Here's a special surprise for you: some of you will remember Satit Staponset, a Thai swimmer who used to appear regularly at swims in Stray'a and New Zealand. We've even seen his name pop up in the results of the Alcatraz Challenge Aquathlon. Satit is, as he descibes it, "addicted" to ocean swimming. So much so that, one weekend a few years back, he flew from Bangkok, through Sydney to Auckland, drove down to Lake Taupo, did the Across Taupo Relay swim, drove back to Auckland, flew to Sydney, did the Sydney Harbour Classic, caught a cab to Dee Why, did the Dee Why swim, and the last we saw Satit and his kids and bride, they were waiting at a bus stop in Dee Why for a connecting bus to fly back to Bangkok on Sunday night. Satit's wife worked for Thai Airways, you see, and the family was the beneficiary of cheap airfares. Mrs Sparkle and Fifi la Stupenda met Satit when he walked into the Laydies change rooms at Dee Why looking for his wife, who had his finishing time ticket.He needed it, he said, because "they think I don't come back". Quite right. We've even run into Satit on the wharf at the Newcastle Harbour Swim. Anyway, we haven't seen Satit for a couple of years, and now we know why. Satit sent us n email, with these and other pics. And we are pleased to see that he has turned his two daughters into swimmers, too. These are pics of Satit and the girls at a triathlon in Thailand (see below). It's an inviting course, indeed. Satit tells us he hasn't been to Stray'a in a while because the Stray'an embassy in Bangkok treats him like a "terrorist". As Satit puts it, "I stop to do oceanswims in Australia for the past three years.
Because I feels terrible with Australia Embassy in Thailand.
They act to me like I am a terrorist.
Even I used to pay just tax $25,000 annually for five years,also donation for World Vision accordingly.
Those people in the embassy make me stop from my addicted," "addicted" being ocean swimming. He is a good man, Satit. He used to compete with his company name scrawled across his belly, for tax purposes, no doubt. But, hey! He was a nice bloke, a friendly face, and he always had his bride and kids with him. We hope you get back here soon, Satit. You're a colourful personality who enriches our ocean swimming culcha.
Here, the swim course at a triathlon in Thailand.
Glistening Dave's suggested caption: "Bilgola roast being delivered for the after swim festivities". This is why he is taking the picchas, as he likes to call them.
It was a big day at Bilgola. Not all the time, but certainly when the sets came in. That's what got Mrs Sparkle, who was picked up by an enormous swell and dumped on a Bilgola SLSC member who was swimming. He was holding onto the bottom, and she was tossed around by the swell, slamming hard up against his head. At the end of the day, he was left with a cricked neck and tingling down his left arm, and Mrs Sparkle with a broken rib. It hasn't quietened her down, however. One should hear her right at this moment, at the time of writing, when we are tap tap tapping away at our keyboard, and she is bopping away on her sick lounger watching the Countdown Spectacular.
Happy? More likely, relieved to be through that break and out the back.
Yes, there is a mug lair in every peloton. This time, Glistening Dave himself, freed of his own Brownie Starflash, has ours turned on him. Dave is sporting Fully Sick goggles from View, which you can buy for yourself by clicking here.
Why did we run this one, when we couldn't see this punter's face, thus identify him? Look at his hand position, his body position, how high in the water. We hope his elbow and his wrist are ok.
It's amazing how these characters, no matter how intent and intense their swimming, always find the opportunity to throw a generous cheerio.
Why did we run this when we can't identify the punter? Because of the hand position and the water sculpcha, that's why. And because of the water safety laddie, his eyes never leaving his prey, whatever it is.
The workers.
This will give you some feel for the the swell out there.
Some people can be quite hurtful when they swim past.
A taste of the melee at sea.
No wonder the course announcer, Murray, had had enough at the end of the day. Look at all the clobber they piled onto him. Oh, my goodness, there were some ugly people at Billie this day!
We were going to run a competition to see who could match the tootsies with the glamours (see below), but then we realised that, were we to press on in that direction, we really should have mixed up the order of the best spunks of the beach at Billie, so you'd have at least some re-ordering to do. But who are they, anyway?
... And they are, left to right, Sue Crowe, manager of View Swim Gear, the ocean swimmer's swim gear (click here to get your View swim gear now), who may well be the only swim gear proprietress who actually swims, thus knows something about what she's talking of, Our Queen, Mrs Sparkle, who left Bilgola with a broken rib, and the very beautiful Katrin Jonsson.
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The James Squire Feedback
Send us your feedback on The Bilgola Big Swim, or on anything else on which you'd like to vent your spleen ... so long as it's related to ocean and open water swimming. Loosely related, anyway. Maybe someone who has something to do with the feedback swims, or swam once upon a time. Or maybe they know someone who swims. Or they might live near a beach. The feedback section is for swimmers to raise issues and make constructive comments about ocean swimming matters. It also seeks to encourage debate about events and issues of interest to ocean swimmers, wherever they may be.
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Latest winner of the James Squire Feedback award? Mark Aldridge, who railed against the lack of water and oranges at the finish of one of the biggest swims in Stray'a, Bondi-Bronte. Click here to read Mark's Feedback.
If Mark contacts us (click here), there will be a case of James Squire winging it's way, so to speak, to him.
Read feedback already received.
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Pics by Glistening Dave and oceanswims.com
RESULTS STILL TO COME
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