One of the smallest groups of swimmers in ages today and what a beautiful morning! Admittedly the water temp was the lowest John Bond had ever recorded yesterday at 15.1 degrees and a few people got ‘Jimbled’… but those of you who stayed under the doona missed a stunning sunrise, clear, calm water, stinger-less seas, and heaps of hugs and warmth post-swim. (The water temp had increased to 15.5)!
Gorgeous start to the day. Here’s the sun rising at 6.39am
Here are some of the ‘Motley Crew’ who braved the cold and the Jimbles. Ian, Anne and John try to persuade Pierre and Alex from Toulouse to join us.
We’re lucky today to be joined by Sebastian Terry, on the right with Errol and Matt. Seb is famous for ‘100 Things http://100things.com.au/ He insists that ‘100 Things’ is not a bucket list, it’s a wish list he created he created to give his life more meaning after losing a close friend. He’s a local boy and now works all over the world helping and inspiring… His latest project ‘Kindsum’ is linking up people who need help with people who want to help. I had to tell Seb about Murray and the Babewatch crew, Roz and her fundraising, Merrilee and her Milkweed. We have so many amazing people doing great things within our group!
Here’s Wilf, our oldest swimmer and fantastic guy. He’s speaking at the service this afternoon of Greg McDonaugh who as many of you know passed away a few weeks ago on the GC. All who knew him are welcome at The Skiff Club from 2.30pm. We are also having a short remembrance of Greg at 6.55am on the sand on Saturday and Jo will play the bugle in his honour. Wilf will talk about Greg’s love of life, humility, generosity, humour and appreciation of beauty. A quote from his speech, ‘an attractive lady asking if he had a spare bed was told he had half a one’!
Great photo bomb by Jo and Sheena! (More about the ‘A Team’ and their plead for forgiveness later.)
Here we have it, at last! Scotty, Dave and Sterling pray for forgiveness for ‘accidentally’ swimming over other swimmers in their pursuit of A Team glory! JP doesn’t look very sorry at all so I can’t include him!
This happy lady was jubilant at doing her first B&B swim!
Roz and I swam around the rocks and dove down to Porcupinefish…
Sergeant Baker
Mullet
and PJs!
Swimmers coming in… frozen, but… full of endorphins, boosted immune systems, great circulation, speedy metabolisms and increased testosterone!
Danny and Sam looking rather fit, (after I gave them chance to ‘suck it in’ haha).
More of the ‘A Team’ praying for forgiveness!
I introduce Seb to Petra who is becoming famous for her post-swim rejuvenating tonic, which Rainer tells me is her son’s urine!
One kind soul meets another. Roz says:
Thanks to everyone who bought cakes on Saturday – Bold and Beautiful were able to donate $1000 to Aussie Helpers and $858.30 to Drought Angels – our little thank you to assist our farmers.
Here’s Merrilee with her Milkweed. She’s giving it out as a very effective treatment for basal and squamous cell skin cancers. Another very kind person and one of us!
The WOWS group hugging!
and here they are from the front!
Happy Birthday to Jalna today!
Have a fantastic day everyone!
Lainey
BOTB
This Saturday there will be a short memorial to Greg McDonough at the beach around 6.55am before the swim. Greg was a regular B&B swimmer and one of the first surfboard manufacturers on the Northern Beaches.
Stats:
Temperature: 15.4
Total swimmers: about 80
Monthly Dinner – 14th August 2018 – Guest Speaker
The next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 14th August at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. Our guest speaker on the night will be B&B swimmer, Brendan Maher. Brendan, who describes himself as a very average swimmer, managed to overcome a chronic shoulder injury and swim the English Channel in July 2017. He will speak of his motivation, training for the swim, and what it’s like for the average swimmer to attempt a marathon swim. This talk will be an inspiration to all of us who count ourselves in the ‘B Team’ (or even the Zeds!).
The cost of the dinner is great value at only $25 a head, which includes shared entrees, and a selection of mains to choose from (including a vegetarian option). 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.
3 comments
Deanna Waters
09/08/2018 at 12:27 pm
The Z-team forgives the A-team – they really should learn to take a deep breath and slow down so they can see everything and everyone around them on the swim. Great blog Elaine
LSA aka HKTQ
09/08/2018 at 4:03 pm
What a great blog! Love our A Team and their prayers:) Come on JP!
Group hugs – best way to get warm and lovely to see Seb swimming again, Merrilee with milkweed and all the fish…..keep swimming!
Thinking of you all and Greg this afternoon and Sat morning! Life is short – be kind and wise!
Edwina harrison
09/08/2018 at 11:20 pm
Happy birthday jalna 👍 beautiful photos Elaine, glad conditions were nice 👍