The conditions remain flawless! With the water temperature at 20.4 degrees (ok
it was 11 degrees out of the water. . . ), stunning, golden sunrise and 103
swim buddies, the conditions are immaculate for a morning swim. Can you beleive that it is only one month to the winter
solstice?
The early crowd gathers in the sun.
Then within five minutes there is an explosion of
people.
Conferring with the early lappers we find that the water is warmish, visibility is good but jumbles are
about. That is it for me – the wetsuit
is perfect protection from these little nasties.
A salutation to the sun is the first part of
the water entry ritual. . .
but when the water level rises to the shoulders, a devotional chant fills the
morning. The chilling temperature does bring out the
chorister in each of us.
Once in we are ready to start the swim.
There is great visibility as we head off to Shelly.
The sentinal yellowtails are hanging around. One was one nibbling on a jimble which gladdened my heart!!
Birthday celebrations at Shelly.
Before long we are heading back to Manly, although for some, this is the time to go fish hunting – with cameras of course.
The charming trevally are never camera shy! Must have been taking lessons from a couple of our regular blog tarts.
Back in Manly it is too nice to rush. Hanging about having a coffee is a better altnative to sitting in traffic don’t you think?
There are heaps of things going on, so check out the notes below.
Have a great day.
Mary
WINTER BADGE – Not long
to go now until the start of our Winter
badge season on Saturday 1st
June. Just in case you don’t know, everyone can qualify for the winter badge
– you are automatically in the running. To get the badge, all you have to do is
swim on 20 occasions, and in at least 7 different weeks during Winter. Each
week starts on a Monday, so there are 14 weeks in the season. For the hard core
swimmers, you can also qualify for the WWW
badge (Winter without wetsuit) if you do the 20 winter swims without
thermal assistance. If you are swimming without wetsuit, you should write a “W”
against your name every time you swim in Winter to qualify, so we can verify
that you are swimming “au naturel”. Good Luck. See Lesley for tips on swimming
without wetsuit through the Winter! It’s all in the mind!
To celebrate the occasion we want everyone to come down wearing a nice
warm Onesie or Jumpsuit. The funnier
the better! If you are shy or embarrassed, bring it down and change when you
get here. You will be in the company of lots of other closet onesie owners.
AMAZING NEW
BADGE – It is the Pacific
Challenge 500 km badge. Really easy to qualify – just swim regularly, tick
the folder and with every 1.5 km Manly-Shelly swim you will be that little bit
closer. When you reach 500 km you automatically qualify for the badge –
although you pay $10 for the privilege. Please
tick your name in the blue folder, to ensure every swim counts.
An amazing 33 people have already qualified for their badge! The badges will be presented at our monthly
dinner on Tuesday 4th June at
6.30 pm (see below). To see if you are one of the lucky 33, Check here
on the Pacific Challenge. If you have qualified, can you please pay your $10 to Ian or Lesley before 4th
June. If you can’t make it to the dinner you can collect your badge any day
after 4th June.
MONTHLY
DINNER – One of our swimmers, Dr
Ray Hodgson, is coming along our next Bluewater
Cafe Dinner at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 4th June to tell us about the amazing
work he does in Nepal with women who suffer prolapse after child birth. He organises trips for volunteers for 2 week
stints and is always looking out for more volunteers to go to Nepal and help. If
you want to hear from someone who is making a difference to peoples lives and
want to find out what you can do to help, the come along to the dinner.
The
dinner is also a great chance to catch up with your B&B friends at an
informal gathering, and see what they look like with their clothes on (you may
not recognise them!). The cost is excellent value at $20 for two courses, with $5 drinks, $5 desserts and no corkage for BYO
wine. Bluewater also now offers $25
special meals in addition to our standard $20 deal. Bookings are essential
so click
here book early and avoid disappointment.
Numbers will be limited to 100. Don’t
forget, the first batch of 500 km badges will also be presented on the night so
it will be a HUGE night.
Special
offer from Whitewater . . .
Exclusive offer for all the Bold and the
Beautiful swimmers, whitewater is
pleased to offer all Bold and Beautiful swimmers 25% off your entire bill
*(valued up to $30). Join us for lunch or dinner at whitewater restaurant, Manly. Please mention this offer when making
your reservation to ensure you receive the discount. Reservations: call 02 9977
0322 or email info@whitewaterrestaurant.com.au
Open weekends for breakfast 8am to 11.30am,
Daily for lunch from 12pm to 5pm, Dinner from 5pm to late… * Offer valid
until 30th June 2013 * not valid in conjunction with any other offer * Only one
discount per bill *Discount does not apply for breakfast
Staying safe
While there has been little wave action to test the surf skills, you
never know when the sea will show its turbulent side. Stay safe by knowing how to read the signs
with these water safety tips courtesy of champion Ironman Craig ‘Riddo’
Riddington. It’s a great read and can help keep you safe in the surf. To read, or even download, click here.
The Stats
Regulars: 103
Newbies: 2
Doublers: 3
Temp: 20.4 degrees
Sunrise: 6.44am
Sunset: 4.59pm
28 comments
Elaine de Jager
21/05/2013 at 12:09 pm
Beautiful blog Mary. Fantastic photos. (I hear you have the same top quality one as Stephen and Nick now?) Love all the photos but particularly the one of the 2 stingrays cosying up together!
Happy Birthday Geneve! That might be our last ‘perfect’ swim for a while but we’ll always be glad we did it whatever the weather!
