The Murray Rose Malabar Magic Swim

The Malabar Magic Swim was set up by Murray Rose, a champion swimmer. It’s called magic because this is how Murray felt when he swam. Murray died in 2012 but the swim continues.  



Murray Rose at the Malabar Magic swim



 

Louise Sauvage, Australian paralympian wheelchair racer and patron of this year's Malabar swim

 Most Australian ocean swims support the Surf Life Saving Clubs. The Malabar is in aid of the Rainbow Club, which provides swimming instruction for disabled children. This year around 1,000 swimmers took part. 

It was a cold and rainy day but there was still a large turnout for the 1-km and 2.4-km swims. This included some disabled swimmers and graduates from the Rainbow Club programme.  

Steve and Anne-Marie

 

 Superb water safety

 

 

Lots on show 

The water was quite cool for this time of year but very clear. The pumice that appeared on our shoreline a couple of weeks is still floating on the surface. The ocean was flat in the protected channel of Malabar but there was quite a swell once outside in the open water. I did the 2.4 km this time and had a lovely swim. The course was marked out well and as usual the water safety was fantastic. A bit of swell out the back it was fun rather than scary. 

A good chance to catch up with chums

 I’m with Judy Playfair who came first in the 60+ age group in the 2.4 km 

 

and here I’m with NSW Masters swim administrator Jillian Pateman (right) who came category second in the 1 km and the 2.4 km. Ingrid Reiger is in the middle.

 

There were some first class swimming performances. The winner of the female 1km and 2.4 km was Christie Krenkels andf the winner in the male 1 km and 2km was Kazmir Boskovic. Another outstanding performance came from  Wett One Damon Kendrick. Damon has one leg and is in the 50 years + category. Amazing!

 

 Here’s Damon. His puppy chewed the corner of his hat

 

 And here’s a puppy. Not Damon’s but a pretty special tri-colour collie.

 

North Bondi Classic Ocean Swim

 

On February 9, 2014, I entered two ocean swims at North Bondi , the 1 kilometre and the 2 kilometre. These were my last competitive swims at Bondi for the foreseeable future. North Bondi has a special place in my heart. It’s  where I started ocean swimming in 2008. I joined a group headed by Spot (mad-as-a-cut snake) Anderson of Bondi Fit. I learned how to get through the waves, take the rip on the way out and make a racing finish on the way in. I’m still rubbish at these skills but at least I know how it should be done.

This year I am not so competitive in my ocean swimming. Being two months short of the next age category, getting placed is unlikely. Also I have a shoulder problem and have been trying very hard to work on my stroke so it does not make the injury worse. This means bilateral breathing, long slow steady stokes, shoulder engagement, rotation and most importantly engaging the core (engage your core Lindy, engage your core). I consulted my shoulder about the North Bondi event and it said I could do both swims only if I “gan canny” (‘take it easy’ in the Geordie dialect). So canny I went.

Conditions were perfect: The water was 19 degrees with a 1-metre swell. It was clear and glittery. There were fish - and a pod of dolphins was reported (although I missed those). The morning  was warm and sunny and it was great to catch up with my ocean swimming chums. We had a sizeable contingent from my swim squad, Wett Ones, my regular ocean swimming cronies. Sid, my husband, swam too. Doing the two swims was a real bargain at $50. I did both.  The first at 9:25 was the 1-km (1.2 really). It went pretty well and I managed 24:12 which is an okay time for me. The 2-km set off at 10:30 and was beautiful. We swam across the bay to the point with the swell and back against it. The water safety was tremendous as per usual. I managed 43:31 - another okay time. No prizes but with a happy shoulder.

Thanks to Paul Ellercamp AKA Mr Oceanswim for the lovely underwater shot of me in my new flamingo cossie!

I am always inspired in these ocean swims by the swimmers, particularly the older swimmers. Swimming makes you live for ever, I’m convinced of that. We have swimmers in their 60s (almost me), 70s and even Dennis here who is 90 years old.

I think wistfully that this is my last Bondi swim as we are moving to the UK. It’ll be very different. There will be new swimming experiences, murkier, colder swimming experiences but no sharks, rips and thunderous surf. I’ll still live forever though. 

