Everything was sparkling this morning… The sun lighting up Manly beach and the ocean as it rose majestically over The Bower, the smiles of the happy swimmers… The tiny fish sparkled as we swam out to The Point. Even the cuttlefish was lit up with fairy lights down his tummy!
(Another ‘gushy’ blog from Lainey Loo!)
The story of today’s swim begins with the lovely Sarah showing off her new attire for cooler water temperatures. No wetsuit, but you are allowed neoprene booties with the bikini or budgies! These are the early swimmers.
The Drinks Express was popular today. You can’t escape the Wednesday blogger though! Here they all are waiting at The Point in the glowing dawn.
Storchy’s Booty Camp had good numbers too, which is surprising as it’s SO expensive and the pretend trainer is SO scary and tough 😉 😉 (free and…friendly)
And the sun rises! Happy Wednesday!
If you watched ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ the other night and Daniel Cleaver seemed familiar… Here is Hugh Grant’s love child, Rusty!
And a shot for the ladies who love their dogs!
It’s a really low tide today, incredibly clear water, flat as a pancake and still warm!
Here are the sparkly fish. I’ve been told they are called Hardy Heads.
This guy Dean, was taking photos of us with his extremely large camera. He says he’ll put them up on the B&B website. (Click on left hand side at top of blog to see later)
The 5 minute wait at Shelly is a great chance to have a chat or giggle with our fellow sparkling swimmers!
Mark and one of his gorgeous girls. (Jas has blue eyes and Laura green, that’s the way to tell them apart)
Sophie and Bella have a cuddle. (Rob and Dave look on with envy ;-))
There are lots of Dusky Whalers at the moment which makes us very happy. It’s a sign of a very healthy Cabbage Tree Bay!
Krystina spotted a really unusual looking fish on our ‘Fish Hunt’ on the way back close to the rocks. Jane says it may be a Rock Cod. We were hoping it would be called something far more exotic. Look at it’s beautiful fins, like paper doilies!
It flaps it’s tail and swims off…
An unbelievable amount of yellowtail over the rocks. Stephen wakes them up!
A darker photo from this angle but still interesting. Go Mary!
The Diamond Fish always sparkle…
A fish we don’t see often. Herring Kale anybody?
And just to make the swim ab- so- lutely perfect, a cuttlefish is spotted at The Point! It’s the one that lost some tentacles but they are growing back.
Dr John appears after swimming a double. It’s his first cuttlefish sighting!
Meet 2 inspiring swimmers, Magic Hands 1 and Magic Hands 2 (Andrew Maher, chiropractor and John Jackson, Doctor);-) They are swimming from Manly to Bondi on 20th June and raising money for Bear Cottage. They are having a cake stall on Saturday after the swim. Please bring along some money to donate to this fantastic cause and have a treat at the same time! Better still, bring a plate of cakes or slices too or donate on their fundraising page by clicking on this link. click here
Andy practises his towel/napkin dance to put the finishing touches to an incredible swim!
(2 photos I loaded earlier of photos I took on Monday.)
A plug for another very worthy cause. There is a fundraiser on Friday 6pm Manly Surf Club for Schizophrenia week. Come along for a few bevvies and catch up with your B&B buddies. All info on flyer!
Enjoy the rest of your week folks!
Bottom of Blog
How about a Wetpatch?
The eagle eyed among you will notice a new addition to the B&B website. Wetpatch are makers of car seat protectors – perfect for the B&B swimmer on the go. As this is a product best seen ‘in the flesh’ the makers will have a display after the swim on Sunday 25 May. You will be able to purchase there and then and receive a B&B discount too!
The Biggest Morning Tea ever
Help B&B regular Miguel Maestre (aka the Crazy Bull) fight cancer this May and June, and make this year’s Biggest Morning Tea the biggest ever! Please share his video or maybe even organise one with as many friends as possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqn8zLeMJZk&list=UUoqsI4BQjKoFanMQOy5VEIw
B&B i-Log
Really if you haven’t been using the B&B i-Log then you must be new!! Almost 75% of swimmers are now using the B&B i-Log. Log your swim ANYTIME of day using this really efficient and easy way to ensure your swim is recorded in the daily attendance and on the Pacific Challenge. To get started, send an email to Ian Forster ugoboyo@gmail.com(This is not a link so please copy and paste into your email). He will check that your email address is activated on the attendance register then send you info on how to get started.
Staying safe
We have had seen the return of some serious waves and rips this past week! Were you prepared? 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.
