Manly is buzzing this weekend. The Hurley Australian Open of Surfing finals are on and we’re expecting another huge influx of visitors throughout the day.
220 swimmers managed to beat the crowds and came down early to test the waves and the verdict was… ‘delicious!’.
Unfortunately, the day started with an ugly incident. As bloggers, we are sensitive to every swimmer’s privacy concerns. We do our utmost to respect individual requests for beauty filters, fake names, fake nipples, etc.
What we cannot tolerate though is violence against journalists.
Lesbubbles, wealthy heiress and owner of a well known Manly ice cream parlour, has long struggled to maintain a civil relationship with the Bold & Beautiful blogging team:
Today, she sank to a new low though. Upon approaching her with my camera phone, she took a swing at me and knocked me down to the ground in front of hundreds of stunned onlookers.
In the process, breaking my phone – but not my resolve to report for the Bold & Beautiful blog. I won’t be intimidated. This is what frontline reporting is all about.
Back to the swim. The surf was up and this is what it looked like at 6:45am in our corner of the beach:
Drinks, still having to cover his latest piece of body work. We can’t wait for him to take the band-aid off and show off his butterfly:
Shaun was one of the 20 or so swimmers that completed the 10km yesterday. In fact, he’s the only 80+ male ever to have completed the 10km swim I am told. Well done Shaun!
Here he is, arriving with Margot (‘from the Blue Mountains’) and his lovely wife Veena, half his age.
Jenny and Henrietta:
Ian, taking newbie photos, not getting punched..
Tim counting nipper boards:
Robert from Germany. Posing with Lesbubbles. That’s fear in his eyes..
Roger, another brave blogger, putting his life on the line for investigative ocean swimming journalism every week. He is also the initiator of the hashtag #jesuislips. Thanks mate!
7:00am.. time for the main event:
Brought tears to my eyes.. bystanders pulling out their cameras in a defiant show of support for freedom of expression and ocean swimming journalism:
Derek giving me the signal:
And he’s off…
15 minutes later at Shelly:
Photobomb of the Day.. Mary:
A rare Double-Ian:
Peta and son Aaron:
German Robert again – still violating B&B dress-code:
Perfect day for catching a wave back to shore..
7:48am entrants.. someone had a late night:
Happy Birthday George!!!
Ted is still nursing his Bluebottle scars from earlier in the week..
Lesbubbles insisted on this highly staged PR shot – to re-build her image as a ‘fun-loving, well respected” member of the Manly community:
And while poor Lucy is struggling at home with their newborn baby girl…
Meanwhile at Bluewater:
Lovely Sacha, still buzzing from her first swim to Shelly earlier this week:
There’s a fancy new breakfast option on the menu:
And yes, it can be ordered as part of the Bold & Beautiful brekkie special!
However, to make your and Sacha’s breakfast experience more enjoyable, remember these simple Bluewater rules:
- Bring exact change
- Order quick
- Order whats on the menu
- No small talk
- Avoid eye contact
That’s all for today swimmers. Apologies for late submission but it was an eventful morning, and I wasn’t dismissed from Manly Hospital until 11am.
Have a great Sunday!
Signing off Lips
The Stats
Regulars: 220
Newbies: 21!!
Water Temp: 24.4
Violent attacks: 1
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23 comments
lesbubbles
15/02/2015 at 1:28 pm
i’ll get you Lips
Anna
15/02/2015 at 1:51 pm
😊😊😊😊
Elizabeth
15/02/2015 at 1:54 pm
Well done Alana as swimmer of the day! I like the wave photos too.
Elizabeth X
15/02/2015 at 2:03 pm
Great blog Lips, brilliant front line reporting and solid support for free speech. Huge accolades to the 10kers yesterday, especially DWSS who did a solo effort after very little time in the water in the last month due to illness. Extremely impressive.
Veen
15/02/2015 at 2:56 pm
Classic Rainer-had me chuckling away!
DWSS
15/02/2015 at 3:07 pm
I’ll get you Lips!
nick m.
15/02/2015 at 3:14 pm
Fantastic blog Lips. I knew that woman was trouble. #lestrouble.
ros ex
15/02/2015 at 3:17 pm
Such an impressive blog, from the wonder of the first photo to the silliness of an excellent photo bomb. Great work Lips!
