Pacific Jules

Sunday 24th of September and today, It's All About Me.

 Today, besides blogging, I've racked up my 500ks.

 

 For too long I've looked on with tunnel envy.

 

Today it was my turn to don the royal robes and walk the walk that has been denied to me for so long.

With good reason, I was told beforehand, whatever happens in the tunnel, stays in the tunnel.

It truly was an amazing experience.

 

To start my day surrounded by such incredible natural beauty and the joyful fellowship of other swimmers is the perfect recipe for happiness.

It's not really all about me.

So what is IT all about? 

It's about friendship.

It's about that first rush of cold water.

 

It is about family.

 
 

 It's about achievement

 

It's about the furry friends who wait patiently.

 

 It's about the post swim coffee, good conversation and so much more.

Then as quick as IT started, it was over until we do the same again tomorrow.

 

As Groucho Marx said:

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana"

Stats:

Swimmers: 310

Newbies: 13

Temp: 17.9

  Thunderbird

Welcome to the B and B Jack Kennedy!

Today I met Amelia for the first time, as she walked her newborn baby Jack Kennedy. He was born on 30th August , smack bang on due date, weighing 3.7kg and 52cm length. All the WOW's woke him up with their squealing at his perfection, can't be helped when they're that cute! Here they are this morning:

a

And here is Amelia with her husband Bergin the week before delivery, swimming with us:

This is how the beach looked as I arrived today- a welcome change after yesterday's heatwave and windy night-

I found a couple who are getting married tomorrow in Manly, Claire and Nathan: all the best for a wonderful day tomorrow and happy long life together:

Elaine and Janet were catching up pre swim as you can see in the background above:

Some of the early swimmers hang for coffee and chats and often give warnings out to the 7am swimmers, today they just chatted :) Alex, Jo and Richard.

Justus is swimming again after some rest time during the winter, here with the gorgeous Katryna, Ingrid and Emily. Katryna and Ingrid often call out to me when they spot marine life for me to photograph-

I swam with Dee, Maria and Gayle today, welcome back Maria after a long time visiting family in USA, love the paddlers in the distance not close up mais oui, 

We followed the main group in and only did half swim, hence missed birthday songs etc.

Nat had a birthday and shared her swim today with Ali and Ian

Robyn also had a birthday and shared it with WOW's et al:

Elaine, Robyn, Monica-or is that Alison???-Di, Meggie, Isobel, Heather ( who worked nights with me recently, thank you for your help ), Jason and Lisa

Justus mingling with the blokes post swim:

Jeff, Jeremy, John, Bill and Justus

Sue caught up with Jamie and Caroline before Jamie rushed off to thaw out- double laps in no wetsuit!

As for these blokes: I won't name names but one in particular commented that his photo is taken alot for the blog but he never makes it to the final product. So I directed them, with great effort I might add, to position themselves for a photo  and what happens! He blinks when I say smile, and so does his neighbour! John and Greg are experts at posing, no complaints there. Next time I"ll have to make use of the cutting room floor :)

The obedience of dogs however  can't be mistaken:

My version of Elizabeth's Friday " what I"m reading" is what I'm crafting: starting a shawl for summer, learning to crochet:

stats: no newbies, temp was 17.3 but felt like 16.3,  and about 112 swimmers.

Remember it's badge day Sunday, $5 gets you entry into the Far West School for the yummiest sausage roll, a look at merchandise , and your badge you pay for I"m afraid. Now, no one is to slip inside those gates without paying, accidentally of course! Management or associates will be manning the doors sharply.

see you next time, 

ciao-edwina.

 

 

 

 

13/09/2017- Swimmers are Grinners :-) :-)

 What an amazingly happy bunch of people and it's only 7.15am! Around 180 of us enjoyed stunning conditions today with the warm air temp of 20 degrees contrasting with the freshness of the 18.2 degree water. Conditions were stunning, ocean calm and clear...

The morning sky lit up with a gorgeous sunrise at 5.56am. This was taken during my run to Curl Curl with Manly Beach Running Club.

Back in time to catch the Drinks Express setting off at 6.30am as per usual...

