Well, what a glorious day it was at Balmain for the Dawny swim around Cockatoo Island... Balmain at its best, with a gentle but spirited nor'-easter blowing through the jacarandas, whipping up a few little whitecaps on the harbour, lifting the skirts of the glitterati in Darling Street, and an anti-clockwise swim around the island (see background above) for the first time... It truly was a beautiful day. About the only complaint was that the sales weren't on on Darling St, according to the laydees.
The same day before, the Cook Classic at Cronulla offered a 2km swim as well as the 1km. It was a glorious day then, too. We didn't get down there, unfortunately, ensconced over the barbie on the boardwalk at Dawny.
It was blowy at Redcliffe on Moreton Bay for the 1st inaugural Great Australian Swim, according to a tweet pic from @seppo311, a lass named Michelle. But the organisers tell us... "We had a bit of windy weather and light rain - made anchoring the buoys a challenge but we had a good turn up with an additional 50 or so walk up on the day - even in wet / windy conditions - a great start event and we can learn a lot from it".
Assuming, because it also took place in Moreton Bay, albeit at the southern end, it would have been blowy at Raby Bay, too. Our informant there told us so. But how did it go? Please tell us.
We'll have our Dawny report up later Sundee night.
Assuming, because it also took place in Moreton Bay, albeit at the southern end, it would have been blowy at Raby Bay, too. Our informant there told us so. But how did it go? Please tell us.
We'll have our Dawny report up later Sundee night.
But tell us what you thought... hit the Comments button below to tell us...
Second time swimming this great race and another really enjoyable swim. Thanks to the organisers for a great brekky afterwards :)
ReplyDeleteWindy choppy challenging Swim at Redcliffe. Inaugural swim went great and organized great too!!'
ReplyDeleteI love Dawny's because it's so well run. I guess the new ferry timetable put pressure on the organisers, but having the three waves, with a one-minute interval in between each, was fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWe were in and off before anyone had a chance to consider bull sharks cruising for brunch.
Going anti-clockwise possibly slowed some swimmers down because the tide was running out of the harbour. That's my excuse.
This is the swim that gets me excited about the rest.
Thanks for a great day.
Fantastic morning at Dawny, fast starts seemed to work well however, very busy in the 1km start...maybe 2 waves would be an idea for next year. Also to some of the swimmers who go hell for leather for 64 meters and then just stop and look up... multiple times , Please Don't!!!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent event and indeed the start to the season, better start training then I guess.
This was my first time at Dawny's challenge, and it wont be the last. My brother and I have down most of the swims over the years and we both agree it was the best organised out of the lot. My apprentice came with us for the day out...he got caught up in the pre swim excitement, ran to the kiosk, bought himself some goggles and swam the race in his underpants!
ReplyDeleteGreat day, great race... thanks to all involved
This was my first Dawny swim. What a wonderful day it was. The OS photos capture it all although I nearly clocked the photographer -- sorry! I liked the waves going off so quickly - it meant I was never alone. Everything was beautifully organised and the mangoes were sublime.
ReplyDeleteToo much to look at going round the island, I powered into third last place when there was less to see over the final 500m!
ReplyDeleteWell done again to the workers at Dawny....Top Darts!
Hi Good to see Dawny results out so promptly this year.
ReplyDeleteJust one little protest on the results, if I may.
My time for the 2.4k swim (#617) is incorrectly recorded on the 1.1k results sheet.
Same with all of the last 10 names on the 1.1k sheet (600-series manual entries), +35 minutes for 1.1k!
It would be good if those results could be corrected.
I would hate to give a free leg-up to any challengers for the distance tallies this season.
What a swim - after weeks of predictions from the elders and wisers about the evidently inevitable diesel fumes, ear infections, dioxin poisoning, inedible jellyfish and hungry bull sharks, it was excellent to get in the water and not be attacked, poisoned, or subsumed within a morass of harbour debris.
ReplyDeleteAnd in deed, what a pleasant surprise to be able to gaze - mid-swim - upon the remarkable and varied landmarks of the island itself. Not having done any swims in the harbour before this, I was yet to experience the wonder of swimming next to anything other than coast, beach, and the occasional cloud floating high above me.
And that being said, it was very strange not having to navigate to find the shortest possible route round the island, being on the rocks the entire time, and even slipping under the ferry wharf - I noticed a few naughty fellows doing this. Unfortunately I realised halfway under that the 20m gain really wasn't worth the the abject terror that was to be experienced in those darkened shallows.
All in all, a fantastic day out and one for the calendar - super location, great swim and crowd, and the generously tasty lunch the icing on the cake.
Congratulations to the organisers on such a great event, again. The whole event ran really efficiently and the BBQ is always a highlight, especially as it is free to swimmers. I like the way you organised the perfect day for us and told those pesky jelly blubbers they were banned from the top 1m of the water this year. I thought going around the Island counter clock wise made it more interesting. I am sorry now I didn't have a better sticky beak from the water. I have felt alone in this swim in previous years and have backstroked waiting for a girlfriend (Gail you will remember) - none of that this year - I never alone. The only suggestion I would make is you have someone forcing the whimpy lemmings into off the pontoon and into the water at the start so everyone in an age group makes it to the start line in time.
ReplyDeleteHey Richard,
ReplyDeleteThey did it to me too! I'm second last in the 1.1 km, but I swam around the bloody island. I'm sick of coming second last. I demand justice!
I can only reiterate the praise heaped on the organisers by previous blobbers. Another wonderful fun-filled swim, very well organised, and so very friendly. This was my first swim of the season and a very worthy start it was too. Particularly enjoyed seeing the jacaranda on top of the island. It was at its mauvacious abundant best this year, unlike last year when I was disappointed as it was past its best after the unseasonal hot weather prior to the swim. A plea to Glistening Dave to snap more jacarandas please as they are my favourite tree.
ReplyDeleteAnd special thanks to the organisers for laying on such glorious weather. Does anyone remember how horribly hot it was on the day of the Dawny swim last year? It was a stinker!
I forgot to mention the exemplary buoys used to mark the course. You couldn't miss them if you tried! Other swim organisers please take note.
ReplyDeleteCurious timing for Dawny swim. The official timing was approximately 3 minutes faster than I actually did and it's listed for the 1.1 km swim not the 2.5 km swim
ReplyDeleteFor all the fellows and felletes remarking on the quality of the buoys : I must admit that I also noticed that the 600m-diameter rock and concrete buoy -also covered with cranes- was particularly easy to spot.
ReplyDelete