4/09/19: Rogue shark shoves Shelley at Shelly

If you believe these guys, then today, as they reached Shelly for the second time (most were doing doubles, Roger had already swum 4km!), an inquisitive Port Jackson, about a metre long, swam in amongst their legs! It deliberately bumped into Greg, swam around and shoved Shelly as it came back for her a second time and flipped it’s tail onto her. The rogue then swam through the 10 or so swimmers legs again, forcing some to jump out of its way, before disappearing.

Michael, Shelley and Inge – three of the 10 swimmers – still absorbing what happened!

Inge offering a calming hand as Shelley comes to grips with the unusual experience.

The story was hot news, some swimmers jumping back in disbelief (‘back’ had changed to ‘bacon’ in autocorrect – lucky i spotted it!) .

Others, relaxing on the bench and soaking up the rays, were not so phased by the news – in fact they were so relaxed, a bomb could have gone off and they wouldn’t have flinched.

Turbo’s eyeball, on the other hand , wanted to learn more, as it came up close and personal encouraging me to relay the story again.

On hearing the news, Turbo was completely freaked out! Understandably so! No PJ should play those menacing games with the BnB swimmers. Other swimmers – sure – no problem! But not us!

The day started in its usual glorious way. Water was flat and calm with the very occasional wave. Water temp was a glorious 17.8 degrees.

Poor old Rod was just trying to get dressed after swimming early but Jo and Lainey were making it very difficult for him! Meanwhile everyone else was going into the water for 7am swim!

Dave is another early swimmer. He has just come back from overseas after attending an extreme Wim Hof experience. He hasn’t been sick for two years so there is definitely something in this whole immune system and freezing temperatures thing. Management – could this be a Tuesday night dinner talk? Get Dave to teach us all about it (and save us a few $$ at same time!).

Whoever is the owner of these cool blue ‘camo’ fins……

…is also the owner of this nice high elbow!

Then I found the owner of both at Shelly!

This blue groper was spotted near Shelly, swimming around with not a care in the world and certainly not stressing about tax returns. When is the absolute deadline date?

Let’s Go! No birthdays today so no birthday splashes!

Gemma, JK and Jo hanging back – just cos!

And lucky they did hang back because together with Kara they spotted this beauty!

Back on land and people were doing their post swim thing.

Even Turbo!

(Turbo’s owner, Sarah and I, tried our hardest to get the perfect shot of Turbo today. It just wasn’t his day , ok!  But it does look like he’s dancing to Fatboy Slim’s Funk Soul Brother and that’s cool)

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Stats:

Swimmers: 180

Temp: 17.8

Newbies: less than 5

Notices:

The Monthly Dinner – 10^th September 2019 – Guest Speaker

The Next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 10th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. Our guest on the night will be Emily Kempson, who is Australia’s 2019 Ultraman Female Champion. After suffering a fractured sacrum in the lead up to the 2018 event, Emily managed to overcome her injury and win the 2019 Female Ultraman title. This was no mean feat, as the event is conducted over 3 days and includes a 10 km swim, 421 km bike ride and a double marathon (84.3 km). Emily will talk about why she was attracted to the event, what her lead up training was like, the number of people who helped her in the race and their roles (it takes a village), her nutrition during the event and recovery each day, how she kept focus, dealing with injury and disappointment to come back stronger and what’s next.

Please book early for this event as it is sure to be popular. 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 at www.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/bb-bluewater-monthly-dinner.html

2019 Winter Badge Ceremony – Sunday 22^nd September

You’ve done the hard yards and earned your Winter Badge(s), 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 Centre (Wentworth Avenue, Manly) on Sunday 22^nd September, straight after the regular swim! Everyone is welcome, family, friends and swimmers alike.

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

All 2019 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 the upcoming summer badges.

In conjunction with the badge ceremony, Royal Far West will be holding a raffle with great prizes, so don’t forget to bring along extra money for the raffle (credit card payment facilities will be available for the raffle).