7am and time for most pink caps to jump in for some vitamin sea. The humble and very lovely Peter, glowing in the early morning sunshine!

The coolest gang of the B&B, the WOWS, Women of the wall! Here are Robyn, Candice, Melise and Caroline.

It feels like Summer today and it's forecast to reach 32 in Manly!

Happy Birthday yesterday Jenny Menzies, 3rd along. Here she is with Sandy, Attracta and Kerry. (Jenny is Terry's sister if you didn't know.)

 Hard to believe these two young looking things are 60!

Derek insists on including me in the photo as I step in to take photos of you coming out of the water.

Sterls, Vinnie and Dave with the lovely Julia Baird who is off to Paris today for 2 weeks quality time with her daughter, Poppy.

 

In a bit of a rush with work today but here are some marine life photos I've snapped the last few weeks. Unfortunately I wasn't around for the juvenile Great White Shark sighting on Monday but here are some species we see most days...

 

I call this special spot 'Diamondfish Alley'. Great to have a Blue Groper photobomb the Diamondfish!

Diamondfish

Is it a Port Jackson? No its a Crested Horn Shark!

Beautiful big, friendly Groper at The Bower

Charlie de Jager with Crested Horn Shark

 Old Wives

Crimson Banded Wrasse

Motherof5sons...Nat

Wilf, Ian and James are now out of hospital, thank goodness. We wish them a speedy recovery.

Have a fantastic day folks

 

Lainey

P.S. 4 newbies today

PPS. Wonder if anyone has noticed it's my 3rd blog in 5 years with the same title!

 

Sunday September 10, just perfect once again.

It was wonderful to turn up this morning and see a bit of swell making it into Manly.
 

Of course the usual suspects were in attendance.

 

Along with Chris, Adrian & Will who all compete together in a waterpolo team called the Semis.

Photographers lined the shore to capture these intrepid swimmers once again.

 

A few bumps on the way out but fun

 

Over to Shelly where the fun continued.

Tara with mum Julie. It was Tara's first swim today and came out through the surf. Fantastic.

Brian racked up his 1,000k swim today, or as he likes to refer to it as his 1,000,000 metres.

Pretty in pink.

Last night B&B central relocated around 300 metres south of the surf club to the infamous  Boatshed.

Our own  passionate muso, Nick Howard was headlining there with his band TV Baby.

They really nailed it with the dance floor full of B&B swimmers.

This morning I got to thinking about the other passions we have in our lives outside of B&B.

I've just returned from an indulgent three months of art school in Barcelona and was really interested to get some idea of the diversity of passions that drive others in our wonderful community of swimmers.

Allister, a passionate lawns bowler along with Matt, a very serious viticultural aficionado.

Carol a very, very passionate AFL supporter. So much so that she follows two teams so she can attend matches every week.

Lainey, a passionate runner who will sometimes knock off a 10k run before a swim.

Belinda and Megan, both lawyers and passionate about justice.

The Staceys, certainly passionate about each other.

Christopher, passionate about simplifying his life.

Richard, passionate about Aldi. So much so that the manager of the Manly store gave him an Aldi keyring, a true story.

Tony on the left, a first timer. Dion on the right a passionate restorer of VWs.

He currently has four in various states of rebuild.

And in true B&B form, Maryanne who is passionate about a daily dose of champagne at 4.

The rest were in total agreement.

A few passionate coffee addicts.

But nothing compares to  Mr Passion himself, Shaun.

His passion for stand up comedy is amazing.

He is available for weddings, parties or anything and will work for beer.

Stats

 Swimmers: 310

Temp: 17.9

Newbies: 12

Winter badge ceremony-Don't forget to book in for the badge ceremony-Sunday 17th September, $5 entry for a sausage roll, supporting Royal Far West.

 

Monthly Dinner – 12^th September 2017 – Guest Speaker

The next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 12th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speaker on the night will be Dr Tanya Evans, whose talk is entitled "Swimming with the Spit"

Dr Tanya Evans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern History at Macquarie University, President of the History Council of NSW and editor and author ofSwimming with the Spit. Tanya’s talk will demonstrate that we B&Bs are not the first people to amble down to the beach and enjoy our invigorating morning swims. Sydney has a fascinating history of dynamic community swimming organisations. Learn all about this fascinating subject on the night.

