It's the season's peak... Aquagirl and DolphinJo snagged 1st by 16 minutes in the Bloody Big Swim in Melbourne, Kaosvic bought books then lunch after swimming by Queenscliff pier, and on Sundee, a few hours into the future, over 1,700 swimmers will swim Palm-Whale. It is the season's peak.
Tell us about it... what was good about the swims, and what was bad about them... what happened to you?
The big swim was bloody beaut! Cloudless sky, perfect water temp with a refreshing cooler current at the back of Whale Beach to wake us up, no blueys, lots of lifesavers around watching over us, the usual delicious peaches and smiling volunteers hosing us down at the end ... What more could you ask for! Swimmers were organised in large waves so there was lots of unintentional body contact going out from Palm and coming into Whale. Part of the fun although it would be preferable if peeps didn't breastroke so vigorously under the breaking waves when we're all so close going out. I listened to the locals and made sure I didn't hug the headland thereby avoiding the worst of the chop. Last year was my first time. This year I appreciated the size of the headland and settled in for the long haul. This swim leaves you with a sense of achievement and is a lot of fun. J
ReplyDeleteSo who was the genius who stopped in the middle of the timing pads, reached out to the person next to him when I was one foot behind so I ran, throat first into an outstretched arm? Not all that appreciated when you're sucking in the big ones at the end of the race. Awareness people - and that includes random breaststroking as mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteBUT - thanks to the organisers for an awesome event with great organisation, weather and fun surf :-)
A great swim, but what happened at the start? There seemed to be some confusion about where to start and as a consequence the start line moved further south as each wave of swimmers entered the surf. Whatever.
ReplyDelete..I reckon the start needed to have the lady with the whistle who was policing pedestrian movement next to the drinks table at the finish.
ReplyDeleteIf Bronnie was being ignored and the hooter and microphone were on the blink...no worries...just get that lady amongst the boofheads making up their own starting line and she'd sort 'em out!
Tremendous day. Great organisation.
ReplyDeleteA thought for future years. The male 40-49 group was huge; around 350 starters. If those numbers are typical, maybe it's worth splitting this into two.
Can we do that again? Go Can Too!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shayne about the start. When the hooter went off I sprinted to the water (almost knocking over Bronnie in the process) and went out hard as Steve had told us to do the day before at the "in and out" training at Bondi. I thought that I must have been doing really well as I couldn't see anyone else around me. Then about half way out as I was ducking under another wave I noticed the rest of the ladies in my group were about 50 metres to the right! So once I got through the break I changed course to catch up with the rest of my group (while not getting too close to the headland).
ReplyDeleteBut it was still a great swim and I was pleased with my time (a few minutes better than last year - I had a shocker of a start last year too). Beautiful clear water, relatively warm (I only had the shivers for a little while afterwards), great organisation and enthusiastic volunteers (thank you to the lady that offered me the space blanket) and now I've got a whole year in front of me to get my start right for next year!
I enjoyed every part of The Big Swim yesterday
ReplyDeleteLoved the waves breaking at both beaches at the start and finish, Fun riding the rip carrying us out to the first buoy, Challenged by big chop around the headland, Cooled by a refreshing patch of colder water half-way, Pushed by the friendly swell towards the finish
I think I'm starting to get the hang of this ocean swimming now
The Big Swim holds a special place in my heart for it was this swim that fired my imagination and made me start to think about ocean swimming 10 or so years ago. I was listening to the radio one Sunday morning and there was a cross to the finish of The Big Swim. All of the swimmers had had a wonderful time, even the old bloke who lost his goggles in the surf on the way in, and I thought "I would love to do that; I wonder if I could." So I started training and attempted the next year but the waves were so big and were dumping so I had to give up on the idea that year. The year after I did my first Big Swim and loved it and have entered every year since except for one year.
ReplyDeleteThis swim has never disappointed me, never been dull and has never been the same. This year's swim was another challenge and another delight. Loved participating in this wonderful swim and enjoyed every minute.
The organisers do a top job and think of every detail so that we swimmers can enjoy ourselves, from the parking and bus service at the start and finish, the friendly check-in volunteers, huge glasses of water at the start and finish, the multitudes of water safety volunteers, and weren't those peaches scrumptious at the end! It was a fabulous day out in beautiful conditions - not a bluey in sight (I hope) which was very lucky after the pain at Mona Vale the previous week.
Thank you, Richie Stuart and your team. You have the art of organisation down to a fine art. It's a pity the next Big Swim is a year away!