Monday, April 12, 2010

Autumn rolls on, in glory...

What a cracker of a weekend for autumn ocean swimming... on the South Coast of NSW, you could have a weekend ocean swim fest with Shellharbour on Sat'dee, Mollymook on Sundee... Can't or won't leave Sydney? Then Long Reef's re-run was Sundee. And in Qld, there was Hervey Bay and the new privately organised swim at Coolangatta...

We had a long day driving down to Mollymook and return, up at 4am, etc... but what a glorious day in typically autumn conditions. The South Coast at its best.

Tell us about your ocean-swimming weekend...

25 comments:

  1. Swam both swims and it was a great weekend for swimming.
    Great conditions and friendly people.
    Slightly dissapointed with Mollymook, got up at 6am to be there prior to registration cut off, which was advertised from 7.30am-8.45am, only to hear them still taking registrations past 9am.
    Swim was great though, but a very long day having to wait for presentations also until mid afternoon.

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  2. Samantha, Mollymook.April 12, 2010 at 12:29 PM

    Thanks for your feedback - it was a great day. Yep, regos did go past the scheduled time but hey, the line was long and we weren't going to knock them back - perhaps next year you could register on-line and take the stress off having the early drive. The presentations were actually wrapped up by 1:40pm - not quite mid afternoon. Yes, all in all a great crowd, a good swim and mother nature at her finest ! Samantha. Mollymook.

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  3. Longreef was spectacular - beautiful light swell over shallow reef with clear water.
    It was a true delight...and the organisation was great too. Not a tsunami in sight!

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  4. I drove down on Saturday stayed the night, really enjoyed the 2km swim, being short sighted I normally have a few problems sighting the bouy's.

    Mollymook was a great design, never lost track of the bouy's the entire race, well done organisers.

    Love the chilled out attitude of the country swims.

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  5. Longreef was well organised, thank you to the organisers.

    Will the results be posted this year given times were all recorded without the elctronic timing chips?

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  6. Got to love that Mollymook swim. Great mix of locals and tourists, including the Sydney hard core. Mad rush out to Bannister Head, long haul to the reef then a brisk clip to finish off at the club house. Mollymook was at its regular clear, gentle swell, rather than the cruel sea of 2009. Good short kids' race too. Seems this season is ending too quickly, Dave

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  7. Thanks Samantha,
    I did register online for the Mollymook swim with the understanding that i had to still have my name marked off by 8.45am, which i was more than happy to do.

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  8. The Mollymook organisers did a spectacular job. Being an upside-down map reader, I appreciated the five or so cylindrical orange 'guide' buoys and pointy white 'gate' markers along the course.

    Even though conditions were PERFECT, it was a challenging enough swim and seemed longer than 2 km (even with guide buoys I veered slightly off course!). I had to keep reminding myself of 2009, where I felt lucky to make it to the end!

    One of the many swim highlights was running out of the surf at south Mollymook with another swimmer, who insisted I finish ahead of him.

    Chivalry is not dead!

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  9. Rule 1. All swimmers must wear their prescribed CAP and race number. Why are there so many swimmers not starting with a cap?

    Look at the photos!!!!!!!

    This is a safety issue, not a fashion statement!!!!!

    When these swimmers get into trouble and are not seen, whos going to be left feeling bad. The rescue teams. Come on guys, if you want to swim, play under the rules.

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  10. Did the Shellharbour swim on Saturday again this year and I have often thought that there calculation of 1.2km was a bit off the mark.

    I just did a rough plan of the course on gmap-pedometer and it calculates at about 1.7km.

    That makes me much happier as I always wondered why I struggled with such a short swim.

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  11. Loved the generous hospitality and the especially the course this year at Moolymook. Keep that course - it's a gem and also uniquie. M for Mollymook!! Please invite the dolphins to hang around a little later in the day for next years swim. Thanks to all your cheerful volunteers. Good job and what a beautiful spot you have.

