Tuesday 9th of August 2016 – Timing is everything

Due to some unavoidable delays this morning, I found myself running late so apologise for no sunrise shots though I’m told they were spectacular. As I topped the rise it was clear we had a half meter of South East swell and a barely perceptible zephyr of a ENE puff. The balmy temps encouraged a quickened pace and I ran down the esplanade as fast as my feet would carry me but arrived minutes after the pack had departed and saw a lone pink hat savouring the calm pristine waters. Keen to share the rare sense of solitude I bounded out.

And who should I find but Elaine Kindred surveying the calm and preparing for her sprint to catch the throng.

Seconds later with just a few positive words about the classic conditions and how the water can impart such a profound change on ones mood for the day, she was off with a pace that would likely solicit invites to the A+ team. Nothing but a flurry of foam in her wake.

On the way out I saw the biggest Urchin I have seen out here nesting in what looked like a meteorite crater who was clearly worthy of a moment in the glare of publicity.

Now this next shot shows just how far behind the pack I was and as you can see Elaine is already over the horizon by the time I got to the point.

In fact by the time I had my engines engaged to full warp, I could see in the distance the flurry of white that indicated a return. And if I’m not mistaken that’s Elaine showing the way.

Closer to home quite a few out this morning sampling the slim pickings on the tourist route.

The unusually low tide called for retraction of undercarriage and short strokes at a number of locations for those venturing close to the point.

It seemed everyone to a person enjoyed the conditions despite the haze below decks. With a water temp of 18.4 and sensational conditions you would have been forgiven for thinking Summer had arrived.

For those enquiring Ted and I dropped in on Ed this morning. He sent his thanks for all the well wishes and particularly for the soups and shakes which he says make a great difference to his day.

Have a great week and thanks to Elaine for her positive start and words of wisdom.

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Special Event – Guest Speaker!

The next B&B monthly dinner will be this Tuesday 9^th August at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speaker for the night will be John Sear, a keen local SCUBA diver who has been diving at Shelly Beach for over 25 years and made over a thousand dives there. In recent years his interest as an amateur photographer has driven him to start recording the fish species that can be found in the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve. He shares his passion through his website www.ctbar.wordpress.com which aims to help educate divers, snorkelers and swimmers as they explore our local biodiversity hotspot. His talk is titled “What Lies Beneath”.

The cost of the dinner is only $25 a head and includes shared entrees, a selection of mains to choose (incl a vegetarian option), corkage (for byo wine only) and a little thank you for the staff. 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 HERE NOW, 

Streetwork are trying to raise money (and awareness) of StreetWork Manly and to do thisJim Stackpool is helping organise a gig at North Manly Bowlo Saturday night 13th August. They’re charging $35/head (best beforehand using the trybooking site –https://www.trybooking.com/206959) or will also take money at the door – the fees includes food, not drinks and music from the 2WS playlist – i.e. three chord songs – we don’t know any others!

Come prepared to dance.

Fundamentally StreetWork work with kids in Manly ‘under pressure’ or on the street. They mentor kids one-on-one until they are ‘out of danger’ of self-harm, crime, drugs, or worst of all suicide. These kids are ‘usually’ living at home, but not in safe environments. They struggle for funds and like most charities are held together but a dedicated few doing a lot in their spare time. We’ll have one of the guys from StreetWork (they have two counsellors now and trying to get another – they can’t meet demand) at the gig giving a really quick story about what they do. As many B&B’s that want a night out dancing to us playing 1970’s, 1980’s rock’n’roll (three chords only) with drinks at pub prices.