Shelly
15/02/2015 at 3:22 pm
You are defiantly the bloggers blogger lips !
well done, can’t wait for Bubbles rebuttal..
Revenge is a dinner best served cold ! I’m told
Well done Shauny 10k all the way …wow !
Love you all
Shelly
xoxoxo
DWSS
15/02/2015 at 3:28 pm
Rainer, you have stooped to a new low!
I saw the “violent incident” and I am appalled by your misrepresentation of actual events,
Poor Lesley was just standing there minding her own business, looking beautiful when you thrusted your phone at her face, hitting her in the head then throwing the phone down to complete the scene.
Classic journo set up.
What you do to create a story is appalling.
Note – the photo is an iPhone when you own a Samsung.
#fakejournalism #Rainergoescrazy #dontmentionthewar
Could it be that you are embarrassed about the loss’s you have clocked up when racing me back from Shelly?
I must say, to be smashed by an 80yr old must be playing on your mind?
That is the real story today.
Jill R
15/02/2015 at 3:33 pm
you are a crack up Rainer! worth waiting for!!
Simon
15/02/2015 at 3:39 pm
Great reporting Lips are you going to accept the offer of a posting with Al Jezzera?
DWSS
15/02/2015 at 3:49 pm
Special thankyou to the support crew for the 10k. There is no way I would have made the finish without the help at 6km. Sunscreen, snakes and grapes, drink, wise words. Legends.
Big congratulations to Reg, Bruce and Marie all first time 10k ers.
I did forget how hard the 10k was and the hallucinations that kick in after 7km.
I thought I saw big Reg happily obeying rules.
I thought I saw young Millie swim past me
I dreamt someone went up to Lainey to tell her they were single
I thought I saw midge kick a dog
Alanna Hardman
15/02/2015 at 5:14 pm
Great blog…oh how I laughed at the icecream shop heiress!
Robert the yellow capped german tourist is hooked! I have a spare cap I will give him as a souvenir so he doesn’t get expelled. He doubled today but has peaked with this heavy training and will sleep in tomorrow and be back soon. I made a mistake two days ago…Robert doesnt have a baby…yet. He and his GF are on the big holiday…next stop NZ for three months.
Alanna Hardman
15/02/2015 at 5:17 pm
Was Ridgy didge Midge on the 10K?. No doubt about it – she is only little but powered by duracells.
Alanna Hardman
15/02/2015 at 5:37 pm
Thankyou Elizabeth X. Wow – I only just noticed I am swimmer of the day and thanks to Ian and Sascha in the cafe for keeping my reading glasses safe. Thankfully I don’t have prescription goggles so I miss the things others see on the bottom……but I do like them to read the papers after.
Alanna Hardman
15/02/2015 at 5:43 pm
ROFL…
Bernhard
15/02/2015 at 6:01 pm
Great blog Rainer. Don’t you think there are quite a number of incidences with Lesbubbles recently? Then the photo with her and the German Robert. Can anyone tell Robert, my next blog is due in 12 days, and by then I want to see him with a pink cap, otherwise no swimming with us, NEIN.
Congrats to the 10k swimmers yesterday, big effort.
Roger Harvey
15/02/2015 at 6:29 pm
“Derek giving me the signal”
What a fantastic pic, Rainer! He’s looking like King Neptune
Snorkles
15/02/2015 at 6:29 pm
Are you sure you saw snakes in the water or was someone not dressed properly?
Snorkles
15/02/2015 at 6:31 pm
Whose camera did you borrow today, given the club one has gone to sea water heaven?
Margot
15/02/2015 at 8:18 pm
How awful is it that two gentlemen had to pull a Coles shopping trolley out of the water at half way before our swim? It was submerged so someone would have smashed into it for sure. Someone went to a lot of effort to get it from Coles into the water. Maybe the Floatopia bogans….
LSA aka HKTQ
16/02/2015 at 10:42 am
Lips – fantastic frontline reporting, war wounds and all!
Love all the comments too….
Great job, Shauny, Reg, Bruce & all on the 10K!