23/02/2021 – Amazing Women/ Welcoming Swim

The Sunrise show came to Manly this morning and a few of us shared our love of the B&B and passion for swimming with this amazing group in this very special corner of the world! Sam Mac with our very own Sam Mac (Sam McCourt), me, Anthony, Alexis and Trudi at 6.10am! I’ve always thought of our swim as a ‘Welcoming Swim’ but a few swimmers didn’t seem too happy about exposing it to even more swimmers! Come on guys, we’ve always been about inclusivity and open to all who dare!

The skies were varying shades of grey today and the surf was up but it was an exciting swim in warm, stinger-less water!

Free head massages were even on offer from Sally after a great yoga class pre-swim!

You certainly meet some inspiring people at the B&B! Kelly-Ann, second from left is happy to have been welcomed in to our group a couple of years ago after moving here from Wales. She comes across as so down to earth but apart from being a Lawyer and Scientist she also gets up at 4.30am to train in Martial Arts before her swim and work! She volunteers with various groups and also let me tag along to her weekend volunteer job running with the blind on Sunday. Amazing woman!

Jono featured heavily on yesterday’s blog as he was 50. There was even a funny poem written about him. Check it out if you missed it.

Sterling had a big day yesterday too as he got married to Kim who he kind-of met through our swim group. (I can’t take any credit for this match unfortunately!) Congratulations Kim and Sterling!

Peter Ley didn’t have a birthday or get married…but he did swim both ways through rippy surf. “Not for the faint-hearted” was his reply when I asked him how his swim was this morning.

Most of us were advised to swim in wide today but these strong swimmers were quite close to the rocks.

Some 6.30amers

It’s Helsy’s 500 km swim today. Here she is with some of her Wow friends!

We had her ‘Arch of Honour’ at Shelly today! She’s another amazing woman, Triage Nurse at Northern Beaches hospital and formerly Manly, single Mum, strong swimmer and stealthy negotiator of strong surf… Hats off to you Helsy, you legend!

Almost collided with Jo, Clare and Martin but looked up before and we all apologised in true B&B style 😉

My surf photos aren’t up to Anne H’s high standard but Hely asked me to take one of a wave exploding before us as we reached the point.

The two photos above were actually taken Sunday but more amazing women! The 4 girls above Natalie, Alex, Georgia and Louise swam 5 kms for the youth mental health charity Batyr.

Above that Sam  and Alexis.

Bold and Beautiful on Tour on Sunday at Cronulla Beach!

The above sea creature photos were taken in the last 2 weeks, not today as it wasn’t clear at all. The Cuttlefish are Mourning Cuttlefish not the Giant Cuttlefish we usually see. The shark is a Grey nurse. A Dusky Whaler has been sighted recently but he was too quick for me on Sunday. Has anyone seen more than one Dusky recently?

Unfortunately, the monthly dinner on 9th March is fully booked. If you would like to be placed on the waitlist, please email Ian (ugoboyo@gmail.com).

Have a great day!

Lainey