 

 

It’s water Lindy: A swim in Kupang

Don’t worry Borut Strel, DiveKupangDive is not your next swim tour competitor! I’m in Kupang, in West Timor Indonesia for work. I’m here for ten days staying at  T-More Hotel (T-Less I called it) working at the nearby university. I only move between the hotel and the University. At every moment in the near distance  I can see the turquoise tropical sea without the means to get there. It was not possible to walk, there are no taxis and the psychotic bemos manned by crackers teenagers are not an option. The hotel advertises a company that runs diving and snorkelling day trips. Salvation at hand! I’d been in Kupang over a week and no swimming.  By this stage water was the priority and concerns I usually have about boat trips (toilets) disappeared from my head.  I booked in for Sunday and I started to get excited.

The organiser, Donavan,  an Australian turned Kupangese picked me up at 7:30 on Sunday morning  fag in mouth. We drove to a small street stall where I had gave him the trip fee (cash) so he could then go and buy breakfast takeaways for the skipper. Hmm… is this normal practice? It’s water Lindy, forget it. Arriving at the jetty we waited for the two other trippers to turn up, a lovely Javanese  couple who had learned to dive a few months ago. I stood on the shore trying to guess which of the boats would be ours. Yes, it was the scabby one that looked like an asylum seeker vessel that plies these waters between Indonesia and Australia. No seats, and certainly no toilet! It’s water Lindy, it’s water.

Aside from us three trippers there was Donovan, his ten year old son and two boatmen. There was no waiver to sign, no insurance, no warnings about the dangers of ocean swimming. It’s still water Lindy. We headed off towards the nearest island, Monkey Island and anchored off the reef. Sadly we passed swathes of floating rubbish as we chugged along.  The three divers kitted up, leaving me and the ten year old. Hmm.. ‘If I get into trouble……?’ ‘The boatmen they can’t swim but the boy can’ replied Donovan.  Right. It’s water.  I jumped it. Oh did it feel good! It was wonderful! Said son followed me, a lovely lad but a poor swimmer and a crap snorkeler. He needed help a couple of times. I lent him my magic floating flippers which helped a bit. I wasn’t charged any extra for babysitting. services. But the snorkelling was very pretty. I saw lots of fish normally found in a heated aquarium. Certainly not seen in Sydney or, dare I say it, British waters. I saw sea cucumbers, beautiful blue starfish, clown fish, flying fish and some lovely coral. I got rid of the voluminous wetsuit given to me and spent an hour snorkelling and swimming. I then went for two more snorkelling swims and I have to say although not awe inspiring it was lovely.

On the divers second dive I watched and waited for the divers to come up, they were 15 minutes late and a storm was brewing. It was at this point I reviewed the wisdom of my decision to do this trip and I started to woryy about what if…. But up they came, the storm did not happen for a couple of hours and we reached port safely.  I really enjoyed the snorkelling but I don’t think DiveKupangDive is not quite ready for exacting German tourists.

 

A non-champ’s ocean race at Manly

  I’m not an ace swimmer. I wasn’t a swimming champ in my teens and I’m not one in my middle age. I tell everyone that I’m a distance swimmer, that I’m not fast and that I don’t worry about competition. But in the ocean swims I sometimes find myself placed in my age group. This is so thrilling!  It gives me a taste of what it would feel like to really be an elite swimmer. It only happens when the ace swimmers are off competing somewhere else or have something more important on. The Manly LSC Blue Dolphins is one such swim. For some reason a lot of the top-draw swimmers stay away. So, despite my lack of race preparation - missed squads because of visitors and a week of boozy late nights to celebrate my daughter’s Christmas visit - I dared imagine victory.

This ocean swim was 2km from Manly round a course in Cabbage Tree Bay. The day was perfect: small waves, no wind and clear water. I was in the 50+ category, men and women. After a rather poor start my vision of victory faded a little. ‘Not to worry, I’m pretty consistent,’ I thought, ‘I’ll catch up.’ I lost the bunch I’d been swimming with just before the last buoy and the vision of victory dimmed. On to the finish. I didn’t catch a wave in, (I never do). I staggered a bit when I tried to move from the horizontal to the vertical. ‘Never mind. A big chestful of air, head up and belt up the beach as fast as possible.’ It was at this point a fellow non-champ* competitor in my category started to overtake. ‘NO WAY!’ With a mammoth effort I changed into top gear and gave it absolutely everything I had. My come-uppance was nigh. I stumbled, fell flat on my face, just short of the finish line. Non-champ sailed past and took third position.  Defeat. I came fourth in my age group and spent the rest of the day sulking.