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  12. Agree with Anonymous that the Shellharbour seemed longer than advertised, but I would have been happy to swim back to Sydney on such a brilliant day.
    The swim was well organised, locals about the friendliest people you'll meet and negotiating the moored boats at the start was a unique experience. The presenation was prompt and with so many random prize draws, you were actually unlucky if you left empty handed - which I did.
    The only disspointing part of my day was that my wife decided not to attend. Therefore, I missed the opportunity to have my photo taken running up the beach and across the finish line next to Luane Rowe - a phenomenal swimmer and a cracking good sort !

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  13. Another great swim at Hervey Bay - relaxed atmosphere, beautiful beach and hosted by the fantastic Hervey Bay SLSC members. Caters for all with a 3.4k and 1.6k swim.

    Great option for our southern cousins if you are up this way early April!

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  14. A serious suggestion - can we get a close/blow up of Blackeye Dave's eye at Mollymook - it looks like he's still a bit one-eyed these days - can he swim straight?
    To Anonymous can I say that this blog is more enjoyable, and logical, when we at least have first names to all the words. I've made a joke, or 2, but no-one gets upset. Trust. Reveal.

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  15. Another cracking Mollymook swim hosted by organisers who really appreciate the effort, and make welcome, Sydneysiders who travel down for the event. Two quick points:

    1. Why can't all swims use the same bouys as used at Mollymook? Tall cylindrical and visible from outer space.

    2. Some of the advertising material for the swim promoted this as the 8th Mollymook swim. This was in fact the 9th, with the first swim being held in 2002. As someone who has competed in all 9 swims I look forward to the 10th next year.

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  16. Thanks to Shellharbour and Mollymook for putting on friendly, well organised swims. You guys have paradise as your backyard and we always look forward to visiting you every year. See you next year!

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  17. Samantha, Mollymook.April 14, 2010 at 4:53 PM

    Thanks for that Shaun, will look into those year dates - may have to make it a celebration for 10 years next year (if that is the case) - add something a little special ! Any suggestions ?

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  18. Took a sabbatical from my weekly merriment, I must have been anencephalous. Reverting to back to my addiction this weekend, infatuated with the autumnal weather.
    Nousi Sitruuna

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  19. anencephalous: characterised by partial or total absence of a brain


    Not that I didn't know that already...

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  20. As one who helped organise the Shellharbour swim, thanks for the positive comments guys, we love having you down here! Wait till next year when our new clubhouse is fully functional, we should be even better organised. Wrt buoys, as a little short sighted myself, I find the tall buoys work best for navigating, but we borrow them from the local yacht club -hence why some swims probably don't have them - not your normal club gear!

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  21. Distance for Shellharbour was set with a GPS - with the aim of trying to ensure the buoys weren't too far out/way off course. They tell me it was 1.17km from harbour mouth to beach and therefore put the entire course at a tad over 1.2km.

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  22. I swam both Mollymook and Shell harbour swims and they were fantastic. Beautiful days and well organised. One small constructive criticism for mollymook, and this can be used for all ocean swims. Try not to have caps the same colour as the cans. Orange caps and orange cans make it that much harder to navigate for those of us not leading the pack.

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  23. Has anyone seen results for the Mollymook Swim?

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  24. im with shaun lets make next years swim the 10th Samantha is checking
    facts and figures on that point .President of our surf club said we can open the main hall for a sleep over next year so pack the slippers,swag, toothbrush and get on down this way.thanks everyone swimmers ,onlookers ,parents ,spouses for coming and making the day sooooo special. massive thanks to water safety crew .Big thumbs up to col parkes and the 2 IRBS crews from Culburra,Loyd Smith and the rest of the burra swim team .Great to see you guys. .see yas all next year

    its not over yet im going to Curly next sat then byron 2 weeks later
    and lets smash a few of these cooler swims even if you have to woose it
    and wear a wettie.

    pleasant strokes to all

    regards Jim Betts
    mollymook swim crew

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  25. Are mollymooks results going to be posted soon...??

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