23/05/13 – Cloudy, Rainy and Grey… but NEVER Dull!

53 swimmers rose to a challenge today, coming out on this cloudy, raining, cold, stinker of a morning!! Thursdays have been beautiful ever since I started blogging 6 months ago… but today it was miserable! Saying that, are we glad we did it? Of course. You NEVER regret a swim, particularly a Bold and Beautiful swim! 

There is a kind of closer camaraderie on these sort of days. We know we have pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone by getting out of bed and not just being a ‘Fair Weather Swimmer’. We are the hard-cores! We also know it could be the day we swim with a whale, dolphins or even a giant pink jelly fish! And some of us swam with a turtle today!

The morning light and sunrises have been gorgeous lately but today it was thick cloud with no glowing colours or cloud patterns. But the ocean was flatter than ever, calm and inviting and it had got warmer with the rain to 21.1 degrees!

There were only a handful of early lappers today. Anne E was really happy to get a parking spot. She’s driven from North Sydney and amongst our small group of 56 there is John from Rose Bay, me from Avalon and the Northbridge boys. Some Manlyites on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered to walk a few metres and missed a great swim! 

 

Shady Shaun comes back from an early lap with the good news. He’s stopped biting his thumb nails…or rather conditions are great, visibility pefect and no stingy things!

John 007 gives us the nod that water temp is up to 21, and writes it on the ticking off sheet.

Lips has been missing Little Sarah but takes off early with Baby Jane today.

Swimmers are grinners even on cloudy days!

I meet a new swimmer John who tells me it’s his 33rd consecutive swim since he discovered the B&B. ‘It’s sensational, a revelation’, he said. These stories are great to hear! The B&B swim has improved the quality of life of so many people. Thank you Jules and team!

Renae has just signed up to do Robbie’s Winter Without Wetsuit for Charity Challenge and so has Jules Mackin. Good on ya guys!

(Just a tip, the best way to get warm so that you can survive the Winter without wetsuit is to run up and down the steps like Midge and Storchy just before the swim!)

Our new blog tarts at The Point, the lovely Richard, Jill and Ros…

Some divers are observing something interesting half way to Shelly. Yay, it’s the turtle, I’ve seen it at last! I knew this miserable looking day would bring some nice surprise, it always does! So sorry you missed it Elaine K 😉

At Shelly, I insist on a group photo, another good reason to swim on  gloomy day with fewer people. You could get on the B&B calendar!

Love this photo of swimmers in action on the way back from Shelly. 

It’s always worth going close to the rocks on the way back, you never know what marine wonders you may come across. The yellowtail and kingfish look amazing reflecting off the white rocks near the yellow shed at Halfway.

The groper around The Point seems extra specially blue today.

The post swim banter outside, and in the toilets changing, is as good as ever, proving to us that the whole swim experience was sooo worth getting out of bed for, whatever the weather…

Bluewater Cafe for the special $10 breakfast was especially warm and cosy this morning. And for those of you who think you couldn’t possibly swim and then get ready and off to work, look at our dapper John Kelly. He gets lots of female attention. Lori can’t stop sniffing him!

 

It was once again a wonderful swim. We may not have had the perfection of the last few weeks with the gorgeous sunrises, light displays and sunshine but it always seems brighter in our favourite corner of the world. Our little group today braved the gloomy weather and were so glad they did! Don’t ever be put off by a bit of rain or cloud folks. You know you will only be disappointed you didn’t make the effort! 

See you tomorrow!

 

Other info and events:

WINTER BADGE – Starts June 1st. To qualify swim minimum 20 times in  7 different weeks. Each week starts on a Monday and there are 14 weeks in the season.

AND if you go without a wetsuit you also qualify for the Winter Without Wetsuit (WWW) badge! Put a W by your name every time you tick the attendance.

To celebrate the start of Winter Badge Season which is a Saturday (1 June) – please come down wearing a ONE-SIE (or jumpsuit) – the funnier the better!!

AND let’s make it a charity event!

Please bring a gold coin on Sat June 1st and we will donate it to the Royal Far West Hopsital!

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Speaking of badges there is also another NEW BADGE – the 500 km badge! See the Pacific Challenge top left of the blog to see how many km’s you’ve swum – if you’ve hit 500 or more you get a badge….(for $10)

33 People have already qualified for their badge – they will be presented at our NEXT monthly dinner at Bluewater – Tuesday 4^th June at 6.30pm (or any time after that night). See the “management” for more details!

ALSO at the above dinner one of our swimmers Dr Ray Hodgson will be giving a talk about the 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, then come along to the dinner.

TO BOOK INTO THE NEXT MONTHLY DINNER PLEASE RSVP HERE!! 

We want to get as MANY people as we can that night so we can book the whole restaurant out!!!!  Remember it’s only $20 for a starter AND main course of delicious food!! Desserts and drinks are only $5 each and no corkage on wine!! Bluwater now offer a special $25 menu too.

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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. 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

Izzy’s MMMs (Manly Movies Mob) is on this coming Tuesday 28th May, all welcome!

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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.

 

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A plug for one of our Sponsors!

 B&B swimmers can purchase high quality towels, and a fantastic range of linen  (including bedroom linen) at discounted cheap prices direct from one of our generous, long standing sponsors, Legend.  Visit anytime during opening hours at 33 Cross Street, Brookvale, show your B&B discount card and happy shopping!

 

 

The Stats

Regulars: Only 53 ‘hard cores’

Newbies: 1

Water Temp: 21.1 degrees

Air Temp: 12 

Sunrise: 6.45am

Sunset: 4.57pm

High Tide 6.16am

Low Tide 12.14pm

Signing off Lainey Loo aka Elaine xx