Pacific Jules

20/09/2011 - Turbulent Tuesday

51 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

Well this morning was nothing short of windy, choppy and messy which always makes for a fun swim and a well earned brekkie.

Anna Alvsdotter, Ben Thomson and others saw what they thought were two dead Port Jacksons about a third of the way back from Shelly Beach, as the sharks were laying on their backs. One of the Port Jacksons was looking very unwell as it was nusseling its way upside down into the side of the other stationary upside down shark. Anna treaded water for while watching sadly until suddenly the sharks righted themselves and swum off ! Amazing, I sure didn't know sharks could lay upside down. Can anyone shed any light on this activity ?? Jane ???

Fab photos from James Goins again this morning ! A gusty morning, so not too many people around. Check out James's second photo, a very rare sight. It's not often there's no-one around enjoying the early morning.

B&B FUNDRAISING STEAK & TRIVIA NIGHT - WED 26th OCT !

As the administration, insurance and communication costs rise for the Bold & Beautiful, it's time to organise a fundraiser to ensure that as a group we can keep growing.

As you are all aware, B&B is an activity which is free and open to all. In order to keep us operating in this way we are organising a quiz night generously supported by The Steyne Hotel on Wednesday 26th October from 7pm !

If we get 100 people attending we can have the brand new Moonshine Bar upstairs all to ourselves for the whole night !

Our very own John Kelly will be running the trivia and he has assured us that the questions will be general and not B&B related so friends from outside of B&B will be both; most welcome and valuable members of your team.

If you have any prizes that you would like to donate for a raffle or a table prize it would be most appreciated... we have already received a couple of generous prizes, thank you !!

Tickets are available now at $25 per head which includes a Steak Dinner generously provided by the Steyne Hotel !

Please tell your friends and try and get a table together (8-10 per table) or we will place you on a table of likable B&B'ers. You can purchase tickets from me after any swim or via email.

If anyone would like to offer to provide some entertainment at half time that could be lots of fun too... ;-)

Tim's fact of the day: "Oysters can change from one gender to another and back again depending on which is best for mating."

There is talk that Iain McGregor and James Goins might be swimming a Bolderdash (to Queensie and back) at 5.50am tomorrow. Any takers ??

Check out the three lovely on tour photos of Peter, Betty, Dan and Matt King in Fiji.  The boys all successfully completed the Mana Island swim on the weekend.  Dan and Matt did the 1km and Pete did the 3km swim,  unfortunately Betty wasn't so well so she didn't get to do the 500m swim.  We hope you are feeling much better now Betty and congratulations boys what a great effort, well done !!

Water Temperature 18.4 degrees.
Air Temperature 12 degrees.
Sunrise 5.48am.
Sunset 5.49pm.
Low Tide: 6.35am.
High Tide: 1.17pm.

 

 

19/09/2011 - Marvellous Monday

47 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

So many Port Jacksons around at the moment which is lovely. Michael Christie found an unhatched Port Jackson egg on the weekend. Apparently their babies are usually born in October so hopefully we should be seeing some around soon :-)

4 swimmers enjoyed an early lap to Queenscliff and 5 completed a second bonus lap to Shelly afterwards to make the most of these beautiful conditions.

Dolphins everywhere after we got out of the water, damn.

Beautiful photos today from James Goins, thank you James.

Stephen Coulter has just advised that today is 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day'. Does anyone know any pirate jokes ?? Stephen is starting us off with:

• Where do Pirates keep their hats?

Above their buccaneers!

• Why are Pirates called Pirates?

Because they Arghhhhh!

Congratulations to Anne Wilson and Thomas Landgrebe who completed the Sydney Marathon yesterday. I'm sure there were other B&B swimmers out there pounding the pavement too, well done to you all. I'm in awe of you guys, it will be great to see you back in the water now though ;-)

Tim's fact of the day: "The sailfish, the swordfish and the mako shark have all been clocked at swimming over 80 km/hr." what about boy Michel... ??