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 HERE.

 

 

Bold and Beautiful is owned and operated by Bold and Beautiful Swim Squad Pty Ltd.

 

 

 

Well that was a big week....

Today I took the decision not to swim and just be happy with a "dry blog" as I can feel I"m getting sick again. It's never quite the same but comes a close second best as Saturday is when more people turn up and everyone mills around to have their catch ups from the weeks events. I manged to capture the moon in the sky with the trees at Manly beach-

During the week we found out two of our swimmers were quite sick in hospital: they're still there but doing all the right things to get out soon, in one piece with everything intact as well! Best wishes to Wilf and James, hopefully bobbing around in the waves with us soon again. In this pic Wilf on the left being visited by Bill on the right dressed up to the nines as per hospital protocol :)

 

Just as I was having career dilemmas, again!, JK sent an email about a fellow swimmer doing voluntary work overseas. What an inspiration, it's something I've always wanted to do but never quite managed. When Jenny returns I"ll be picking her brain for sure. Here are some photos she sent through of the hospital beds, think olden days, all lined up in one room with curtains. Then the workers relaxing for a photo shoot and a local wearing a pink cap with snorkel gear!

Jen's message:

Just thought id say hello from Cameroon!!

It kills me that i managed 19 out of 20 swims for my winter badge.

It might take me a while to get over that!!!

 

The last morning before I left i had a few things to do and didn’t make it :(

The blog frequently causes fits of FOMO and jealousy.. 

The ship is partly up the river in Duala and the water is full of trash. The closest i get to a swim here is visiting a local hotel and using their pool. I recently lent my pink b and b cap to a friend from ghana to practice his swimming in the pool :) Heres a few pics

 

Lots of love 

jen

People are wonderful to give up their time and income plus our wonderful lifestyle here to help another poor place struggling to give basic care to it's people. Hat's off to Jen and others in our circle who do it.

Sunrise today was stunning as usual, captured as I walked to the surf club.

Yesterday I took this pic of two paddlers, love watching them get out early into the ocean as well as their runs up and down the beach-

Now the swimmers, I caught some of the early crew as I wandered about today

e

Andrew on the left with friend Tim

The seven o clock brigade:

Jong nearly got roped into paying for a pink cap- need to watch middle management and their tactics sometimes-

Instead of walking to Shelley I sat and had long overdue chat with Justus ( in the blue jacket ) while we sipped coffee in the sun-

Robyn had her son visiting from Newcastle-welcome back Andrew-

Post swim socialising starts:

surf's up!

Jazz festival coming soon, there's always something happening in Manly:

We have some musicians in the swim group playing tonight at the boatshed from 9pm, Nick and Jon, join Elaine et al at 7pm at Manly Wharf Bar, should be a good night.

Badge ceremony day is next Sunday the 17th Sept for anyone who collects the WWW badge.

Stats: one newbie

temp 17.6 although people were shivering like it was 16.6

attendance: 200?

Have a nice weekend everyone

ciao-edwina.

 

 

 Monthly Dinner – 12^th September 2017 – Guest Speaker

The next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 12th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speaker on the night will be Dr Tanya Evans, whose talk is entitled "Swimming with the Spit"

Dr Tanya Evans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern History at Macquarie University, President of the History Council of NSW and editor and author ofSwimming with the Spit. Tanya’s talk will demonstrate that we B&Bs are not the first people to amble down to the beach and enjoy our invigorating morning swims. Sydney has a fascinating history of dynamic community swimming organisations. Learn all about this fascinating subject on the night.

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 HERE.

It's a man's world....

but only for one day of the year! Just remember that everyone. Happy fathers' day to all our swimmers who have children, or pets :) John Kelly is a feature of today's blog, here with Kieran before he and his wife Jenny started early. John is a father figure in the group, always guiding the way and yelling the rules out for the day. We all tow the line for JK.

