Winter sunrises are stunning. If you look closely you can see the moon too.
Today we had a very cold, constant westerly breeze as a reminder that winter is most certainly upon us. Mind you, some do persist with their summer style!
These smiles will warm you up in no time.
You know it is going to be a challenge when the hardy 6.30’ers emerge proclaiming it is cold. They normally tell fibs. . .
Beware this man! He splashes when wet.
Then Mr Bond explains that the temperature has dropped to 17.7. It is much too early to even try and calculate what the ‘feels like’ temperature might be as that breeze whistles around the tree.
Nick is excited about something. . . Maybe a birthday coming up?
Lots of wetsuits! This is such a great way to make new friends as you often need a hand with that last little bit of the zipper.
Mind you, there are a bunch of brave souls doing the Winter Without Wetsuit (WWW) to raise funds for the Shepherd Centre. If you would like to encourage this madness, and it is tax deductible, then follow the link WWW for the Shepherd Centre.
With the westerly whipping up the swell, we had a Channel style crossing of the bay.
Today was also the fastest turnaround at Shelly in the history of the B&B. Only enough time to capture the splashes before everyone headed off into the swell.
Only Julia and Cathie hung around long enough for an essential ‘blog tart’ photo.
Just a few marine critters about this morning. It was actually warmer down at their level…
Feeding time at the point.
and at Manly Wine!
There is a very special guest at our next dinner on 8 July. So keep your eye on the B&B website and blog for when bookings open. You will not want to miss hearing from this celebrated personality.
Keep on swimming – it is really good for you.
Mary
B&B on tour
Here are Jill and John Rankin pretending it is really warm and sunny in Paxos. . .
Bottom of the Blog – the very useful stuff
Week 5 of the Winter Badge season.
There are 14 weeks in the winter season. To qualify for the prized Cold & Bold Badge you simply need to swim 20 times within the season ensuring you have swum in a minimum of 7 different weeks. So, attempting to do it all in the first few weeks does not count!! Make sure you use the i-Log to register your without wetsuit for the WWW badge.
B&B i-Log
The B&B i-Log is the best way to capture your swims!! 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
There may not be any waves just at the moment, but are you prepared for their return? 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: 85 (ish)
Newbie:
Temp: 17.7 degrees
Sunrise: 7.00 am
Sunset: 4.55 pm
18 comments
LSA aka HKTQ
24/06/2014 at 12:20 pm
Great job taking any pics on such a chilly, choppy swim Mary! Love the reminders of the swell!
As you suggest, deep under water was the place to be as Storchy soon worked out on our early swim return to the horror of unsuspecting Expressers and Regulars:-)
ros
24/06/2014 at 12:45 pm
I loved those photos of the choppy water. To anyone who wasn’t swimming today: don’t be put off, 17.7 really isn’t too bad!
ros
24/06/2014 at 12:57 pm
addendum: … isn’t that bad *in a wetsuit*
Peter Anthony
24/06/2014 at 1:02 pm
Thanks Mary…I was told yesterday it doesn’t get ‘really cold’ until September…so today must have been just “a bit cold”
Rusty
24/06/2014 at 2:22 pm
Great blog Mary – you’ve captured the day perfectly. That breeze was nippy!
Lesbubbs
24/06/2014 at 2:29 pm
Ok everyone is being way too polite… That was bluddy cold out there this morning!!
slower Ian N
24/06/2014 at 3:11 pm
an excellent blog Mary. Yes, great pictures of the chop and of the fish. Surprisingly with the wind coming from the west to n-w direction, that was the worst chop in my experience on a return swim.
If I had known it was only 17.7 degrees, I would have had a break from WWW and swum with wettie. It’s near my lower limit. How did John Koury handle that swim about 20 yrs ago across Cook Straight in NZ, about 20 km and 14 degrees, about 5.5 hrs and no wettie!!!
Some sun after today’s swim beside the surf club was great.
LSA aka HKTQ
24/06/2014 at 3:14 pm
Amazing that there were 205 ++ swimmers this morning too!
I’m now wearing my full winter head kit, i.e. goggles + sharkskin hoody + surf helmet + thick pink cap…. I’ll give you a dress-demo tomorrow if you like!
Mary
24/06/2014 at 4:59 pm
No way were there over 200 people today!! I think the swimmer counter is frozen.
LSA aka HKTQ
24/06/2014 at 5:13 pm
Must be the winter freeze – swimmer counter frozen, Snorkles’ swims not counting, list hand-over frozen out and now I can’t access either attendance to do a manual count or PC….
How did we used to survive when we just swam?
Lesbubbs
24/06/2014 at 5:18 pm
I reset the attendance… Should now reflect the correct numbers if today’s swim! Although 90+ is still a lot!!
Mary
24/06/2014 at 5:19 pm
It’s working now! Final count is 91
LSA aka HKTQ
24/06/2014 at 5:20 pm
Slower Ian, the English Channel swim that 4 B&B’s are about to tackle is 32K at least, temp 14-18c (and two are starting at the coldest time), fastest successful time on record 7 hrs, slowest time 27 hrs…. all with no wettie…!!!!
Wilf Deck
24/06/2014 at 7:10 pm
Two years ago today when we had Bruce’s ashes ceremony at the point it was 15.5.
Jenny Holmes
24/06/2014 at 8:48 pm
I remember that day … It was clear and sunny and the sea was calm and flat as a mill pond… Very moving as we sang according to his wishes “wish me luck as you wave me good bye”… A special moment remembering a very special person. Thanks for the reminder , Wilf.
Simon
24/06/2014 at 8:59 pm
I didn’t swim today but your great blog allowed me to experience it vicariously.
Nicolee
24/06/2014 at 9:19 pm
2years, Wilf thanks for remembering a great fella, and yes that was one very cold swim.
Lindsay
24/06/2014 at 11:01 pm
Brrrrrrr!