Saturday 7th August – The almost perfect day, Love in the Bay and jimble kisses

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DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19).

Thank you for following public health advice including physical distancing and outdoor exercising limits (currently 2 people at a time, within your LGA or within 10kms of your home) at all times (and please remember to check in if you’re buying take away coffee at the local cafes!)

Saturday 7th August – what a day!   Lots of love in the Bay, swimmers and snorkellers getting high on Vitamin Sea and Vitamin D with sunshine, blue sky, only zephyrs of breeze and crystal clear water.   Whats not to love about winter swimming (aside from all its scientific benefits, that is!)…

Water temperature – a “balmy” 16.1 degrees

air temperature at 8:30 – around 12 degrees

Tide: outgoing (low at 1 – a perfect time to explore the bay!)

water clarity – crystal clear!

stoke level – buzzing, full of love, everyone high on vitamin sea

police presence – significant, making sure everyone was following the rules so the ocean and beach can remain open

Gold medals won by Australia – 17 (at the time of writing) – equalling the all time Gold medal haul

Open water swimming medals won – 1 bronze earned by Kareena Lee in a photo finish, swimming 10km in just under 2 hours! (lucky she had no distractions like Port Jackson Sharks mating!)!   Hopefully the profile of open water swimming will be lifted yet again as more people join the fun of the sport we all love.

All week the talk of the bay was about the beginning of “shark porn” (ie Port Jackson Shark mating) season ( i’ll leave that one to Lainey!), and the pink peril, aka Jimble.    Stories abounded of sightings, jimble kisses, scars .. the list goes on.  Suffice to say, the common sentiment was that “its time for them to go” (wherever they go, that is, or the turtles need to come back and feast on the jimble buffet)…   For those lucky to see or unlucky to be kissed by a jimble (and their bite, whilst not nornally fatal like the Irukanji or blue bottle, is still painful), they are described as follows:

In the sea there’s a creature called a jimble;

It’s long tentacles make it quite nimble;

With a pretty pink tinge;

They draw you right in;

And they’ll give you a kiss or a nibble ..

Myth: they drop down to the depths as the sun rises.  Actual: codswallop. We saw heaps late morning this week, on the surface (although the jimble pictured above was trying NOT to look like a jimble – mmmm – nope!  still a jimble!)!!

Myth: jimbles are only in the ocean. Actual: codswallop. Sighted and felt in numbers at balmoral beach!

Todays swimmers were full of love & awe – everyone could have spoken for hours of what they saw!   I am still buzzing from our swim in the acquarium – my pictures really dont do it justice today!

Margie –  … lots of love for todays swim North, described as beautiful

Ian – swam to boulders …. he loved the slightly different route and saw lots port Jackson’s swam then to half way …  its a good day for a tourist swim!

Clair loved her longer swim in crystal clear water, into the  Bay then to the pipes & back to South Steyne.   Beautiful & clear no jimbles

Liz & margaret – loved their swim to Shelly & back and described the water as the clearest it’s been in ages. Groupers, cuttlefish, so many fish!

Alexis – loved the scenic route and especially with no jimbles and heaps of old wives, 4-5 sharks, cuttlefish and a huge grouper

Jen & Emily – loved seeing the baby wobbygong, a juvenile Port Jackson Shark and swimming through the  “usual aquarium” … best way to start the day …

Tony & merrilee – Merrilee loved that she swam the Boulder Dash – at 3km return it was the longest she’s ever swim – well done!   ..  with a few reports of jimbles in the bay and near perfect conditions, a Boulderdash was a good option!  she described the boulderdash as cold but beautiful, clear & flat  – and on a high for completing it!!

Maddie, Doctor & Jade – loved seeing grouper, sand fish , sting ray … described the water as “heaps heaps clear , wonderful swimming against current … feel alive”  – the BEST feeling!

In a brain freeze I completely forgot about our canine buddies this morning – however, as Port Jackson sharks are sometimes called the “labradors of the sea” here are a few we saw this morning.   Males (Thanks Lainey for the biology lesson and now we can identify them!) searching for love around the Boulders!

And this bull Ray was hanging out at the point – im not sure if it was looking for love but it was getting a LOT of love from swimmers, marvelling at this magnificent creature as it rested on the sand, seemingly guarded by schools of yellowtail making sure to stay in the protected marine sanctuary to avoid becoming Tempura…

Today is a perfect day for a vitamin sea infusion and to immerse or bathe in nature and marvel at natures beauty, whether it be on or in the water, or on land.  Connecting with earths electrons is becoming a favourite mental health tonic for many, and today is a great day to get out if you can!

Be safe, and have a great day!

Jocelyn