 

New swimmer Jenny-

Lots of people turned up for today's swim, with a warm day ahead and spring in the air the crowds are gathering each weekend.

Sam was joined by his son Sebastian

then Elizabeth Stewart turned up and for a change is in front of the camera:

JK with Lee ( early swimmer )

I met the Chick family today

Rainer with an assortment of kids:

the group heading out to the point, looked a little choppy as I was walking freddy to Shelley

The pink caps swimming around the big boat!

freddy and I waited patiently for Teddy to arrive and takeover the dog walking , watching the swimmers arrive in dribs and drabs:

Cheryl took some rubbish out after her first lap

Andrew and John lounging around chatting in the sun

Greg, Nick and Lee

Was Ian the rose between the thorns today?

these glasses were found today in the surf:

Before I give you some fictitous facts from the swim, one true story.

As I handed Freddy over to Ted I came across a female swimmer who was bleeding from her nose. She reported that as she arrived at Shelley beach someone starting their return leg to Manly accidentally knocked her flat on the nose. Someone else who might have seen it said it was a flipper in front of her kicking her in the face. Either way she was shell shocked and for a brief moment, hopefully, the swim has become a negative experience for someone. It's happened before, and general consensus is that we should all be aware of which direction we're swimming in, a skill I"m still learning. If we do bump into each other, it doesn't hurt to stop and ask if either person is hurt and check they're ok. It's so easy in such a big group to bump into each other. Please be mindful of the slow swimmers like me, I stick to the scenic route for two obvious reasons :) But also watch out for each other, it's happened to faster, stronger swimmers also and shocked them equally.

The facts: above 18 degrees in temp-winning!

Numbers: 200-300?

Newbies: >1.

 

 

Winter badge ceremony-Don't forget to book in for the badge ceremony-Sunday 17th September, $5 entry for a sausage roll, supporting Royal Far West.

 

Monthly Dinner – 12^th September 2017 – Guest Speaker

The next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 12th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speaker on the night will be Dr Tanya Evans, whose talk is entitled "Swimming with the Spit"

Dr Tanya Evans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern History at Macquarie University, President of the History Council of NSW and editor and author ofSwimming with the Spit. Tanya’s talk will demonstrate that we B&Bs are not the first people to amble down to the beach and enjoy our invigorating morning swims. Sydney has a fascinating history of dynamic community swimming organisations. Learn all about this fascinating subject on the night.

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 HERE.

30/08/2017 - Old Wives, Fit and Fantastic Wives and Swimmers with Travel Tales

Ahhh...mazing swim today. We had it all... sunshine, clear water, marine life galore and smooth 17.8 degree waters. Lots of beautiful Old Wives around this year if you hadn't noticed. Aren't they gorgeous with their delicate shape, colour and big eyes? As are our very own, (used to be classed as old, but fit and fabulous, not so young) wives!

Here's one amazing specimen, Sue Marinan... looking fabulous and with SO much energy. This lady has just swam to Shelly and back 3 times all before a day of teaching. Almost always topping the chart for 'Furthest Swimmer', she is an inspiration!

So is this ray of sunshine, @motheroffivesons and another Manly West teacher, Nat. (Rather a young wife this one though...)

A few more wives here (and Ted!). There was lots of hugging going on pre-swim today as lots of people had come back off holidays. Here are Ted,Kirsty, Shelly, Jane, Georgina, Robyn and Lisa.

If you are interested in art in Italy or water-colouring in Croatia speak to Georgina. Robyn has just returned from cycling in Slovenia and is also an expert on clotted cream teas in Devon, always happy for a chat!

Penny and Bill in the middle got one of Lisa's huge hugs as they've been away for a whole year in Japan!

lf you want to go on  a "wild woman on top" adventure, have a word to Elaine, second from left!

Emma on the other hand is an expert on Dallas and is always backwards and forwards from there!

Chris, Simon and David are about to go on tour modelling Orca wetsuits for the over 50's. Let them tell you about it ;-)

Derek is an expert on Lightening Ridge, Ted on Amsterdam, talk Spanish yoga retreats with Sheena and Patrick is just about to go swimming in Greece.

