Speed

04/12/2015  -  Speed

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I got a present from my 16 year old son Marco: a voucher for a free swim with him.

 

Marco used to swim with me when I started B&B in November 2012. He was a kid back then, enjoying dad’s company, and more or less did what I told him to do. How things have changed since. Not only I am no more cool enough to be seen with him, but I am also so slow at swimming. He is now at around 1 min on 100m, my time, well let me tell you this much, it’s about double his time. Back to the birthday gift: Marco feels so much pity with me that he thought, another B&B swim with him would be a welcome boost to my morale. But he included some T&C’s: only valid for a normal or double swim, no 6k or 10k (he wouldn’t have the patience for that).

How slow am I really, and how do you fare? As a trained accountant, I like numbers and stats, and so I googled some interesting facts: World male record holder on 1,500m freestyle in my age category (60+) is 18:12:09, swum by Jim Conica (US) in 2010. With my average 35 min for normal Shelley swim (excluding stop at Shelley), I am a staggering 94% over world record. Quite embarrassing, but here is the good news for my other pastime running. World record for a half marathon, age 60+, is 1:11:31 (run in 2011). This compares to my last year’s 1:48:35, which is only 52% over world record. I’ll leave it there for today, now to our daily swim.

 I arrived a bit late and missed the start of the 6am group, but then I met this lovely couple at 6.10am

 trying to catch up with the main group

 Next at 6.20am at the surf club: Early morning queen Claire ("oh I only did a double this morning" - I don't want to even contemplate at what time she has been in the water)

A couple of minutes later. The gentleman on the left (part of a separatist 6.40am group) seems to be very proud of the colour of his swimwear

We also have some very shy swimmers

But eventually I tricked her out. You recognise her - yes, it's Ros

Change of guards between the 6am and the 6.30am swimmers

Very disciplined gathering of the 6.30am group at the point (something the 7am swimmers don't seem to master)

Meanwhile, some action on land (with more physical activity and some important chatter)

My swim job is done for today (Shaun)

Another beautiful couple waiting at Shelley (Megan and Andrew)

Because I left before the official start at 7am, I was early at Shelley (what normally does not happen) and watched the crowd arriving

Alan, you need a new pink cap

and some final shots at Shelley

 

That's it for now, off to work. Have a nice day.

Bernhard

 

Next weekend is your first chance to collect a Summer 6km Swim Badge

Saturday 5 December kicks off the 6 km summer swims.  These are on every Saturday during summer.

There is one 10 km swim in December, February and March 2015/16. The proposed date of the first 10 km swim is Saturday 12 December.

 

B&B Fundraising Christmas Party

The B&B Christmas Party is on Tuesday 8th December at 6.30 pm in the Moonshine Bar (2nd Floor) at the Steyne Hotel. All swimmers and partners/friends are welcome (no under 18s unfortunately). The theme again this year is simply Christmas. So, come dressed in your finest Christmas paraphernalia. No need to be shy as we will have the whole bar to ourselves. Finger food will be provided by the Steyne, and drinks will be at bar prices. Lots of fun and dancing are guaranteed, with music by our own band “The Troubadors”, who have generously agreed to perform free of charge for us on the night. The cost is $10 per head, with all proceeds going to the running costs of the B&B. But that’s not all. Our charity partner, the Royal Far West Children’s Home, will be running a monster raffle on the night, so please come prepared to support them. Bookings are essential. Book HERE now! Don’t miss out on this fun event, numbers are limited.

Something Special

At the Christmas Party, we will have a fantastic lucky door prize – a Swiss made Australian OceanMoon watch valued at $490 - donated by Bausele Australia. To celebrate the occasion, Bausele will give a 15% discount to all Bold & Beautiful swimmers who purchase a watch on their website. To see their range of watches go to https://www.bausele.com/ehome/, and to activate the discount, just enter the discount code BAB15 when purchasing a watch.  Not only that, Bausele will donate 15% of the value of each and every sale on this code to the Bold and Beautiful. The Oceanmoon watch is ideal for ocean enthusiasts like the B&B swimmers, and features advanced ocean technology including water resistance up to 200m, moon phase, tide display and a 40mm face making it unique in its tracking of the Southern Hemisphere Lunar phase and tidal movements.

Staying safe

Remember that there are no badges for scaring yourself silly! While it is great to extend your boundaries, it is important to know your limits.  Also, if you have a bit more experience, keep an eye out for new swimmers who might need company. Do read these excellent tips on staying safe in the surf. To read, or even download, click here.

The Stats

Regulars:    > 100

Newbies:     some

Temp:           20.5