Water Temperature 18.2 degrees.
Air Temperature 14 degrees.
Sunrise 5.51am.
Sunset 5.48pm.
High Tide: 11.33am.
Low Tide: 6.02pm.

The feet in yesterday's photo were Stephen Coulters :-)

Who is this in the photo below ?? It was taken on Saturday...

 

18/09/2011 - Manly Magic

76 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

Another absolutely stunning swim.  Summer is definitely on it's way, the weather is superb and the water is magnifcant !!!

The interest in swimming more distance is growing too which is fantastic.  Iain, Ben and Collie did an early lap this morning and plenty of people did a second lap too.

We will officially start Bolderdash in late Oct once daylight savings has kicked in and the water has warmed up.  Bolderdash is our swim from Manly to Queenscliff and back at 5.50am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the warmer months.  We arrive back at Manly in time to pick up the 7am swimmers for our regular everyday Manly - Shelly swim.

However, in the meantime if anyone is wanting to do an early lap please feel free to put it in the comments section of the blog to encourage people to keep you company. 

Please remember however that only the 7am swims count towards the B&B Pacific Challenge as that is our core activity :-)

An update about the tick sheet from Michael yesterday:

The sheet is a list of everybody who has swum in the last three weeks.  So if you haven't swum for three weeks you will fall off it.   This is controlled by the program and keeps the list at a manageable size.

If you are not on the list, all you have to do is write your name [LEGIBLY] at the bottom of the page and lo and behold you will appear as if by magic on the list THE VERY NEXT MORNING. You will stay on the list as long as you don't miss swimming for more than three weeks.

The pink folder is for new swimmers who are not yet in the data base. It is no big deal if you enter your details again here as the program will recognise you provided you call yourself the same. ie Tom Smith will reenter if he  previously called himself Thomas Smith.

Tim's fact of the day: "When a dolphin is sick or injured, its cries of distress summon immediate aid from other dolphins, who try to support it to the surface so that it can breathe."  How cute is that.

 Water Temperature 18.2 degrees.
 Air Temperature 14 degrees.
 Sunrise 5.51am. 
 Sunset 5.48pm.
 High Tide: 11.33am.
 Low Tide: 6.02pm.

Guess the feet... ??

17/09/2011 - Welcome Visitors

113 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful Swimmers including 12 first timers.  Welcome everyone ! 

It's fantastic to see such a great turn out, and oh my gosh... what a superb morning.

I know we say it often, but.... it really doesn't get any better than it is right now !  The weather is idilic and the water is magnificant; so clear, calm and getting warmer.

Who would rather be anywhere else... not me that's for sure.   Swimming from Manly Beach at 7am with a wonderful group of friendly,  like-minded people, across our world class tranquil aquatic marine reserve - magnificant !

It's wonderful to see so many of us enjoying coffee / brekkie afterwards at Manly Wine for the always entertaining social apres swim :-)  Please don't be shy, everyone is welcome.

Roberto Suares saw a huge sting ray just off the Bower this morning too, probably a beautiful bullray.

Nicolee Goins and Midge Castel saw a turtle !!

Hopefully our visiting friends will stick around for a few days :-)

Enjoy today's fantastic photos courtesy of James Goins.

There were a few swimmers taking advantage of the beautiful conditions, some enjoying an early jaunt up to North Steyne pre our regular 7am swim and some completing a double lap post our 7am swim.  Gosh we are so lucky !

Check out Debbie Long and Magnus Butlin's beautiful baby girl already inducted into the pink, only 8 hours old :-)

Baby Butlin was born at 9.01am on 16th September weighing 2.91kg.  Congratulations Debbie and Magnus and welcome to the world little Butlin.

Tim's fact of the day: "Jellyfish have been around for more than 650 million years which means that they out date both dinosaurs and sharks !"

Water Temperature 18.0 degrees.
 Air Temperature 15 degrees.
 Sunrise 5.52am.
 Sunset 5.47pm. 
 High Tide: 10.51am.
 Low Tide: 5.13pm.

