Pacific Jules

Just beautiful!

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAYING INSIDE AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE DUE TO CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19).

 

It was the nicest sunrise and early morning sky as I made my way towards the surf club. We're starting in the dark now if we start early but the positive is the sun rises as you're swimming and there's still enough light to look around for fellow swimmers. It's nature at it's best to be in the ocean when the sun comes up over the horizon and more light descends on the bay.

It was lovely to bump into Ian and Pauline Forster, and this little pooch ran to Ian for a cuddle, straight onto tippy toes to say HI. 

The early morning meditators, I wish I had remembered , such a great idea.

Leveena and Shaun entering the water together, such a low tide today, it felt like we could have walked to Shelly.

That special sunrise with an early swimmer returning to Manly as I head past the point.

Thanks to Jenny I saw a wobbegong, gorgeous creature resting on the rocks.

Lots of fish everywhere and I believe some jimbles too, thank goodness they left me alone. These diamond fish were on the scenic route

This blue groper was feeding closer to the middle of the bay

There were turtles and dolphins in the bay today, just not when I swam or not where I swam, but some people had the joy of seeing them fly in and out as they do.

My return view:

Paloma and Paul were getting ready for a swim as I finished mine

Unfortunately this next photo has some water on the lens, which I couldn't see without my glasses.

 

News:

B&B is offering this unique, one off, Covid 2020 Winter Challenge Badge, kindly designed by our amazingly creative swimmer, Linda from Manly Mac Art.

To qualify for your Covid Winter Challenge Badge you need to swim 20 times across 7 different weeks of winter, between 1st June - 31st August.
If you are swimming at Manly, any time of the day, please continue to log your swim as Manly - Shelly Swim, this swim will not only count towards your Covid Winter Challenge Badge, it will also continue to count towards the Pacific Challenge.
If you are swimming in any other location, anywhere in the world, please tick your swim as 'Covid Swim', this will give you a special 19m on the Pacific Challenge and will count towards your Covid Winter Challenge.
Log your 20 (or more) swims without a wetsuit and you will be eligible for the special 2020 ICC (Ice Cold Corona) badge.

Ok, that's it from me everyone, stay safe and have a great weekend. ciao-edwina.

Friday 29 May 2020 Just Magic

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAYING INSIDE AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE DUE TO CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19).

Entry to the swim

There was soft rain out there today. Delightful

Getting ready to go in

These guys said that the swim was "Magic" and they were right

Easy to see swimmers if we wear caps

- see facebook for more photos!

Caps and Badges - One-off Opportunity

On Saturday 30th May, Ian and Anne will be at the benches (100 m north of the surf club) from 8-30 am until 9 am with the following items:

• summer badges (triple, 6 km, 10 km) and distance badges (500 km, 1000 km, 2000 km)  - $10 each (cash only please bring the correct money)
• silicone swimming caps ready for winter - $15 each  (cash only please bring the correct money)
• latex caps (free) if you have broken/lost yours or have friends/family who have just started swimming
• sign-up sheet for anyone who wants to sign up and start logging their swims.

What I am reading

Of course, as Michael Connelly's latest book Fair Warning, came out on Tuesday, that is what I am reading. The main character is not Harry Bosch but a journalist so a different take. Still going well so far. 

Thursday 28 May: From swim squad to friend squad?

I wonder whether our gang is a swim group who happen to be friends or are we friends who happen to swim? Are we are swim squad or a friend squad? For me I like the swim but I love the people. But I wonder what the rest of the group thinks.

So this morning I asked the gang 'What does friendship mean to you?" and here's what they said...

Click here:

B&B Friend Squad

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAYING INSIDE AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE DUE TO CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19).

Caps and Badges - One-off Opportunity

On Saturday 30th May, Ian and Anne will be at the benches (100 m north of the surf club) from 8-30 am until 9 am with the following items:

• summer badges (triple, 6 km, 10 km) and distance badges (500 km, 1000 km, 2000 km)  - $10 each (cash only please bring the correct money)
• silicone swimming caps ready for winter - $15 each  (cash only please bring the correct money)
• latex caps (free) if you have broken/lost yours or have friends/family who have just started swimming
• sign-up sheet for anyone who wants to sign up and start logging their swims.

Stay healthy...

Stay loved.

Pete Anthony

 

 

27-05-2020: clear as mud but dazzlingly clear

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE 

Thank you for swimming at different times of the day and maintaining 1.5m distance.

