Hi Folks,
“Turn your face to the Sun and the shadows fall behind you.” Maori proverb
Being the Saturday before Xmas there was a huge turnout for both the 6.30am and 7am swims to Shelly. The tally for the 7am group approached 300 ( a guess on my part) with quite a few newbies. The water temperature was a comfortable 20.4 degrees (thank’s John Bond for providing this vital info). The sky was cloudy (no shadows today) and the wave factor was almost non-existant. Given the tide was low many of the swimmers who just love to cut the corner at the point found themselves scrambling on the rocks. So you could say it was a swim/run (rock hop) for some today.
The vibe pre swim was buzzing. Everyone was either on holidays or about to start their well earned break for the festive season. After a week that saw Sydney go through the full extent of emotions it was great to see smiles, hear raucous laughter and generally be buoyed by the community spirit. Go B&B!
I’m feeling hugely grateful for all the new friends I’ve met as well as reuniting with old ones.
Apparently stripes are in….who knew! Will wear mine next time!
Yes it was a little cool pre-swim so warmth was a must! Where are you summer?
This 8 year old did her first swim today! Huge congrats
The ladies are all smiles and ready to swim!
Sophie showing Annie how to do a proper leg raise! Sorry Annie, I cut your leg off.
A thorn between 2 roses!
Busier than Pitt Street Mall at lunchtime. Heavy traffic with swimmers and paddle skiers for the 7am group!
The Aussie version of Santa’s sled! No wonder this dog is exhausted!
Group hugs!
The masses gather at Shelly!
Baked goodies! I can attest to the quality…yum!
The three Amigos!
Myself and Meg’s
Hope you all have a terrific xmas time with friends and family. Safe travels, don’t drink and drive and no peeking at your pressies under the xmas tree.
Hugs and more hugs!
Cheers
Declan Barnett
14 comments
Jane
20/12/2014 at 11:36 am
Are there no depths to which Lips Rainer will not stoop to beat me to the 1000km in the Pacific Challenge? Obviously concerned that I was steadily keeping ahead of him, he infected me with a dose of his Manflu, keeping me out of the water for the last 2 days. Not content with that, he was going to go for his 6km today, knowing full well that I would not have recovered enough to do it. Careful Lips – I just might be tempted to mention the War…….
Lips
20/12/2014 at 12:24 pm
What’s this Pacific Challenge you speak of? Never heard of it.
Top blog Declan!
Roger Harvey
20/12/2014 at 12:26 pm
Good blog, Declan!
Tayls
20/12/2014 at 1:13 pm
excellent blog Declan.. Thanks heaps to the guys who watered & fed us with snakes, grapes & bananas prior to finishing the 10…Shelley, Zab, Jimmy, Teddles with the chocolate frogs at Shelley & Ian on the ski who watched over us. Great conditions & great bunch to swim with.
ros ex
20/12/2014 at 1:20 pm
I’m backing you for the long haul, Jane. That Lips is just too flashy!
ros ex
20/12/2014 at 1:21 pm
Lovely blog, Declan. The Maori proverb is a beauty!
Lainey
20/12/2014 at 1:50 pm
What a lovely blog that includes so many swimmers! Great having you as a blogger Declan! Thanks to John Bond, John Kelly, Zab, Shelly and Ian again for helping with the 6 and 10km swims. Great conditions!
Lainey
20/12/2014 at 1:51 pm
You are very funny Jane! We might have to organise something so you can get back on top of Lips!
Elizabeth X
20/12/2014 at 1:55 pm
Huge kudos to the dozen swimmers who attained their ten km badges today. What a mighty effort. Seeing you all after six km I appreciated how much it is a mental as well as physical challenge. It was exciting to see you all triumph over the ten today. ‘Real (wo)men swim ten’ indeed. Very impressive one and all !
John
20/12/2014 at 2:13 pm
Well done to all those who completed the 6k and the extension 10k swims this morning.
We experienced great conditions as compared to last weeks cancellation due to rough seas. For the 10k the conditions just kept improving as the swim progressed.
Thank you to our support land crew of Elizabeth, Shelley and Jim.
John
20/12/2014 at 2:19 pm
Also thanks to Ian for the backup water safety on his surf ski. A nice day for a paddle.
Bernhard
20/12/2014 at 2:28 pm
It could be worse Jane. I talked Rainer out of doing the 10k, and instead enjoy brekkie with us after a successful 6k
Shelley Keeble
20/12/2014 at 3:44 pm
It was very impressive to watch you 10k swimmers head back into the ocean after your pit stop, tired and shivering with cold, to tackle another four. A mental challenge indeed!
LSA aka HKTQ
20/12/2014 at 8:11 pm
Great blog, Dec and glad you found another chic for your sign-off pic this week:) Lots of super pics.
Congratulations to all the long-distance swimmers, especially those who did their first 6K and all the 10Kers….. so glad the winds and swells behaved this week for you!
We had a lovely swim at Big Wave Bay in Honkers today (and I caught a lovely wave in), BUT it doesn’t compare with a B&B long distance swim!