16/09/2011 - B&B on Channel 9's Today Show

101 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

What a fabulous turnout and how spectacular did we look on TV on Channel 9's Today Show this morning !! ;-)

Check out the footage at the link below which Gaetan Guilhon has kindly recorded and uploaded onto vimeo for us already:

B&B on Channel 9's Today Show

Thank you very much to Tim (I only swim with whales and for TV) Ettle who gave us the heads up and to everyone for turning up early to make it happen - THANK YOU !!!

It was a perfect morning, with a sensational sunrise, clear skies and beautiful clear, calm, warming water.  An absolutely stunning swim and the conditions are expected to be like this or even better, if that's possible, for at least the next week... :-)  Get out of bed and come swimming it's perfect and there's lots of friendly inquisitive whales around too... 

Fabulous photos from James Goins this morning capturing the beautiful sunrise, our gathering on the walkway as we assembled for Channel 9 and Elaine Kindred supervising us as chief whale spotter from the security of her stand up paddle board.

Check out the article on 'our' whales in today's Manly Daily.  Anna Alvsdotter is quoted - go Anna !! :-)

We even got a mention in today's Brisbane Times too.

Yesterday saw a record amount of activity on our blog too with nearly 40 comments and 600 readers.  We love everyone's participation in the blog, that's what makes it, so please keep the comments flowing :-)

Tim's fact of the day: "Sea turtles excrete salt absorbed in sea water from their eyes,  which is why they seem to cry !"

James Goins is keen to make the most of these beautiful conditions and do an early Bolderdash up to Queenscliff and back at  leaving at 5.50am tomorrow morning, back in time to pick up the regular Manly - Shelly swimmers at 7am.  If anyone is keen to join him please comment below.

 Water Temperature 17.6 degrees.
 Air Temperature 14 degrees.
 Sunrise 5.54am.
 Sunset 5.47pm. 
 High Tide: 10.15am.
 Low Tide: 4.31pm.

15/09/2011 - Swimming With Whales !!

51 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

Yes it's true - WE SWAM WITH HUMPBACK WHALES !!! There were three of them including a mum and a calf, and oh my goodness it was MAGNIFICENT !!! They were soooo close and right underneath us, and I mean right underneath us, in fact they were so close you could have touched them. They rolled oer to get a better look at us too ! WOW WOW WOW !!!

See there is a reason you swim everyday of the year, it makes it all worth while for a magical swim like today. You can't buy that experience.

Check out the very happy faces at brekkie...

It's two years, 1 month and 1 week since the Southern Right Whale swam with us. A few of us were lucky enough to swim on Southern Right and Humpback Whale day. WOW WOW WOW we are soooo lucky !!

PLEASE COME AND JOIN B&B ON CHANNEL 9's TODAY SHOW TOMORROW MORNING !! 

The producer of the weather for Channel 9's Today Show would like to do a live cross to B&B in their caps and cossies
WHEN: 6.30am THIS FRIDAY MORNING
WHERE: On the Beach just in front of The Steyne Hotel

This is perfect timing for us we can meet there, be part of their live cross, then stroll down the beach ready for our 7am swim to Shelly and back - perfecto. Lauchie, the producer would love as many of you as humanly possible to come down, so.... PLEASE COME DOWN AND BE PART OF THE LIVE CROSS ON THE BEACH IN FRONT OF THE STEYNE HOTEL THIS FRIDAY AT 6.30am IN YOUR CAPS AND COSSIES !!!!

Tim's fact of the day: "Octopus have three hearts and their blood is light blue !"

Deb and Michelle on the top of the volcano in Thira along with a little donkey that kindly stood still long enough for the girls to put a pink cap on him ;-)

Plus our pink hats on the boat at the hot springs with two Israeli girls that took their photo at the top of the volcano and then asked to have their picture taken with them on the boat!! Pink hats are famous!! Good works girls, keep spreading the love... although I must say I would hate to have been anywhere else but swimming at Manly Beach this morning... :-)

Water Temperature 17.2 degrees.
Air Temperature 12 degrees.
Sunrise 5.55am.
Sunset 5.46pm.
High Tide: 9.42am.
Low Tide: 3.51pm.