The Stats
Regulars: 106
Newbie: 3
Temp: 20.8 degrees
Sunrise: 6.44 am
Sunset: 4.58 pm
Signing off
Lainey Loo
21 comments
Lesbubbles
21/05/2014 at 12:24 pm
Ooh Lainey I loved the sunrise photos you took .. Beautifully captured how amazing the sunrise was this morning! It was STUNNING!! So good in fact I did my first EVER double in the 3.5 years I’ve been swimming ! Yep THAT is how good it is !!
In fact swimming with the 2nd lappers was like b&b when I first started .. Small cozy group!
Bliss!
Ps. Andrew and Dr John look so effin fit in that photo!! My god! I bet the girls will all be baking their heads off!
Another beautiful blog 🙂
ros
21/05/2014 at 1:18 pm
Amazing rock cod, and a great swim today. So warm still!
Slim dusky
21/05/2014 at 1:28 pm
Great blog. Lainey!
Jane
21/05/2014 at 1:34 pm
You’re right about the Herring Cale Lainey-Loo – but it’s the rather drab female, not the sleek and smart male. I can’t pin down the mystery fish. I’d say a species of Cod or Wirrah. I’ll send the pics to Mark at the OzMus, but he’s on a field trip this week so won’t see it till Monday.
Great pics as usual, Lainey. I think that poor Cuttle has lost some tentacles.
Jane
21/05/2014 at 1:40 pm
Love the pic of Magic Hands practising his Towel Dance. Go to see his finished performance (with Dr. John I think) at:
http://www.flixxy.com/towel-comedy-act-by-les-beaux-freres.htm
Scorpionfish
21/05/2014 at 1:41 pm
Red rod cod is also known as Red Scorpionfish, now that does sound exotic! 🙂
Lips
21/05/2014 at 1:42 pm
Hey! I taught Andrew that towel/napkin dance!!
Great photos Lainey! Beautiful swim..
Lesbubbles
21/05/2014 at 1:55 pm
Did u also teach him the underpants dance he did just before?? My eyes are still burning
John.S
21/05/2014 at 2:05 pm
Want dinner tonight do we Slim?
Hardy Heads are cool.
Great blog E-Laine.
xx
Sylvia
21/05/2014 at 2:52 pm
Well done Lainey!
Lips
21/05/2014 at 2:55 pm
That’s his mating dance. Clearly, you weren’t in the right mood for it Lesbubbles.
makbrel
21/05/2014 at 3:28 pm
while Game of Thrones was on the TV in our house, I googled the depth of CBT which I have wondered about. It is 12 metres. Also, the Wikipedia site says there is a sunken motor bike. Is it still there? I of course have never seen it, in real life or the blog.
Jane
21/05/2014 at 3:47 pm
Yes, I swam over the motor bike some years ago, but haven’t seen it since. Maybe it has been covered up with sand now. It used to be on Google Earth, but the photo has been removed. Gaetan and Michel dived down and sat on it when it was upright – the pic was on the Blog. Maybe some sleuth can track it down?
Jane
21/05/2014 at 3:53 pm
I have just found an email I sent to Gaetan on June 27th 2011, referring to his video of the motor bike:
“Hi Gaetan – Mark’s favorite part of your video was the motorbike! Someone seems to have put it upright – it used to be on Google Earth, and was still on its side when I saw it earlier this year.
Cheers Jane”
So all that remains is for Gaetan to show us his video!
Jane
21/05/2014 at 5:47 pm
Triumph! I found these fabulous videos by Gaetan, at least one of which shows the motor bike. Didn’t find the shots of him sitting on it, need more time to check it all out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4l29fmDRWU&feature=youtu.be
http://vimeo.com/45433027
Anna McBold
21/05/2014 at 6:18 pm
These blogs are such useful sources of information. There I was thinking Rusty was the love child of “Aggers” the cricket commentator on the radio.
Magic Hands
21/05/2014 at 6:50 pm
Oh dear…
Magic Hands
21/05/2014 at 6:54 pm
Thanks for mentioning our fundraising swim and our cake stall Elaine!
xx
Elaine de Jager
21/05/2014 at 7:07 pm
Hahaha, no you watch Hugh Grant at his ‘caddest’. Rusty’s a chip off thevold block for sure!
Gaetan
21/05/2014 at 7:24 pm
Just for you Jane 🙂
Here it is at 1:48 (this was in 2011)
http://vimeo.com/25620084
Else more recent, about a year ago:
http://vimeo.com/63995207
Lyndall
21/05/2014 at 8:21 pm
Gorgeous blog Elaine. You really captured the spectacular morning that it was.
Jane, thanks for getting Gaeten to find us those videos of the motorbike. I had often wondered about it. Quite extraordinary. We are so lucky to have this magical playground at our door step. So lucky xx