Tuesday, 1 September 2020 – Winter 2020 Special

Well, this was a B&B Winter like no other – Covid, social distancing, no official B&B swims, travel restrictions, and records broken for our B&B community.

Whilst there has been no official B&B swim in order to comply with public health advice, the same public health advice advocated regular exercise to stay fit during these challenging times, and B&B swimmers have followed this advice in numbers never seen before.

Here some stats from the last 92 days:

Average daily attendance during Winter 2020 was an incredible 273 swimmers. This is an increase of nearly 60% over Winter 2019 with 172 swimmers on average. Adding to this an estimated 40% of swimmers who do not log their swims, the average attendance would have been 455 swimmers, each and every day. The highest attendance was on 20 June with 422 swimmers, the lowest on 28 July with 65 swimmers. Monthly breakdown is as follows (2019 figures in brackets):

June        323    (203)

July         262    (157)

August    236    (157)

The big jump in popularity of our swim is even more remarkable as we had to swim in much colder water than last year. The average Winter 2020 water temperature was 16.7 degrees, compared to 17.7 degrees last year. Monthly breakdown:

June        17.4    (19.2)

July         16.7    (17.1)

August    16.1    (16.8)

Now to the really important stuff:

We have a new King and Queen of Winter 2020

Jo and Brian were the only swimmers, out of over 600 badge qualifiers, who did not miss a single winter swim, i.e. they swam 92 days in a row, without wetsuit. Kudos to both of them. Since hugging is currently not on because of Covid, they celebrated with a high five.

It should be said though that they both had their support crews of loyal swim buddies who encouraged and supported them when times were tough (chilly water, big surf, jimbles, etc)

Richard, Guy and myself pointing to the champ (unfortunately no photo of Jo’s support crew, but thanks to them too)

Getting ready for the last winter swim

What I liked about the 2020 Winter swims:

mostly beautiful swimming conditions, water cold, but flat and clear, and great marine life

less traffic to get to Manly (from Lane Cove)

sleeping in a bit longer, no pressure to swim at 7am

and what I missed about 2020 Winter:

the friendly welcome hug

the monthly dinner

John Kelly’s (intimidating) “let’s go” at the point

All in all, it was a great winter, fare welled in style by Sarah and David

Important Management Notice

Winter Badge Collection 2020

Congratulations to all those who completed their Covid-19 winter swimming challenge. As we are expecting nearly 600 swimmers to qualify, the badge distribution this year will be different in order to maintain a Covid-safe environment for our volunteers. Unfortunately, only virtual handshakes and hugs from Ian, John, Anne and Pauline and contact-less distribution.

There are two ways you can obtain your badge(s)

1. Place self-addressed, stamped envelope in the box provided outside the surf club between 7 am and 8 am any during the week, from Monday 31st August to Sunday 6th September, inclusive. Inside the envelope place cash for your badge/s – $10 per badge for the Covid Badge (if you completed 20 swims over winter) and an extra $10 for the Ice Cold Corona Badge if you did those swims without a wetsuit. Family members/friends sharing an envelope must clearly name each swimmer and badge achieved. Please check postage rates and size of envelope required for multiple badges.

1. Post a self-addressed, stamped envelope with payment and swimmer details, as above to Ian Forster, 6 Bligh St, Northbridge. 2063.

Badges will be posted as soon as they arrive. If you have any other badges that you are missing and wish to purchase, please include cash for those as well.

Please Note: We will place a New Swimmer sheet and pink caps with the collection box so that any would-be swimmers can sign up and collect a cap.

Have a nice day

Bernhard