Mary
21/05/2013 at 12:29 pm
Thanks Elaine. Yes, first outing for the new Olympus which is very exciting. Lovely Nick lent me one of his cameras over the past month, which is very generous of him.
Bruceys better half
21/05/2013 at 12:33 pm
Special thanks to John S and Shaun D for “watching” the bags this morning 🙂
DWSS
21/05/2013 at 12:50 pm
All part of the integrity police service BBH.
Thank you for noticing and I can confirm Miss L, you are not the Villian!
You were under surveillance too.
DWSS
21/05/2013 at 12:51 pm
Great blog as always Mary. Well done!!
Ros(-e)
21/05/2013 at 1:14 pm
I’ve been following the blog from afar over the last week – so sorry I’ve missed the perfect conditions. The photos today are magnificent! With any luck I’ll be back in the water tomorrow!
Lesbutt
21/05/2013 at 1:22 pm
I love the kissing sting rays!!
And pink caps and walkway fence photo great too!!
That’s a lotta info i gotta copy and paste for tomorrow’s blog Mary!!!
Lesbutt
21/05/2013 at 1:26 pm
So who took the bag yesterday?? Have u got a suspect Shaun Prawn?
Slow Ian
21/05/2013 at 1:29 pm
Not sure I would want DWSS watching my bag.
secret squirrel (john S)
21/05/2013 at 2:14 pm
Lucky the Triad Queens away!!!!
We concentrated on watching as many female suspects this morning as we could, DWSS took numerous undercover photos for his personal police files, and we decided to continue to do so for the rest of the week.
Lesley, you too can be deputised by one of us and then legally undertake your hobby of watching the males (suspects) without cheap shots being made about your reasons for doing so…..
Bruceys (far) better half, thanks for noticing the integrity police’s contribution to society…..
john S
21/05/2013 at 2:28 pm
Mary, your photos are amazing today! I love the clarity in images 10, 11 & 12….
Remember all Pink Caps, Brenton’s patented YakFat and Curdled Yogurt* in 500ml and one litre containers can help you swim wetsuitless through Winter. Brenton’s also happy to demonstrate to any purchasers how to apply with a tickler.
For this week only and leading up to June 1, with any YakFat and Curdled Yogurt purchase***, Brenton will also include a 250ml container of Lesley and Brents’ GooseFat**. GooseFat made from an old family recipe, with its 3 secret herbs and spices is guaranteed to ward off Jimbles and Blue Meanies.
***Yours now absolutely FREE! with any YakFat and Curdled Yogurt purchase over $20.00
* Minor skin discolouration may occur.
** not to be used as a lubricant
Lips
21/05/2013 at 2:33 pm
Lovely blog Mary. Good to see the Yellowtail nibbling jimbles. I nibbled on a jimble once, did i mention that?
Just to clarify on WWW. You can still wear your bathers. No need to go all ‘au naturel’. Rob, I hope you’re reading this.
Also, no matter how much you’re freezing doing you WWW, beware of Lesley inviting you to ‘warm patches’ in the waters around Shelly.
Baby Jane, see you tomorrow for 6:59am start. No more excuses!
Elaine de Jager
21/05/2013 at 3:08 pm
Hahaha… Does Nuttelex work if you are vegan?
DWSS
21/05/2013 at 3:15 pm
Ohh Mr S. this is wrong on soooo many levels.
Even the Price. Haha
DWSS
21/05/2013 at 3:17 pm
OI!!! Watch it!!
DWSS
21/05/2013 at 3:22 pm
Any suspect female was put under surveillance. The comment was made that if you wanted to steel a bag, the best method was to be male. Any bloke could have backed his utility up and cleared the pathway without detection, but the fems, look sideway at a Recyling bag – ” GOTCHA ”
Stephen Coulter
21/05/2013 at 3:41 pm
She wouldn’t want you describing her like that either Ian!
Jane
21/05/2013 at 3:50 pm
Wondered where you were Rosetta! Missed your smiling face.
Inez
21/05/2013 at 4:40 pm
I bought tiles from Amber Tiles at Seaforth today from the wonderfully helpful and patient Andrew Drinky of Drinks Express Infamy. After 2 hours of indecision over the great selection of tiles there, finally came to a decision, and my new bathroom is going to be the best tiled bathroom in the Inner West. Thanks Mr Drinkwater and Seaforth Amber Tiles for all the help and the tidy discount.
Oh yes, and I had a wonderful swim today in the best conditions.
Stephen, I thought you would have muscled in your photo of the big pink fluffy thing, what happened?
Anne E
21/05/2013 at 5:32 pm
Yikes! In the excitement of spotting a member of the Orectolobidae family (aka wobbegong) off the point on the early swim this morning, I forgot to tick! Any chance of a late entry
Lesbutt
21/05/2013 at 5:56 pm
Hehehehe
Lesbutt
21/05/2013 at 5:58 pm
It was a genuine warm patch i promise!!
Slow Ian
21/05/2013 at 6:07 pm
Nice colour too!
Slow Ian
21/05/2013 at 6:08 pm
Done
Lindsay & Richard
21/05/2013 at 6:17 pm
Heard all about the big pink jelly. I m all for Stephen sneaking his pic onto the blog, and here s hoping that it s gone by my swim tomorrow…
Anne E
21/05/2013 at 6:43 pm
Thanks, Ian. much appreciated!
secret squirrel
21/05/2013 at 6:48 pm
more hehehe
John S
21/05/2013 at 6:52 pm
Does Nuttelex work if you are a vegan???
What’s a vegan?