 

 

 

14/09/2011 - A Burst of B&B Babies

65 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

Whales were frolicking off shore as we entered the water this morning !!

It was a superb swim, the water is so clear and calm and there were no stingers - it's just perfect for us as we head up towards South West Rocks for the first badge stop on our Pacific Challenge...

Anna Alvsdotter was very creative this morning, she was of the belief that in true B&B style, we should wait for everyone at all the badge stops as we swim our way around the Pacific ! Good try Anna ;-)

Debbie Long and Magnus Butlin are having their B&B baby this Friday, can't wait to see the photos and have a cuddle.

Sheri has only 3 weeks to go and is still swimming - good on ya Sheri !! :-)  It looks like Baby Bowes is ready to get out of that wetsuit if nothing else though Sheri...

That will be three B&B babies all within a month, how cute is that.

Tomas Lees had his second shoulder surgery on Monday, we hope you recover well and are back in the swim real soon Tomas, it was great to see you at Après Swim this morning !

Tim's fact of the day: "94 percent of life on Earth is aquatic !" That makes those land-dwellers a very small minority... Thankfully for us I reckon we are amphibians ;-)

Julia Maunder made her Dad climb up to the top of the Glastonbury Tor with her specifically to get this great 'B&B on tor' photo for us at a significant land mark. Great effort Julia and thanks to your Dad too :-)

Attached is a photo from Deb and Michelle enjoying beer o'clock in the spa along with the only sea life they've seen recently and it isn't even real.

Debbie will see us all soon, as for Michelle she will be holidaying on for a while yet.

Happy birthday to Jan Beacham today :-) 

 Water Temperature 17.1 degrees.
Air Temperature 12 degrees.
Sunrise 5.57am.
Sunset 5.45pm.
High Tide: 9.09am.
Low Tide: 3.14pm.

 

 

 

 

13/09/2011 - Pink All Over

50 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

Another beautiful swim this morning with lots of port Jacksons. The conditions are predicted to be picture perfect for the next 10 days so come down for a swim, don't forget to tick and watch your journey around the Pacific progress...

Uhmm... Iain, Nick what was going on as you walked down the ramp this morning... is there something you need to tell us ??

Gaetan found something fishy at Shelly yesterday which you can see from his photo.

What's happened to Tim's fact of the day... Timberlie ??

Don't forget to enjoy our fabulous new Brekkie deal at Manly Wine every morning: $10 for Brekkie and a coffee of your choice :-)

A great photo of Jane Stevenson and her grandson Leon in LA sitting beside a
beautiful pool, however Jane confirms it doesn't compare with one of the great swims of the world - ours !

Are they Michelle's or Deb's pink toes in the sand in Greece ??

Water Temperature 17.2 degrees.
Air Temperature 9 degrees.
Sunrise 5.58am.
Sunset 5.45pm.
High Tide: 8.37am.
Low Tide: 2.37pm.

 

12/09/2011 - Hangover Cure

36 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful swimmers.

Another fresh swim, with a beautiful large Port Jackson just off the point. Large schools of yellow tail scad in at Shelly and rumours of a whale off shore.

Oh please Mr Whale come and swim with us before you head back down to lonely antartica for the summer, please !!

Cae Toleman and David Adams did a bonus early lap this morning, and without wetsuits too !

Numbers seem a little low, nothing to do with rugby world cup headaches I'm sure... although John Kelly assures us the swim is a good cure for a headache, well it fixed his anyway ;-)

Incase you didn't get a chance to read the blog over the weekend please read yesterday's post to learn of our amazing new Pacific Challenge - make sure you keep swimming and ticking, it's pretty cool !!!

You can also enjoy the fabulous photos from our Winter Badge Ceremony yesterday morning here.

