10/06/2014 – Clouds and clowns

Was the rain the reason only 55 swimmers turned up this morning?  Or was it because of lingering hangovers from the long weekend and Triple Crown celebrations?

The clouds were quite spectacular today.  Lots of grey tinged with pinks, blues and gold.

The vignettes of activity under the tree as we all meet and greet or give a kiss for luck.

Now, a question for the management.  Do these qualify for the WWW? I do love a matching ensemble.

Amazingly it did feel slightly warmer today.  As it turns out a whole 0.1 of a degree warmer than yesterday!

As we headed to the point the rain came tumbling down.

But then just as quickly, it was gone and replaced by golden sunshine.

You can see that JK has a glint in his eye!

The visibility was not fabulous for fish hunting today – the opaque teal water shrouded the Dusky Whalers.  I did see at least six in the shallow water off Shelly.  With the temperature dropping, it probably won’t be too long before they head off in search of warmer currents.

The tribes of Shelly.

The East Wing

The Racing and Enduro mob

Then there is the Clown and Blog Tart corner.

Today we had a much more subdued start to the return swim – the speed deamons are resting after a full weekend of racing.

As ever, it was great to swim ‘cause you never regret it

See you at the dinner tonight to hear from the amazing photographer Chris Miller.  Also, for Rugby fans, have a look at the special lunch this Friday at the Steyne Hotel.

Mary

Bottom of the Blog – the very useful stuff

Tonight is the Monthly Dinner – Bluewater Cafe, at 6.30 pm

Tonight’s guest speaker, Chris Miller, started his career in television as a surf / water cameraman covering the Australian surfing circuit and then went on to join the Nine Network as a News cameraman and Today Show cameraman before going freelance in 1991. During his time as a full time cameraman for Australia’s leading travel show Getaway he was able to work on many other Channel Nine productions. Chris also specialises in underwater and has won awards for his work in various documentaries.

The cost is only $20 a head and includes shared entrees, a selection of main to choose (incl a vegetarian option) and corkage (for byo wine only) and a little thank you for the staff. All beers (including four pines beers !), wine and deserts an optional extra at the special price of only $5 each !!
BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL, so book here now!!

Lunch with greats of Rugby Union and League

On Friday 13, June, the Royal Far West together with Hotel Steyne Manly is holding a lunch from 12.30pm until 2pm to Celebrate Country Rugby in NSW.  Special guests include Glenn Stewart, Scott Gourle and Ron Pilon.

Ian is putting together a table for the B&B so please let him know if you are interested in attending by sending him an email to ugoboyo@gmail.com, or see him at the swim ‘cause he is there most mornings.  As the B&B is a special friend of the RFW we are being offered a discount off the advertised price.

Winter Badge season kicked off 1 June.

We are now into week 3 of the Winter Badge season. There are 14 weeks in the winter season.  To qualify for the prized Cold & Bold Badge you simply need to swim 20 times within the season ensuring you have swum in a minimum of 7 different weeks.  So, attempting to do it all in the first few weeks does not count!!

B&B i-Log

Really if you haven’t been using the B&B i-Log then you must be new!!  Almost 75% of swimmers are now using the B&B i-Log. Log your swim ANYTIME of day using this really efficient and easy way to ensure your swim is recorded in the daily attendance and on the Pacific Challenge. To get started, send an email to Ian Forster ugoboyo@gmail.com (This is not a link so please copy and paste into your email). He will check that your email address is activated on the attendance register then send you info on how to get started.

Staying safe

We have had seen the return of some serious waves and rips this past week!  Were you prepared? 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.

The Stats

Regulars:  55 (40 without wetsuits)

Newbie:  0 (really can you blame them. . .)

Temp:   19 degrees

Sunrise: 6.55 am

Sunset: 4.53 pm