Now for today's swim. Carole is looking at the Diamondfish and Yellowtail as we swim in clear, 17.5 degree water...

These tiny fish are called 'Old World Silversides' according to our very knowledgable marine expert Peter Barford.

Large Flathead near Shelly. 

The A Team got splashed, so hard to get a good photo. Sorry guys.

Anne E was in charge today and asked Big Al to do the 'Let's Go'. His whistle worked too. Well done Al!

Lisa, Em, Rainer, Mike, Graham and Gemma blog tart away. Poor Belinda gets photobombed.

l catch a beautiful, small PJ swimming along a few 100 metres off Shelly...

...Or it could be a Crested Horn Shark, Peter??

We swam through schools of Diamondfish quite high in the water...

and Yellowtail...

Near the point I came across this 'Banded Parma' or Scalyfin. When I dove down he came really close to look at me and my camera lens!

Leatherjacket

Toadfish as I swam to shore...

These 'Notso Old Wives', always look as if they are tipsy on seawater and exude happiness, which is gorgeous and infectious!

Love the post swim chats when you learn more about our swimmers. Some are going through tough times but forge ahead with bravery and optimism.

The guy Richard above many of you will recognise as he is at Manly exercising most mornings. He was telling Jeremy and I about his battle with MS. He has amazed Doctors by improving his MS with exercise and a natural diet. He tells me how he used to drag his leg along but is much fitter now and has got more feeling back in his legs. Such a great guy.

 Another inspiration is Paul. He has just returned from Japan as he was all ready to swim the challenging Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido. Unfortunately they weren't allowed to do it because of a typhoon. He's also competed in the Kona Ironman World Championships 4 times. What a legend!

Just thought I'd pop a couple of photos up of our beautiful home + income at Whale Beach/Avalon up, for sale at the moment! So much value compared to the Manly area for 7 bedrooms. Click on here for more details http://www.belleproperty.com/77P2005/?subOffice=77&auth=0561ec8d6d31d133db6288b113b74d33  

As many of you know the front part operates as Whale Beach Bed and Breakfast and we live at the back. It's given us a great work/life balance for the last 10 years but time for us to move to Manly and downsize now. If anyone knows of anyone who may be interested please let them know. I reckon after 5 years blogging surely nobody would mind if I do a little plug for Ted and I!

Monthly Dinner – 12^th September 2017 – Guest Speaker

The next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 12th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speaker on the night will be Dr Tanya Evans, whose talk is entitled "Swimming with the Spit"

Dr Tanya Evans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern History at Macquarie University, President of the History Council of NSW and editor and author ofSwimming with the Spit. Tanya’s talk will demonstrate that we B&Bs are not the first people to amble down to the beach and enjoy our invigorating morning swims. Sydney has a fascinating history of dynamic community swimming organisations. Learn all about this fascinating subject on the night.

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 HERE.

 

BOOK HERE NOW for the Bold and Beautiful Winter Badge Ceremony.

 

 Around 130 swimmers today and no newbies.

 

Have a great day everyone

love

Lainey

Monthly Dinner – 12^th September 2017 – Guest Speaker

The next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 12th September at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speaker on the night will be Dr Tanya Evans, whose talk is entitled "Swimming with the Spit"

Dr Tanya Evans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern History at Macquarie University, President of the History Council of NSW and editor and author ofSwimming with the Spit. Tanya’s talk will demonstrate that we B&Bs are not the first people to amble down to the beach and enjoy our invigorating morning swims. Sydney has a fascinating history of dynamic community swimming organisations. Learn all about this fascinating subject on the night.

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 HERE.

 

BOOK HERE NOW for the Bold and Beautiful Winter Badge Ceremony.

 

 Around 130 swimmers today and no newbies.

 

 

It's Ziggy's day today.....

Ziggy caught my eye today and belongs to Caroline, Ziggy has never been in the blog before!! First time for everything. Cutie pie. Rob Hawkins told me today it's world dog day or some such thing, so good reason to feature a cutie pie! 