If you missed the badge ceremony please collect (and pay for) your badge from me after any swim as I have one for everybody who qualified, thank you :-)

Check out Gerd Bernard's beautiful baby girl, Lale in her slightly too large pink cap. Gerd has said that despite Lale being only 36 hours old she is already addicted to pink ! :-)

Deb and Michelle were spotted somewhere in the Mediterranean?!! 10hrs in 3 to go !!!!

Water Temperature 16.5 degrees.
Air Temperature 15 degrees.
Sunrise 5.59am.
Sunset 5.44pm.
High Tide: 8.04am.
Low Tide: 2.00pm.

 

 

 

 

11/09/2011 - Launch of B&B Pacific Challenge

77 'ticked' Bold & Beautiful Swimmers.

What a beautiful swim it was too !!!  A little chilly maybe, although the air was warm so it felt fine and the conditions are just perfect at the moment.  The sun's out and the water is sooo calm and clear.  It doesn't get any better !!  John Bond and James Goins even squeezed in a bonus early lap to make the most of it.

Some lovely photos this morning courtesy of James Goins....  Sandy McIndoe, what is that on your head ? ;-)

Christine Armour annouced at Shelly Beach that she was suffering from Nose Freeze this morning, now that's a new one but a goodie :-)

Winter is over that is true, but there is an amazing reason to keep on swimming and most importantly ticking...

The launch of the B&B Pacific Challenge !!!

Check out our amazing new challenge it's absolutely "Mind Blowing", there is no other word for it.  We are swimming the Pacific, the data has been pre-loaded back to 1st June 2011 and the first badge stop is South West Rocks !!

You can see how you and your friends are tracking along the route by clicking here. 

If you hover over a dot along the route the names to the right will highlight to show you who is in that range, alternatively hover over the names and it will highlight their place along the route.  You can also click and drag on the map to see the full lenght of the route.  Watch this space to see where the next stop is as we continue to swim our way around the Pacific.  You will be able to see yourself progress along the route each day that you swim, as long as you remember you tick !! ;-)

We will also be seeing how many times B&B collectively circumnavigate the globe, this data will be back dated from 1st June 2010 and the map will appear very soon, so please keep an eye out for that also.

Only the regular 1.5km 7am B&B Manly to Shelly swims count towards these challenges.

A permanent link will appear on the left hand  side of the blog and from within the daily attendance graph for you to use each day.

Thank you very much to John Masters for the inspiration of this challenge and to Magnus Butlin for making it all possible, you are a total gem, not to mention a genius, thank you !

Winter Badge Ceremony this morning went very well, thank you to every one who participated and helped to make it such a success !

Also thank you very much to our sponsor Manly Wine for catering for us all, putting on a fabulous breakfast and setting up a PA system for us.

And to James Goins who organised the amazing 2011 winter badge cake for us all.  Thanks so much James, you're a champion !

There were 134 swimmers plus Baby Bump Bowes who qualified for their 2011 winter badge, 32 of whom also qualified for the Winter Without Wetsuit badge.  This smashed our previous record so great job, well done  everyone !!!

Nearly 400 people swam at least once over winter and collectively we swam ~8000km and Neil Cowin only missed one winter swim !!!  Now that's all pretty amazing by anyone's standard.

Check out some of this morning's fantastic photos taken by Michael Christie at the badge ceremony, they are great, everyone is looking so happy in all of them.  All the photos from the badge ceremony can be seen by clicking here.  There should hopefully be a photo up there of everyone who was presented with their badge this morning.

Tim Ettle is happy to provide a copy of  the full res version of the beautiful group photo that he took of us all on the sand this morning before we swam, so please let us know if you would like a copy.

Congratulations to Gerd Bernhard who's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday, Lale Zehra weighing 3.91kg :-)

Check out another great on tour photo of Michelle Harris in Lindos.

Water Temperature 16.5 degrees.
Air Temperature 15 degrees. 
Sunrise 6.01am.
Sunset 5.43pm.
High Tide: 7.30am.
Low Tide: 1.23pm.