After the ferocious waves and gloomy skies of the last few days, this morning's clearing and dazzling sky made for a welcome change. Management Ian was photographed out the window of a moving car and is seen here packing up after an invigorating swim. Ian yelled across the road that the clarity below the water was not good but above, was perfect. 

 

The radiant South Africans were out in force joined by Jon and his friend. They had done an early swim and were well and truly warmed and coffee'd up by the time I dragged my sorry a** down to the beach.  As we chatted by the calm waters, Suzy warned of the bigger sets that had been coming through earlier this morning. I quickly realised there are some advantages to sleeping in! 

 

It's been a while since I've spotted the A Team looking happy, relaxed and chatting over coffee. This is because we are all swimming at different times and from different locations. While restrictions are easing, everyone is still very mindful of social distancing....

....as is demonstrated here by Clare, Jo and Georgina who'd enjoyed their morning swim and were heading home to get ready for work (or put their feet up and secretly watch Tiger King on netflix).

These lovely BnBers are also demonstrating social distancing. They did not have to rush off (as they have already seen Tiger King).

The lads and Louise were having a lovely catch up. There's no doubt about it - the pre and post swim catch up is as beneficial, if not more so, than the swim itself.

 

Roger had an attentive audience as usual and was no doubt relaying a funny situation he had found himself in recently, or not so recently, or even a good 60 years ago.

 

Anything goes in Manly...! 'Bye honey, I'm just off to ride a unicycle. Will be home soon!' 

 

Deb is looking very elegant in her matching green turban and chatting with her friend, Manly local, Mary.

Bindi is waiting patiently for a treat as Di and Derek demonstrate how to look cool in beanies while social distancing. Speaking of beanies....

...if you are keen to look this good and snug this winter then either let Di know or jump onto the insta page below and order yourself one of these beanie beauties. They come in all colours however Di ordered the pink because it looks like the BnB pink of course! 

It was good to see Peter turn up a bit later today too! He and I ventured into the water which was devoid of people by this stage. By the time we got to Shelly, it was pretty much empty bar a small group of Can Too swimmers. 

Then we noticed someone powering through the water to Shelly. A fellow BnBer, Inge, popped her head up out of the water and was on her last lap before heading back to South Steyne. 

 

We were delighted to get a few swim tips from her on the way back! We are pretty much ready to join the Olympic Swim team now! 😄 

It was a stunnng sky! Ok - you'll have to take my word for it!

On our way back we bumped into swimmer extraordinaire, Sue, who kindly posed for a photo with Inge and Peter! We didn't see Roger swimming with her today so he must have had a seriously long sleep in!

Post swim thaw out in the sun!

Richard is putting a BnB choir together. It's going to be called the DuskyEskys. If you didn't see Australian Story on Monday night, google it! Roz is listening intently and contemplating joining!

 

New DuskyEsky recruits!! 

Speaking of Russian, Fiona is learning Russian and is pretty damn good at it already. She and Cath had their hair done at the same salon yesterday! Thats got nothing to do with Russia but is an interesting fact! 😁

Last but not least - service with a smile. Shelley aka Mary Poppins protects JK from the sun, while Candice and Cath look on.

Stay safe everyone and have a great week.

Lucy

An important FYI:

Caps and Badges - One-off Opportunity

On Saturday 30th May, Ian and Anne will be at the benches (100 m north of the surf club) from 8-30 am until 9 am with the following items:

• summer badges (triple, 6 km, 10 km) and distance badges (500 km, 1000 km, 2000 km)  - $10 each (cash only please bring the correct money)
• silicone swimming caps ready for winter - $15 each  (cash only please bring the correct money)
• latex caps (free) if you have broken/lost yours or have friends/family who have just started swimming
• sign-up sheet for anyone who wants to sign up and start logging their swims.

Happy swimming

26/05/2020 - One of those 'So glad I got down there' days...

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE 

Thank you for swimming at different times of the day and maintaining 1.5m distance.

Our fearless couple Ian and Gayle don't let rain or wind put them off! They get down for a swim and chat every day and put a smile on the faces of many B&Bers. They know getting themselves down for a good dunk in that salty water will leave them refreshed and ready for the day ahead!

Although it looked very dull and dreary when I left home at 6.10am... when I got to the beach it looked really quite beautiful, as is usually the way...

The first people I ran in to at Shelly were...Inez and Jim, about to jump in the water. Jim has an amazing story which I recently listened to as a podcast on Karen Sander's Ageing Fearlessly radio program. An accident left him unable to walk and in a wheelchair a few years ago, but he defied experts and got himself not just walking but participating in endurance events! Some incredible people swim with us down at The B&B...