Here's Rob and the gang getting ready for a cold swim under their side of the palm tree :)

Today was Sue Marinan's birthday, normally she's in the water well before I arrive and exits after I"ve fnished my coffee. Surprise surprise she's treating herself to a gentle relaxed swim on her special day, chatting pre swim with Nat. Happy birthday Sue!

Weekend swims are always a good excuse to catch up with people who don't swim during the week or who have time for breakfast after their swim. The swim becomes the side kick to the social gathering that starts at 6.30am and ends anywhere around 9.30am or after! John, Leveena, Jenny, Belinda and Shaun were early arrivals-

 

Lisa had her lovely daughter Georgia join her today from the east, like mother like daughter-

 

Shelley, Fiona and Cheryl can't hide their joy at a Saturday swim even when the temp is 16.5 degrees!

Tracey's friend Sally came down for her third swim ever-welcome to being a regular now :)

There was only one newbie today, and unfortunately I didn't get her name, but Ian kindly showed her the way of the walk down the ramp.

 

I even caught Nicky talking mid sentence, sorry!

 

Brendan and Megan had a chat as they went towards the water

 

We didn't tell Ted to fix his cap! Hope he could see as he swam

 

now for the fish photos I took today, surrounded by beautiful fish everywhere-

 

Ros and Val caught up post swim, Ros is the one who swam with dolphins last week!! 

Family catch up at breakfast, Mary and Phil joined us for a chin wag about holidays, kids, same sex marriage and everything else in between-

JK yesterday enjoyed some shots and chocolate post swim, love this photo:

stupid photo won't come out the right way, nothing to do with the composer of the blog!!!! sorry john .

Next dinner is Sept 12th, keep it in the diary , haven't got a link yet. 

As for numbers today, looked about 200?? 

See you all next time,

Edwina.

 

 

A Garmin watch was left behind in mens change rooms, Shaun Denton has it if you lost one.

 

Information about badge ceremony, always a great morning whether you earnt a badge or not and supports a worthy cause:

BOOK HERE NOW for the Bold and Beautiful Winter Badge Ceremony.

Another stunning morning but.....

There were no newbies today. Maybe they were the sensible ones

In case you were wondering, yes the water was cold. Just ask the very bold and very beautiful swimmers who braved the frigid depths with no wetsuit. No stats on this, but around 250 swimmers lined up for their therapeutic dose of vitamin sea. The change public change rooms (for those who braved the gross obstacle in the entry way - council really needs to lift its game, and thank you to the early swimmer who spread sand over the offending lumps) were colder still, and the cold water showers felt warmer than the ocean we had just swum in.

But enough niggling. When greeted by such gorgeous conditions, who can be grumpy? This must be why the vibes among the swimmers in the morning are generally so positive.

The cold conditions did not deter the Drinks Express from their early foray. Here they are at Shelley. 

On the way to Manly I saw that South Curl Curl had already been hit by the southerly swell and the surf there was quite big. I wondered how it would be in our little corner.

Still almost glassy just before 7am

Does it get much better than this? Apart from 15 degrees that is...... 

Bold and very beautiful WOWs contemplating the trials ahead. Not looking too worried, ladies.

The wait at the point for the Let's Go was brief. Quote of the day is "my face is frozen". Winterfell has nothing on this morning.

Still smiling...

And they're off (wrong way, buddy)

The stay at Shelley was similarly brief. Today is Matt's birthday. Happy birthday Matt. I bet you are grateful to the considerate swimmers who gave you your birthday splashes after the let's go.

Even though the conditions are still quite calm in the bay, the swell has started to churn up the sand, so visibility is not quite as good as it has been. It was still good enough for some to spot the 2 Grey Nurse sharks residing in CTB. I am trying hard to get over not having seen one yet and not take it personally.

The vegetation on the rocks is fascinating

As are the watery residents

The delightful eaters of stingers. Love your work, yellowtail

Fortunately the PJs are not so snobby

Lisa kindly offered to babysit the gorgeous Audrey while her Mum, Naomi had a swim. Here are Lisa and Audrey at breakfast at Hakan's (with Melise in the background). Photo posted with permission. You were so well behaved Audrey, you can come back any time.

