendar front cover – Lesley and Iggy:

 

 

 

That’s all from me for today. Big shout out again to Elaine who provided all swim and underwater photos today.

And don’t forget, everyone is invited to Manly Skiff Club this arvo from 4.30 pm to have a drink and chat with the Julie, Michael, and their entourage of Polar Bears.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Lips x

 

Water temp:  20 degrees

Swimmers:  Lots

Newbies:  A few

Jimbles:  Plenty

 

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.