Then I see Barb and friend after their swim. Last time I saw Barb she had trodden on a Numbray at Shelly Beach and had a numb foot for 5 hours. After that she was fine though and laughs about it now!

Our little corner wasn't too wild. Similar to yesterday with some big sets of waves but if you timed it right you could get in and out quite easily.

Paul, Dave, John and a friend loved the swim too. No visibility today though so certainly no good for marine life spotting.

Drinky always loves a swim whatever the conditions!

I asked these guys how they felt after their swim. One of them said, 'like I could take on the world!'

Jon and Little Sarah have just bought an apartment in Manly so will be here a bit more than Hong Kong!

Lesbubbs was a little bit wary of going through the waves so I said we'd be careful and time it so we didn't get smashed...

Lesbubbs getting smashed ;-)

Lesbubbs is much faster than me and sped off to Shelly. I hung around out the back trying to get photos of swimmers. The water was really quite warm! It must have been 20 degrees in this spot. Here is the bold and fearless Jo who swims every single day without a wetsuit.

Here are Sterling, Jesse and Daniel coming in from their race, I mean swim ;-)

Rather a good one of Capless Dave, even if I do say so myself...

This could be Will and Tess or that could be the couple on earlier photo!

It's still great to see B&Bers staggering swims. Peter and Penny and Michele and Martin were other later starters today

Ian F recorded a water temp of 18.8 today. Here he is after a later swim

Ian's looking a lot slimmer than usual with his arms raised. He seemed to be quite chuffed with the photo when I showed it him at Bluewater ;-)

Great to see Rusty back swimming after his time away in England. Where is his swimming buddy Jeff today? Rusty is also 'Catch of the Day'! (See me for details). Also "Hello" to Mum Sue, who is probably reading this in Kent!

I follow Brian and his lovely partner down to the shore for a quick pic

Bruce and his swim buddy Pete looking very fit post-swim

Errol our fearless octogenarian always swims whatever the weather. Here he enjoys a coffee with John

Hope you get a swim in today folks. It's worth it and the sun is now out!

Lainey (still looking for another Tuesday blogger to help her out)

Sunday 24 May: Wind!

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE 

Thank you for swimming at different times of the day and maintaining 1.5m distance.

AND WEAR A CAP SO THAT YOU CAN BE SEEN BY OTHER SWIMMERS, KAYAKERS AND SURFERS.

Very quiet when I arrived at the surf club this morning.  The strong wind was probably the reason why people had stayed in bed.  It was hard to escape it, but the ramp and the steps at the bottom offered shelter.  Dribbles of swimmers entering the water:

Ann and chums looked radiant after their early swim, and reported good conditions:

However, as ever, Jo and I timed our entry with a set of waves, so we had to hang on tight to our goggles as we slowly made our way out the back:

A pod of fast swimmers were heading out of the bay and swimming wide, as if towards Freshie:

We decided against chasing after them, and made our way through the bay in the lumpy conditions:

Near the Bower I bumped into Nick with son Shaun and pal Sophie:

We watched a bird with a large wing span swooping around us.  Talking to Elizabeth later it sounded like she'd seen it too.  A few days ago I was swimming near halfway when suddenly a cormorant was bobbing next to me.  He then decided to show off by diving deep.  What a great life!

Sadly this wasn't the best day for visibility below:

But I found the Little Stripey Things near the pool:

Here's my foot:

We decided a halfway exit would be a good call today.  The tide was so high we could pretty much swim up the steps.  Elizabeth had had the same idea:

Back at the surf club it was time for the shift to change over, with Kerry, Kickboard Clare (minus kickboard?!) and Belinda heading in:

And I found Daphne!  Pictured here on the left with Sally and Jo.  As we all spread out our swimming times throughout the day there are some people I don't get to see very often, so it was lovely to catch up, even if briefly!

Then I felt something warm and wet on my feet.  I thought perhaps one of the B&B dogs was taking liberties, so I was relieved to see Lainey donating some of her hot water to me:

Thanks Lainey!

The world has been turned on its head in the last few months.  It's incredible how one event could have such an impact.  It's something I never dreamed would come to pass in my lifetime, and I'll look at the world differently because of it.  People say they didn't see it coming but I wonder, on reflection, if the signs were there and we chose to ignore them.

I'm referring, of course, to Jo's change of swimwear.  After just over four years of submersing the same swimsuit in the ocean, day in, day out, Jo recently went from this:

(*Photo taken pre-social distancing.)

