North Bondi Roughwater 10th January 2010

North Bondi - It was one of those days where it paid to enter both swims - and experience 2 swims in quite different conditions on the same morning.
The earlier 1k swim (1.2k?)was like a gentle paddle around an aquarium - no wave, calm sea, crystal clear water - following the schools of little fish and track marks of sea creatures accross the sandy bottom.
After the SouthEaster blew in mid-morning and chopped up the course, the organisers sensibly shortened the 2k course (1.8k?) and moved the 3rd turning buoy in from past Mackenzies point to give swimmers some cover from the worst of it. Water was still clear and could see the bottom all the way, but the chop all the way made the course much more challenging. Especially the trek to the first turning buoy -trudge 50m through knee-deep water then swim 400m straight into the chop with no assistance from any rip on the day.
The organisers were well-prepared for the extra numbers of swimmers this year - short queues at registration, wave starts on time and well-spaced, very little congestion - I had clear water in front of me most of the way on both swims, except for the "gate" - got caught up in a little traffic jam there on both swims - not sure what was the purpose of that little zig-zag turn near the finish. Plenty of fresh fruit for all and the presentations were right on time. Water safety was everywhere in their fluorescent green skivvies, some might say too much, after I almost rammed a surf boat that was stationed to shepherd me back onto the course.
I'm looking forward to doing both swims again at North Bondi at their next event in February
Time "1k" 26:34 easy / warm-up - time out spotting the little sea creatures
Time "2k" 40:09
Not so good, I've got slower in Dec/Jan, Need to get back on track with more doing more squads and interval training.

Newport 3rd January 2010

Newport 'Pool to Peak' ocean swim 2k
Quite tough conditions, Raining & choppy
Water warm about 23c
South toward the pool, into the swell and chop,
Then out to sea, then swam north with the southerly swell towards the peak and back to the surf club.
Went a little too hard sprinting after the 2nd last turning buoy, slowed down nearer the finish
Time 40.21

December Swims

Only 3 open water races in December, no swims in Sydney for the last 2 weeks of the year
- Bilgola Big Swim 1.5k
- Bondi to Bronte 2k
- North Curl Curl 2k
Total distance December swims 5.5k
There's more on next month, I'm looking to swim in 6 events in January
Need to put in some distance in training for a couple 5k open water swims end January

Bilgola, 13th December 2009

Tough conditions for an ocean swim.
Easterly chop all the way, difficult to get into any kind of rythm.
Only 4 waves of swimmers, big numbers in each wave, swimming close to other swimmers and boxed in all the way. Got bumped on the legs a few times and hit on the head twice. Had to wade through a thick raft of seaweed to get out.
1.5k swim, Went hard all the way. Navigation ok, hit all the buoys in a straight line. Time 32.12

Coogee

Lovely training swim around Coogee on Saturday.
Perfect conditions and clear water, could see the bottom almost the whole way.
Missed the group heading out by 10 minutes, for some reason they started on time today. No sign of them at Giles, 50/50 chance they went either North or East. I chose correctly and caught them at the Bommie. Bommie to Island, first time I've been on the nothern side of wedding cake island. Quite shallow there, Lots of schools of small fish and jelly blubbers. Island to Wylies and back to beach. Long swim today, In the water for about an hour.

Bondi to Bronte 6th December 2009

2k journey swim Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach

SE wind, Bit of a wave going out at Bondi
Big surf at Bronte
Good swim, went hard all the way
Navigation good, straight line to all the buoys
Time 37:46

North Curl Curl 5th December 2009

North Curl Curl 3 Points Challenge - Ocean Swim - 2k
Tough conditions
Overcast, green water, South East wind, Choppy.
Out from North Curl Curl surf club about 400m,
North along the cliffs towards Dee Why,
back towards South Curl Curl and into the beach.
Very bumpy along the cliffs. Feeling kinda seasick for the first time on an ocean swim. Took a few minutes on the beach to get my land legs, then ready to go around again. Wish all the ocean swims were like this.
Time 39:16. Good pace for the chop and conditions.