 

*apologies to non-champ swimming chum (really)

First swim of summer

Today was the first day of summer, December 1. What better way to welcome advent than a swim with the Bold and the Beautiful at Manly. It was a perfect swimming day, except for one little (wobbly) thing. The water was 19.5 degrees, clear and sparkly, the sun was out, the ocean was flat, and the fish were out in force:  Little ones, fluorescent ones, camouflaged ones (I missed them), cat-fishy ones and wobbly ones like this chappie here. Him and a bunch of his gelatinous chums had quite a lark wishing the simmers a happy Christmas in the only way they know,  the stingy way. Nothing too bad but I can still feel mine seven hours later.

 

Thank you to Snorkles, B&B blogger for the picture

 

A mid-week swimming treat (or two)

This week Sid and I decided to have some time in the lieu and set off on a mid-week, afternoon truant. We decided to go for a swim at the Drummoyne Olympic Pool, or Crummy Drummy as labelled by Mr Ocean Swims Paul Ellercamp. To me it’s not at all Crummy, more Scrummy in fact. However my vision impairment means I don’t notice the reputed low cleanliness standards of the changing rooms!  The Drummy is set against the bay in Drummoyne and has a lovely vista. The 50 metre heated pool is saltwater which provides a great swimming boost. So I can feel pleased with my swimming with thoughts like:  “I was swimming well today” and “I’m really fit at the moment,” conveniently forgetting the saltwater factor. 

We went on Tuesday afternoon. The pool was almost deserted and we had a lane each, what luxury. I had a modest swim trying to be nice to my swimmer’s shoulder. I used some toys to take the strain off my shoulder, nice light bendy flippers and a miracle kickboard that purports to do wonders for the core. Sid managed to do his whole swim freestyle. Well done Sid! We had a lovely swim, peaceful, warm and tranquil. On arriving home we discovered I had left aforementioned miracle kickboard on the poolside. “Oh no! this means we have to go back tomorrow” (I’ll remember this trick!). So, on the following day we had another mid-week truant to retrieve the miracle kickboard. It wasn’t there. Somebody had obviously recognised its supersonic core developing properties unparalleled by other kickboards, and snaffled it. Oh well, might as well have a swim then. This time we swam in the morning and it was a lot busier with the local kiddies having their learn-to-swim classes. It was still uncrowded though with around two swimmers per lane. Today Sid’s progress continues and he completed a longer session freestyle. I put in a 2.7 km swim and emerged brimming with endomorphs and happy feelings.

I am savouring these wonderful Sydney outdoor 50 metre pools. These swimming delights will be replaced by different swimming experiences next year with summer swimming in the UK. I’m also enjoying the truanting!

The Delightfully Damp Dawny Cockatoo Island Challenge

On November 17 I did the Dawn Fraser Cockatoo Island Challenge, a 2.4 km swim around Cockatoo Island. The island serves as an industrial museum and swimmers were treated to visions of cranes and warehouses en route.  Many in Sydney won’t swim in the harbour believing it dirty and full of dead things. Not true! It may be a bit murky but the water quality is good. Definitely no corpse encounters. Today it was warmer in than out with the water temperature at 20 degrees. We had a rain squall on the way around. What fun! 

This is my third Dawny swim and I am afraid my last. We are heading back to the North of England next year. I guess next summer will also see me swimming in squally rain (but very cold water) in the Lake District in Cumbria.

This is my first swim of the season and it was great to see my ocean swimming chums again. I have missed them over the winter.  This swim was also special because husband Sid participated in the 1km event. But he was still there at the end to cheers us in.

As usual the swim started in the water. The waves of swimmers were large and close together as the swim needs to be completed before the Sydney Harbour ferries start. We sighted on a “bloody big crane” as the course marshal described it, to take us around to the back of the island, then swam single file under a bridge at the ferry landing and along the back of the island. As we came around the other side the squall descended upon us. The sea got choppy and visibility was poor. As usual I lost my bearings swimming back from the island. Added to this there was a pull from the tide which added a bit of distance to my swim. Arriving at the jetty there were plenty on hand to help us out of the water. Then it was a quick massage from one of the sponsors and some fruit before heading off to a café for breakfast number two. Coffee and a doughnut, a right nice treat!