Wednesday 15th February - the day after the carnage & the power of mother nature & Posiedon is still on show.
At 6am when I arrived for "Dolphins" clubbies board training (not really knowing whether we would be able to actually go in the water given the conditions of the last 2 days!) it was dark, the sky was full of moody clouds, painted shades of pre dawn magical purple with a pop of crimson as the sun attempted to send its warming rays our way... we could hear the surf, but the breaking waves were blurs of white & grey in the pre dawn. With safety of each other, care and respect for the ocean and its lessons we waited until light, and ran on the beach until then (the lesser of the two evils!).
Water temperature: 22.0 degrees
air temperature at 6am: 19.3 degrees
conditions: messy, Gabrielle is not finished with us yet!
Vibe: cautious, safety first
number of swimmers: low!
Gabrielle was still making her presence known, although at a lower intensity. Mindful of yesterdays conditions and near misses, and respecting mother nature (and Gabrielle), Drinks gave the 630 crew a talking to, reminding them of the four key safety messages:
1) the lifeguards are not on duty, so they are not going to rescue you at 6:30 so swim to your ability
2) if you swim out and feel uncomfortable, you can always swim back to the beach and go to the bower or shelly
3) dont talk anyone into doing something they are uncomfortable with
4) dont be talked into doing something you are uncomfortable with
I encourage you to watch the video Greg Cole and drinks put together - its on the B&B facebook page and contains some VERY important tips and reminders about ocean swimming & safety.
Chris was the sole manmaid swimming, and made it safely back noting it was hard but not as tough as yesterday
Duncan, Reid, Drinks and Simon (3rd in his age group at the 2km Cole classic!) swam within their ability (which is good!) and after Drinks' safety message this morning.
Isabel (Zig Zag - I know how she feels!), Nicola, Fiona and Ingrid swam within their abilities, from Manly or shelly as they felt comfortable
The General and the Terminator swam from manly - on a pipe-shelly - pipe return - well within their abilities - at 6:13 precisely
Driver, Shanny, Love Songs, the Doctor and Radox also swam within their abilities
Welcome back lainey who swam from shelly and rescued a number plate covering (WTF?) which doubles as a picture frame?
Ian (swam out from Manly, in at the bower) & sooo good to see Super - Manmaid David "DC" Collins who is VERY lucky to still be with us after Poseidon sent Gabrielle and Triton to create waves of torment yesterday.
DC sustained horrific injuries whilst swimming out yesterday, and after hearing his first hand recount today, and that of others who witnessed it, the fact that DC was here today is remarkable & shows how resilient DC is. After the wonderful TLC at Northern Beaches hospital, DC was discharged and despite everything he went through, still smiling. We were so pleased to see him back at the beach today for a coffee; beaten and broken in body but not his sense of humour and tenacity. DC - the entire swimming community sends you loads of healing energy for a full recovery in mind and body, and hope to see you back in the water soon (until then we will buy you coffees!)!
and finally, canines oblivious to the conditions, waiting for their humans to return for ear rubs!
have a wonderful Wednesday, take care, look out for each other, look after each other, stay safe and follow your gut feel - its OK to feel uncomfortable in the surf and absolutely OK to swim from the bower or shelly if thats what you feel like - showing up is the first step and any infusion of vitamin sea is always going to be good!
take care,
Jocelyn
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