To this:

It really does make you think.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Celebrating friends and turtles

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE 

Thank you for swimming at different times of the day and maintaining 1.5m distance.

AND WEAR A CAP SO THAT YOU CAN BE SEEN BY OTHER SWIMMERS, KAYAKERS AND SURFERS.

Today is World Turtle Day. The purpose ow World Turtle Day is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. What's more they are completely gorgeous.

It was cold this morning and I did not want to get up. It was warm here.

But get up I did. Eventually.

Bubble dwellers Ted, Lainey and Freddie

Some fine social distancing

Rushing to get changed and get warm

The word was that the water was warm but with mucky bits and zero visibility, so this is a Dry Blog. 

From the shore it looked lovely.

The bommies were going off in the distance

Dressed appropriately

Bluewater was fairly empty

The wall has been reclaimed

Here's some more of our favourites

I was at Dee Why yesterday. The surf was big and messy, You would not want to get dumped by this.

Have a great day, folks

 

Friday 22 May 2020 Same beach Vastly different conditions

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE 

Thank you for swimming at different times of the day and maintaining 1.5m distance.

AND WEAR A CAP SO THAT YOU CAN BE SEEN BY OTHER SWIMMERS, KAYAKERS AND SURFERS.

A very cold day today in the air. The water was warm. I am not sure as I did not have a thermometer but maybe 19plus. It was not very clear but despite the big rain last night, there was less litter in the water than yesterday. But that would not be hard. There was lots of litter yesterday. Remember to take 3 (or more) for the sea ie take rubbish out when you have finished the swim. The ramp concrete has not been heated. I expressed that wish last winter but it still has not been done. Priorities! 

There were occasional waves at the beach. The wind was across the top of the water. Lucky for me that I swim submerged - had I improved my technique I would have been cold. Also, the temperature at Shelly was freezing for the last 10 m or so. What is the scientific explanation for this phenomenon?

 

TURTLE TURTLE TURTLE - is the CBT inhabitant to spot. Juliette is summoning it by wearing her new swimmers with turtles on the top:  

If you see a turtle, Do not touch though.

Today some divers saw an angel shark which they said is like a wobby but broader. I could not see anything  - I look forward to photos being posted by the kind people that can see and photograph fish

 

 

What I have been reading: continuing the series of Breen and Tozer by William Shaw set in London in the 1960s. Good quick reading. And looking forward to the new Michael Connelly book coming out next week!!!!!

 

Thursday, 21 May 2020 - Life Down Under (deep) - Sepia apama

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING DUE TO THE RISKS OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH ADVICE 

Thank you for swimming at different times of the day and maintaining 1.5m distance.

 

 SSDD = Same Sea, Different Day

Thanks to Garry for set design!

Water temp: 19.2

Enjoy our wonderful Cabbage Tree Bay.

Take care of yourselves and be kind to others.

Wednesday 20th May 2020 - living la vida local

The flags are back!!! Bold & Beautiful may officially still be suspended but with the rules easing since the weekend, groups of 10 can congregate outside and the beach is officially open again! 

Swimming conditions at the moment are outstanding. Water is warmer in than out with crystal clarity making for many a magical species sighting. Coral and Pearl have invited a friend now they know more than 2 can be out at any given time.

 

 

Sitting on the wall is allowed again - what excitement!!!!!

 

Indeed - the fences are down too so they can also enjoy the sunshine on the newly laid grass!

 

All these newer relaxed rules and the mermaids realise they are missing a vital post swimming ingredient - coffee! For an instant hit, they head to Manly Point which has been heroically open throughout isolation:

 

Now on a mission, the mermaids are excited to rediscover the simple joy of sitting outside with friends at their favourite coffee spots post swim, so they start a local tour at Havana's:

 

2 coffee's in and needing something more substantial than coffee, the mermaids get to Bluewater before 9am and Coral and Pearl take advantage of the B&B special menu:

 

Then decide to stop for a third coffee & croissant at Rollers!

 

Running on a substantial caffeine high and gaining momentum, they get a welcoming wave from Little Legends:

 

Realising that they now have the caffeine shakes in the name of this b&b blog, the mermaids opt for a cold drink outside at Three Beans and also get a final wave signaling the end of this local coffee tour...

 

Last but not least - new rules also mean the mermaids can visit their friends! They highly recommend takeaway chicken burger from Bird and medicinal glass of red in the evening. Cheers B&Bers! Stay safe still!

 

Swimmers: Up to 10!

Mermaids: 3

Temperature: Delightfully crisp