I have been listening to Paul Kelly's new album, Life is Fine. A sentiment echoed by many B&B swimmers I'm sure. The album is a delight. 

Have a great day everyone, and stay safe in the water

B&B Badge info: (be quick!)
The winter swimming season runs from 1 June to 31 August, and to qualify for your winter badge, you must:

• swim at least 20 times during this period
• swim in at least 7 different weeks
• log your swims 

To qualify for the WWW badge (winter without wetsuit) you must complete all of the above without wearing a wetsuit or any other form of bodily thermal enhancement (don't forget to check the "without wetsuit" button on the log in screen). 

 

Bold and Beautiful is owned and operated by Bold and Beautiful Swim Squad Pty Ltd.

B&B Badge info: (be quick!)
The winter swimming season runs from 1 June to 31 August, and to qualify for your winter badge, you must:

• swim at least 20 times during this period
• swim in at least 7 different weeks
• log your swims 

To qualify for the WWW badge (winter without wetsuit) you must complete all of the above without wearing a wetsuit or any other form of bodily thermal enhancement (don't forget to check the "without wetsuit" button on the log in screen). 

 

16/08/2017 - 'Yay!'

 

I met the lovely Annie Larkin on her first day swimming with 'The Bolds', as she likes to call us, around 4 years ago. She'd come along on her own and was going through some tough times. As we were walking through the shallows after the swim I saw her give out a 'Yay' to herself and do a little 'hooray' with her arms. She was glowing and explained she'd been wanting to do the swim for a while and had finally plucked up courage. It's Annie's birthday today and we wish this ray of sunshine the very best. The montage above shows a few of Annie's different hairstyles since she's been swimming!

Here's another lovely swimmer who was definitely saying 'Yay' yesterday. At 4pm she looked out of her apartment in Queensie and saw 2 whales right in Cabbage Tree Bay near the pool. She raced down to half way and jumped in with them for half an hour!

We're all 'yaying' Annie's b'day before the swim.

 The air temp is balmy and water 17 degrees as we jump in.

I spotted one of my faves, the Porcupinefish, so was saying a little 'yay' to myself as I swam to Shelly.

I tried to include most people at Shelly Beach, all very happy with themselves for swimming in bumpy seas in the middle of Winter and probably sef-congratulating themselves with a yay!

I swam back via The Bower surf break hoping to catch Port Jacksons mating, (Cheryl and Peter did yesterday) but not today. I did get these pics of PJs at the weekend though.

I was lucky to get 3 of my favourites in this one frame, Porcupinefish, Groper and Diamondfish. Yay!

I did come across these Eagle Rays mating last week though!

Fiona and Sandy

Nicky with some newbies. If any of you know anyone who lives up Byron way and wants to join in Life Drawing and Yoga classes, Nicky is starting some from The Old Church, Newrybar. See her for more details!

Post-swim coffee with Janet, Sue,Louise, Shelley and Peter. We were just asking Peter to show us his PJs. If Mrs Barford is reading we definitely meant the shark variety!

Sorry to rush the blog, it's actually my second blog after I lost the first one because I lost internet and hadn't saved it!

 

About 130 of us swam today!

Definition of yay : Used as an exclamation of pleasure, approval, elation or victory 

 

B&B Badge info:
The winter swimming season runs from 1 June to 31 August, and to qualify for your winter badge, you must:

• swim at least 20 times during this period
• swim in at least 7 different weeks
• log your swims 

To qualify for the WWW badge (winter without wetsuit) you must complete all of the above without wearing a wetsuit or any other form of bodily thermal enhancement (don't forget to check the "without wetsuit" button on the log in screen). 

 Have a great week!

Lainey

 

B&B Badge info:
The winter swimming season runs from 1 June to 31 August, and to qualify for your winter badge, you must:

• swim at least 20 times during this period
• swim in at least 7 different weeks
• log your swims 

To qualify for the WWW badge (winter without wetsuit) you must complete all of the above without wearing a wetsuit or any other form of bodily thermal enhancement (don't forget to check the "without wetsuit" button on the log in screen). 

 Have a great week!

Lainey