123 Bold & Beautiful swimmers and that’s mid week, mid winter !!
What a superb day. So clear both in and out of the water. Warm, calm and simply divine 🙂
Word is definitely getting out, Cabbage Tree Bay is the place to be at 7am every day of the year. Not only are we enjoying a fantastic turnout of swimmers, with people bringing down their families like Andy with his two sons Joe and Sean, but we get to share every morning with old friends and new 🙂
We’re also enjoying an outstanding array of magnificent marine life at the moment. You really have to be here to believe it !
For me at least, this morning’s treats started with this Eastern Fiddler Ray just before Shelly
A couple of schools of fish watching us watching them right in at Shelly Beach
Followed by this beautiful Port Jackson Shark which just cruised between our legs 🙂
Everyone’s pretty excited about what delights will be in store for us on the return swim
A pair of Flathead to start
An exquisite Cuttlefish
and finally a beautifully camouflaged Smooth Ray, which sadly was missing its tail
We are so lucky and privileged to swim together every day in this beautiful part of the world. There really isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be, especially on weeks like these. Talk about wildlife week !
9 swimmers continued on to enjoy a double lap with two of those lapping it up with a triple and were rewarded with a large pod of dolphins joining them at the end 🙂
Here are some more fantastic photos of this morning’s magical swim from both Steve White
and Simon Cowell
74 swimmers have already qualified for their winter badge so far ! With another 233 on target and another 228 who need to swim soon to make sure they don’t miss out… Thanks to Magnus our amazing tracking system tells you exactly how you’re going, with only 35 days of winter left check out who’s who in the winter zoo and how you’re tracking by clicking here
Shannon is pretty happy as she is one of the swimmers who qualified today, and all of her qualifying swims were completed without a wetsuit too !! 🙂
Welcome back to Midge today, who has just returned for a wonderful holiday, it was too long though Midge, we missed you !
Also check out the Manly Daily today, 3 of our swimmers, Richard, Johan and Sven Lees have just returned from an amazing adventure, a uni-cycling safari around Africa ! To read more click here
Flog the Dog marathon swim is on tomorrow so please feel free to jump in and accompany Collie for any of his 20 laps from Manly to Shelly and back starting at 5.50am and finishing around 6pm.
Ben is hoping to do his Hammer the Hutt marathon swim maybe the following Saturday although details are still tbc.
Just a reminder about James Pittar’s upcoming swim for The Fred Hollows Foundation
James is a blind marathon swimmer from North Balgowlah and is planning a Charity swim for The Fred Hollows Foundation on Sunday, 23 September 2012 at 8am (depending upon tides and currents). James’ open water swim will take him along our stunning Sydney coastline from Collaroy to Shelly Beach where 19 other swimmers will join him to swim back, finishing together at North Steyne.
James will swim 12kms while the 19 other swimmers will each swim about 2km. James has chosen 20 swimmers to join him from Shelly because:
- 2012 marks 20 years of The Fred Hollows Foundation
- The Foundation’s goal is to end avoidable blindness by the year 2020
- Raise $20,000 to keep Fred’s dream alive
James would like to invite you to join him to support Fred’s vision and also to raise funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation. If you would like to get involved please register your participation with James by 5pm on Fri 27th July at: James.pittar@ato.gov.au
If all 20 people involved each raise just $1,000 that represents restoring sight to 800 people !
More of the same predicted for tomorrow, can’t wait to see you all then 🙂
Water Temperature 17.8
Air Temperature 8.0
Sunrise 6.52am
Sunset 5.11pm
Low Tide: 8.04am
High Tide: 2.45pm
To read Michael’s tips on how to stay safe in the surf please click here
15 comments
Lesley
27/07/2012 at 11:22 am
WELCOME BACK MIDGE! Good to see you again!!
That Port Jackson looked so much bigger as it swam through my legs this morning…it looks like a tiddler in the photos! 😀
Will the Smooth Ray be ok without it’s tail??
Anna Alvsdotter
27/07/2012 at 11:24 am
Great photos today, yet again!
Loved seeing the Port Jackson so close to us, but unfortunately missed all the other marine life as I was simply swimming too fast and competently on the way back 🙂 Olympic material, I am.
Julia
27/07/2012 at 11:26 am
Andy and his two sons Joe and Sean are very mischievous! The father of the pack grabbed my ancle while I was swimming along minding my own business mistaking me for one of his sons which was to his horror when I surfaced and he realised I was far from being one of his son ha ha. Any way was nice to meet you cheery bunch : )
Little Tiger
27/07/2012 at 11:36 am
Lovely swim today, so much marine life out & about.
Thankyou Magnus for the wonderful winter tracking system. So clever.
Nick D
27/07/2012 at 11:37 am
Have a close look at the shark… it looks pregnant eh?
Michael [EX CI]
27/07/2012 at 11:50 am
Good to see you back Midge!
Lesley
27/07/2012 at 11:52 am
yeah it does!! Jane???
That little cork screw egg in there! 🙂
Pacific Jules
27/07/2012 at 12:18 pm
A short video clip of the flathead, cuttlefish and tail-less smooth ray for you:
http://youtu.be/IFl7xVG7oIY
Jane
27/07/2012 at 2:30 pm
I doubt if any ray could survive for long without its tail. I wonder how it lost it?
Michael [EX CI]
27/07/2012 at 3:11 pm
According to MSW it should be the same tomorrow as today. Don’t miss it!!
John
27/07/2012 at 3:52 pm
Sounds good for some extra laps especially with The Collie Dog.
Jane
27/07/2012 at 5:14 pm
Yes, it’s so nice to have Midge’s happy and friendly face to cheer us up each morning again – lovely to have you back Midge.
Robert G
27/07/2012 at 5:41 pm
The Southern Right whale and calf who so enjoyed the company of Bold and Beautiful swimmers have been seen under the Hawkesbury River Bridge after a reported visit to Cockatoo Island on Thursday. They clearly love the sights of Sydney.
Elaine
27/07/2012 at 7:07 pm
Maybe the Port Jackson that is pregnant is the same one that we saw mating? Cool eh??
They sounded concerned about the Southern Right going up the Hawkesbury. Maybe they should deploy some of us B&B whale whisperers to coax them back out into the ocean?!!
Had great fun with Kindy Purple at Manly West this afternoon painting the whale and her calf with us pink hatted swimmers around them!
Pacific Jules
27/07/2012 at 7:21 pm
Fantastic Elaine, how cool, I hope you took a photo of the painting for us ??
Good idea re us whale whisperers going to the rescue too 🙂