Winter is the time of year to do those swims that you don't get time to do in summer. At least, we don't anyway. So over this winter, we've filled in some gaps. We've done some swims that have fascinated us for ages, swims we've long thought we'd like to do but, since there are no races over these courses, we haven't got around to them. Now, having done two of the three swims here, we can claim to have swum the entire distance from Shelly Beach at Manly to Long Reef, taking in all the swims along the way in which we've taken part, as well as a couple of informal exercises.
On Sunday, September 16, along with our Queen, Mrs Sparkle, our cobber, James Goins, and Fiona Nolan, we swam from Dee Why to North Curl Curl. A fearsome course, it runs along high cliffs between these two iconic beaches. A bit like the South Head Roughwater, only shorter. The water was around 17 deg C, turbid, unfortunately, so we didn't see much of the bottom until we lobbed off the point at North Curl Curl. But it was a lovely swim, and spectacular, gazing up at those quite stunning sandstone cliffs topped by some of the most desirable real estate in Sydney. Completing this swim gave us a good sense of achievement.
It was just on 2.5km, according to the oceanswims.com GPS-in-a-prophylactic.
Some very desirable real estate along the clifftop from Dee Why.
Below, two of our fellow peletoniers, Mrs Sparkle (left) and Fiona Nolan. James Goins was to the right, but, without our spectacles, we missed him out of the frame, inadvertently. Sorry, James.
A few months back, too, again along with Mrs Sparkle and James Goins, we did South Curl Curl to Queenscliff (see above). Like the Dee Why-North Curly swim, it's one of those courses that you might not feel up to in summer, what with nor'-easters bashing off the cliffs, and all. But winter offers more congenial conditions, like offshore breezes flattening the swells, and clearing the water. On this day, in June, from memory, the water was crystal clear. It was truly glorious.
Earlier in the winter, by ourselves, we did Windy Point to Cronulla, threading the needle between Shark Island and Cronulla Point. It's one of our favourite swims, if only because it's the first informal ocean swim we ever did, many years ago, with our cobber, George Cotis, the Greek Admiral. Water was turbid again this day, but there was a nice swell running and we got some nice waterview angles on the boardies off Cronulla Point. Not many in the water, although it was one of those glorious Sydney winter's days that make Sydney such a special place.
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