31/08/2014 – Eleventh Hour Winter Badge Stampede

What a gorgeous morning in Manly! 104 happy swimmers enjoyed beautiful sunshine and just enough swell to keep it interesting around the point.

And as it was the last day of winter, we also bore witness to the usual last-minute winter badge stampede.. those half-committed winter swimmers that leave it to the very last day to complete their 20 swims in order to qualify for winter badge:

Meet Sky. Swims about once a month. Mostly to be awarded Swimmer Of The Day or collect Winter Badges:

 

Here’s Richard. With coach Anne. Richard has been hibernating in Malta and got back just in time to complete his 20 winter badge swims today:

 

Richard tried, unsuccessfully, to have his Gozo-Malta swim counted towards his 2014 winter badge. Management declined. Mostly due to geography – Malta doesnt form part of Cabbage Tree Bay. But also because, technically, it is summer in Malta right now.

 

Meet Veena, the one on the right, proud wife of Shaun aka The Dolphin Whisperer. Veena’s 2014 winter badge will be her first BnB badge. She’s looking forward to the winter badge award ceremony on 21st September (details below), and has already started drafting her acceptance speech:

 

And welcome Brian – token newbie of the day.. (sorry no winter badge for you Brian)

 

Of course, there was also the usual mob. Who completed their 20 winter swims weeks ago.

Retha..

 

Lesley and Lucy..

 

Gillian.. (with fine photo bombs by Lucy and John Bryan)

 

Ted.. (meditating / sleeping?)

Bits of the A-Team..

 

Wild Wilf..

Beauty and The Beast..

 

Management..

 

Lovely Mary. And John Kelly, still celebrating England’s recent 1966 World Cup victory:

 

The Swim..

What can I say. Best conditions we had in weeks. It was sunny. It felt warm. The wind had eased. Waves were fun & not too scary. Even Lesley managed.

 

At Shelly, it felt like the beautiful weather had brought out all the blog tarts. A sure sign that summer is on its way:

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies to everyone at the northern end of Shelly. The camera became waterlogged after capturing the southside party.

Back at the surf club, these ladies were putting on a show..

 

Thanks to Jan for providing above and below photo. Always great to have people contributing photos to the blog!

 

Après-swim scene

Back at Manly Wine, there were the usual arguments between Shark Toucher Dawkins (STD) and Lainey-Loo..

 

A much more civilized scene just a few meters up north. As well as Lesley.

 

 

Brad was back to take care of his expectant wife..

 

 

Mary and Lyndall were discussing work-life balance. Lyndall had been lying low recently. She used to be a promising blog tart – all over the blog earlier in the year. I decided to make it my mission to relaunch the Lyndall brand over the next few Sundays..

 

Shaun flirting with Manly Wine staff. Again. He’s a natural. The female staff is smitten.

 

Product Review:  Magellan Switch GPS Watch

I recently purchased a Magellan Switch GPS Watch to (accurately) measure my daily swims and keep track of km’s swum, calories burned, liters of water swallowed etc. I’m German after all.

 

Now, I noticed quickly that swimming doesnt seem to be the strong point of this GPS watch. The GPS signal picked up during the swim is erratic. Which leads to a rather squiggly path when viewed on Google Maps. It also means that the device overstates the distance swum. Ever so slightly. Measuring the Shelly return swim at 3 to 5 kms.

Lesley insisted that the device was fine. And that it was my erratic stroke that caused the squiggly lines.

Well, today I had enough of her trash talk and strapped the GPS watch to her wrist. Turns out she was right, the device tracked her swim accurately. Even recording her usual detour to the Ivanhoe on her way to the point. I stand corrected..

 

Final verdict on the Magellan Switch.. 10/10.

Wall of Shame…

People that didn’t swim but got caught by my camera walking through Manly later in the morning..

8:30am Storchy and Renae:

 

9:05am Jones:

 

9:10am Sarah & Turbo

 

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Signing off,
Lips (groped by Booty Camp Sergeant John S)

 

The Stats

Regulars:  104

Newbie:  1

Dugongs: zero

Temp:    17.6 degrees

Sunrise:  6.14 am

Sunset:  5.36 pm

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Just in.. More photos from Gillian A.:

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Special Event – Guest Speaker!

The next B&B monthly dinner will be on Tuesday 9th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. On the night we have Miles Tollan, giving a special presentation about his recent solo crossing of the English Channel.  Miles will tell us about his motivation for taking on this challenge, the training he went through and the preparations for the swim itself. This is your chance to hear it first hand and ask the questions you’ve been dying to ask, including all about his miraculous 13 kg weight-gain program!

The cost of the dinner is only $20 a head and includes shared entrees, a selection of mains to choose (incl a vegetarian option), corkage (for byo wine only) and a little thank you for the staff. Glasses of beer or wine and desserts are also available at the special price of only $5 each. Numbers are limited, so bookings are essential:  To avoid disappointment and secure your spot please BOOK HERE NOW,

Staying safe

Were you prepared for the return of the surf? 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.

2014 Winter Badge Ceremony

You’ve done the hard yards and got your Winter Badge (or even harder yards for a WWW), now come and collect your badges with all the pomp and ceremony the B&B can muster.  Bring along $10 for each badge you have earned (correct money appreciated). The venue is the Royal Far West Children’s Home (opposite the beach) on Sunday 21^st September, straight after the regular swim!

A $5 donation will be payable to the RFW at the gate for hosting this event, and …. RFW will provide a FREE breakfast (bacon and egg sandwich and a coffee/tea). Bookings are essential to ensure there is enough food.  Book here for Badge Breakfast

All 2014 winter badge qualifiers will be presented with their well earned badge(s), so whether you are getting one personally or you want to enjoy the celebrations of your fellow swimmers, a great morning is guaranteed so come along, soak up the atmosphere and get inspired for your upcoming summer badge challenges…