oceanswims.com's North Bondi movie (click here)...
The Glistening Dave Pano... Yes, we know... He's done it again!
Bondi bay.
If you inflate it, they will come.
GD: I think this is Morris, pardon if I got his name wrong, Morris was the Channel 7 cameraman, who was at Bongin Bongin Bay, Fridee morning, doing a follow up story after the shark attack that wasn't, on Thursdee.
Indeed.
Some of our newer Stray'ans, our international visitors, milled around on the Bondi shores, not quite sure what to do with them. You can tell they're from overseas, can't you.
All these three, foreground, have or used to hold foreign citizenship. GD: Where's Killer, with his two story cossies, to give Celso a run for his mone? (Indeed, Killer was at North Bondi.)
GD: Now, is this gonna fit?
Just back from the Cahulawassee.
They're very fast, some of these swimmers.
Confessions of a Wettie Wearer Chapter 6
I'm going to be honest Thrill Seekers, I was very doubtful as to whether the Buxton Point to Point would even been on. Just like lots of our northern states, Victoria finally had an almighty downpour of rain that found people swimming down Flinders Street and cars stranded in awkward places. Facebook even had a new group emerge called “That Thunder Storm Was Crazy Melbourne!11.2.10” that went from 100 fans at 4.30pm, to 1,000 fans at 5pm, 10,000 by 6.30, and 25,000 fans at 12.09am. The numbers now are larger still.
With this in mind, I kept an eye on the club website and the EPA, fully expecting the water to be very polluted and of poor quality, as 300 storm water drains empty into our bay. Last check of the EPA website said water quality was “good” but advised people not to swim if water was discoloured, or if there had been heavy rain within 24 hours. I was confused, to say the least. Still, the club website hadn’t changed so I took that as a good thing, and toddled up to the registration at Green Reserve at Brighton.
Ah, so much Lycra, and I’m not talking about the swimming variety. Beach Road is home to hundreds and hundreds of shiny, stretchy Lycra varieties that come in every flavour you can think of. The amazing properties of Lycra really are an overlooked subject and are worthy of much dinner table conversation. A more bountiful bevy I have not seen since the Tour Down Under and although this has nothing to do with swimming, deserves a mention just because it distracted me from the looks of the dull, restless water.
Check in.
Back to the matters at hand.....
This year’s Point to Point race had two hundred and eighty-five competitors bash it out, not surprisingly sixty-two brave hearts fewer than last year. The skies were overcast, the water lumpy and murky, and also had competition from the Cowes Classic Swim-Run on at the same time. Looking at the stats, times were significantly slower than last year; the average this year was 28.09 mins, last year it was 22.45 mins and a very warm day. You just can’t compare the two.
This straight line course starts at Green Point Reserve, where we registered and suited up. Bags can be labelled and placed onto a trailer for transport to the finish line for competitors, just like many of the run/walks offer. A deep water start is definitely needed at this location, for the sea bed is rocky and full of sharp shells that could damage feet, especially in the flurry of a race start. Navigation here is not a problem at all; the numerous buoys are fluoro pink or yellow and very easily seen, even in the chop. This course runs parallel to the shore, only about one hundred and fifty metres away from the beach edge. So if you were one of those who were breaststroking in the middle of the race, you’d have the security of knowing the ejector seat button wasn’t that far away. Winds in the south easterly direction averaging twenty-five km/h proved a nuisance for those breathing on their right and the blubber jelly fish were around, although not frequently encountered.
Ready and waiting.
So apart from the course outlay, what’s different about this race? Despite the fact that men and women start together in the ten year age groups, the results are broken down into five year age groups and this for me is attractive. Not many of the bay races do this and for a person who likes to keep a training diary and plot my progress, this is a bonus. Now I can see how I’m actually going against people who are close to my age, and not eight years my junior. I race because I love it, I race just because I can, but I also race because in my heart or hearts, I want to grow stronger and improve. This format of racing helps give me training feedback and allows me to set more goals in the future.
Leaf litter on the underpass beneath the railway shows how high the floodwaters rose in recent rains: 5 steps.
Swims like this one lead me only to imagine what the swims along the east coast are really like. Today’s race was choppy, a bit like a washing machine and caused a lot of early fatigue amongst swimmers. There was more breast stroking than usual, I caught more swimmers from the previous waves than usual and there were lots more blank faces after the race. Just by my own standards, I felt sore towards the end, having recruited different muscles. The minute I finished with my sea beard, I felt heavy, tired, and flat. I knew I’d put in. I was craving sugar and something to eat well before my usual post race munchies. Today was the complete opposite to the glass like conditions of Dromana and I liked how I felt; sapped and challenged.
So what’s next for this little swimmer? Recovery session on Sunday, squad on Monday, more training during the week, then Cerberus at Half Moon Bay on Saturday. This will conclude the series I have been competing in and leave me with possibly another five swims to go. More fun and frivolity to be had, more training to be completed, more goals to be set. I’m happy with that.
Till next time Thrill Seekers,
“You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all. “
- J. Askenberg
Nicole Chester (AquaGirl72)
Follow the adventures of Aquagirl72 on her tweets (click here)
Waiting for the start.
Finis.
