Wednesday 8th of June - we love a magical Sydney winter.... cool air & warmth of friendship
This is a picture of the Mermaids and manmaids jumping for joy at swimming in our magical winter wonderland, with a tinge of sadness as Dan, the original manmaid, last swim (for now).... As we swim this morning, Dan and Sam are en route to France for a well earned holiday before Dan starts his new job in the UAE - we are hopeful he will find ,or better still start, a swim group - Perhaps given the hot weather & warm water, it can be the Bold, Boiling (hot) and beautiful? What we are grateful for, is that our friendships & our beautiful community do not need borders and COVID reminded us that connections can continue creatively and without the bounds of time, through the virtual world. Whilst we will miss Dan, we are excited for him to share his adventures with us and perhaps an excursion to the UAE is in order!
Dan getting splashed as he enters the water - why not?
I had planned for this blog to be "the search for a new manmaid". Pleasingly, or disappointingly for anyone who had their sights on replacing Dan as a manmaid, the position has been filled already by someone who fit ALL the stringent criteria & survived a tough series of interviews and challenges (as made up on the fly by we mermaids) - and Dan generously provided a handover to him yesterday :) .... we are waiting with interest as to whether he will succumb to cheat shorts........
New manmaid Des, with my cousin talia (all the way from singapore - swam without a wetsuit despite a 10+ degree water temp drop for her), & mermaids simone & Jo
Whilst some in our community travel North into the summer, we are enjoying winter - invigorating, liberating, brown-fat creating, nourishing, clear, calm, freezing (ok, not yet but its coming!) waters of Magical Manly. Winter so far has gifted us many days of off the charts magical beauty, mother nature at her finest (with a few little challenges thrown in to remind us who is boss). Crested horn and Port Jackson sharks are starting to return, cuttlefish are rather uninhibited in their zest to reproduce, the majestic graceful Grey Nurses are cruising with their escorts of yellowtail (great strategy to stay away from larger yellow tailed fish!), the groupers are still teasing us .... and of course there are the coveted Winter badges, and the ultra coveted winter without wetsuit badge!
the 7am swimmers infusing the liquid gold
Here are todays stats - coming to you from my 6:30 swim …
water temp: 18.5 degrees (slowly dropping!)
air temp at 6:30am 10 degrees
conditions: smooth and silky
vibe: warm and fuzzy
creatures & interesting sights: cuttlefish, grey nurses & their yellowtail escorts, the whole aquarium came out to play!
During the arctic vortex last week, a very creative Sydneysider wrote into ABC with a poem entitled "i hate sydney winters" - a few familiar B&B swimmers had politely disagreed in response to that post, so ive created one with my feeble attempt and apologies to Dorothea Mackellar:
We love a Sydney winter,
the (mostly) crystal clear waters in which we swim and train
invigorating, brown fat creation
and winter badges to gain
we (subtly) watch the mating rituals
of cuttlefish and port jackson sharks
the grey nurses cruise the bottom
groupers tease us, just for laughs
we love winter sunrise swimming
hearts warming from liquid gold as it pours from sun to sea
and after, the warmth of friendships, coffee, ugg boots, puffers & HUGE happy smiling faces
Where else would we rather be? *!
*(ok maybe skiing... but for now lets keep it at swimming)
my swim buddies today talia (visiting from singapore & no wetsuit - impressive since the water is 28 degrees!), and mermaids Davina and Sarah M - all happy to be infusing vitamin sea - the best start to our day!
So as the days get shorter, the nights get longer as we lead into the winter solstice (and the famous solstice swim), as the mercury drops we warm our hearts to share comfort, joy and energy with others who need it.
stay safe, be kind, look out for one another, and have a wonderful Wednesday,
Jocelyn
and now time for 2 announcements:
1 - the monthly dinner - again another of our swimmers generously giving her time to share her knowledge & expertise with others:
B&B monthly dinner – Tuesday 14th June 2022
The speaker at our next monthly dinner, to be held on Tuesday June 14th at Bluewater Café at 6.30 pm, will be one of our swimmers, Dr Caroline West. Caroline, one of Australia’s best-known doctors, will explore the science behind memory improvement and what we can do to keep the brain young - simple steps that may really surprise you. Caroline is well known for her extensive medical media work in print and TV which includes reporting and producing for Ask the Doctor, Catalyst, Beyond 2000, Good Medicine and 60 minutes. Most recently she has been posted in Broken Hill working with the Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Service as well the Flying Doctor Service.
The cost of the dinner is great value at only $30 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 (please note, NO BYO). Bookings are essential, so to avoid disappointment and secure your spot please book HERE.
2. .....and speaking of winter badges:
Winter swimming
The Winter swimming season is finally here! Although the water temperature may be a little colder than you might like, there are several advantages of swimming in winter, including flat seas, good visibility and no bluebottles. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that you can also qualify for a WINTER BADGE by swimming a minimum of 20 times between 1st June and 31st August. You must also swim in at least 7 different weeks. If you manage to do all of your qualifying swims without a wetsuit (or other thermal enhancing equipment), you will also qualify for the coveted WWW badge (Winter without wetsuit). Start now, and don’t forget to log your swims to qualify.
Recent Comments