22/11/2015 no mean FEET

 

Ok maybe they aren’t a mean pair of feet, I mean who has mean feet?!?!

 

 

Ok this IS a mean feat, on 31 October 2015, one of our swimmers Brendan Maher, thought it would be a good idea to swim from Palm Beach To Manly! As you do…..

 

 

 

Here’s his account of the swim, well done Brendan.

 

“The weather forecast had been good all week and for once it was accurate, with a north east swell and the wind freshening and swinging nor easterly behind me.

On the way up to Palmie, I was trying not to think that, even at 5.30am, it took over 30 minutes to drive there, and I was swimming back! My crew was very experienced, with Anna and Colie who had swum the English Channel and Nicole, Alex and Ali who had crewed for others on The Cannel and other long swims. We had five paddlers who would alternate paddling two kayaks, a shark shield rigged to each kayak and our support boat “The Truck”.

 

 

We started on schedule just before 6.30am, swimming out from South Palm Beach, not particularly auspiciously, getting a bluebottle sting within the first 100m. Whether due to adrenalin or (more likely) an excess of vaseline, it didn’t hurt that much and probably took my mind off the enormity of the task ahead. I had decided to feed every 40 minutes and it probably took a good two or three feeds before I got into a rhythm. By then I had got the swell behind me and started counting off the beaches – Whale, Avalon, Bilgola, Newport, Mona Vale, Warriewood, Narrabeen, Collaroy, it’s an interesting way to see the northern beaches. The killer is Long Reef, you can see it from a good 10kms away and it sticks 2kms out into the sea. You have to try not to look at it, because you know it’s still a good few hours away.

 

 

Eventually, we got to Long Reef. It was the only time I saw anything in the water (apart from jellyfish), as it got shallower and I could see the bottom and a few fish. Apparently a whale had breached, but fortunately I hadn’t seen it, I think I might have wondered what might have been following it! The nor easterly was picking up and the waves getting more side on, making it harder for the kayakers, but I was getting little runs which were helping.

 

My spirits lifted immensely when we finally got around that infernal headland and, even though there were 8 or 9kms still to go, I felt I was in the home straight and knew I was going to make it. We took a line from Long Reef to North Head, to keep the swell and wind behind me and not too side on, which meant we passed a long way off Long Reef Beach, Dee Why (another long headland), Nth Curl Curl, Sth Curly and Freshwater. We passed Queenscliff about 1km off shore, by then I was in my own backyard. I don’t know how many times I had plodded from Sth Steyne to Queensie and back in training, but somehow this time it just seemed to fly by. My swimming speed had been up at least 20% with the swell and wind behind me. I called for the flat coke I had left for my last feed, a real treat after the fairly unpalatable sports drink and protein mixture I had been taking.

 

 

We stayed out wide all the way to Fairy Bower, such that I had to take a 90 degree turn and even caught a little wave over the Bower, from there it was a only 100m or so into Shelly Beach. Nic and Anna jumped in to share the last part of the swim with me and we landed at Shelly where the sunbakers were somewhat bemused by our celebrations. Official time was 8 hours 38 minutes for the 26kms, about 2 hours quicker than I expected. The day went like clockwork, not a thing went wrong, which is bloody amazing in a long ocean swim, thanks to my highly professional crew and little bit of good fortune, but as they say, you can’t complain about good conditions!”

 

He also wanted to say thanks to…..the wonderful Frosties who crewed, Captain Nicole (sorry for continually mucking around with my Garmin – and I still didn’t get it right), Alex the Pirate who got out of his sickbed at 4.30am to come, then went trick or treating afterwards and then stayed up for the rugby, Ali (sorry for making sudden darts into your kayak), Anna yet again a Trojan paddling effort and Dylan, sorry I didn’t get to see your acrobatics. Also Colie and Sophie for the people mover and the champagne!

 

 

Today’s swim was great, fairly calm, lot of people!

 

 

Lovely to see Kylie made the swim this morning, all the way from New Zealand

 

 

Stormy clouds brewing!

 

 

Have a good Sunday.

 

Stats: new: old: water temp: signing off: Snorkles

2016 Calendars are HERE!!

The 2016 B&B calendars are now on sale. Get your copy from Ian any day at the swim, or order onlineHERE. They make a great Christmas gift for family and friends, here or overseas. This year the calendars are even more impressive in a larger A3 format, all for the same cost as last year – just $15 each.

 

 

 

B&B Fundraising Christmas Party

The B&B Christmas Party will be held on Tuesday 8^th December at 6.30 pm in the Moonshine Bar (2^nd Floor) at the Steyne Hotel. All swimmers and partners/friends are welcome (no under 18s unfortunately). The theme again this year is simply “Christmas“. So come dressed in your finest Christmas paraphernalia. No need to be shy as we will have the whole bar to ourselves. Finger food will be provided by the Steyne, and drinks will be at bar prices. Lots of fun and dancing are guaranteed, with music by our own band “The Troubadors“, who have generously agreed to perform free of charge for us on the night. The cost is $10 per head, with all proceeds going to the running costs of the B&B. But that’s not all. Our charity partner, the Royal Far West Children’s Home, will be running a monster raffle on the night, so please come prepared to support them. Bookings are essential. Book HERE now! Don’t miss out on this fun event, numbers are limited.

 

 

Something Special

At the Christmas Party, we will have a fantastic lucky door prize – a Swiss made Australian OceanMoon watch valued at $490 – donated by Bausele Australia. To celebrate the occasion, Bausele will give a 15% discount to all Bold & Beautiful swimmers who purchase a watch on their website. To see their range of watches go to https://www.bausele.com/ehome/, and to activate the discount, just enter the discount code BAB15 when purchasing a watch. Not only that, Bausele will donate 15% of the value of each and every sale on this code to the Bold and Beautiful. The Oceanmoon watch is ideal for ocean enthusiasts like the B&B swimmers, and features advanced ocean technology including water resistance up to 200m, moon phase, tide display and a 40mm face making it unique in its tracking of the Southern Hemisphere Lunar phase and tidal movements.

 

RED FEB is coming in February 2016

In anticipation of our participation in the RED FEB Relay next year, Heart Research Australia will provide some invaluable monthly information on general heart health. Here is November’s offering:

 

Did you know that three times more men die from heart disease than prostate cancer?

Heart disease is one of the leading health risks facing men today. Every day, 98 Australian men have a heart attack; 1 in 7 of these men will die. According to a recent Australian Health Survey, three times more men die from heart disease than prostate cancer – yet most men don’t know they have heart disease until they have a heart attack.

90 per cent of Australians have one modifiable risk factor for heart disease.

The good news is that there are measures you can take to protect yourself from this largely preventable disease. The risk factors you can control include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insufficient physical activity, obesity, diabetes, poor nutrition, and excessive intake of alcohol. Other risk factors that are beyond our control include age, gender, family history and ethnicity.

 

You are never too young or too old to start taking care of your heart!