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Bridge to Beach Swim, Sunday, March 9, 2008
Escaping from Luna Park
... Or was it the zoo?

 


Early Sunny morning on Sinney Harbour. Wouldn't be dead for quids. Thank you, Glistening Dave.


Gee, Glistening Dave is such a talented photo drunk that he can even make Blues Point Tower look an impressive structure. Indeed, Blues Point Tower is impressive, but for all the wrong reasons, as a rule.


The rising sun awakens the druids, who head for their altar in the harbour.


Mrs Sparkle was lead swimmer for the Fathersteam, although, strictly speaking, she is not a father. We are, but we were not allowed, under any circumstances, to swim, just like on the way to Rottnest Island a couple of weeks earlier. Interesting aspect of Mrs Sparkle here, in her favourite pose, ie head down into the water. What is that interesting aspect? Check out the calves. See the difference between them? Mrs Sparkle, genetically, has wonderful, generous calves, but her accident coming up to three years ago, when she shattered her left heel into 20-odd bits, has left the left one withered, by comparison. What she does considering all that truly is remarkable.


We remember, not that long ago, when this building was just a bluff, a little cliff, on the end of McMahons Point. We never dreamed they could fit so many dwellings into a space like this. But, hey, that's why we're not developers ...


The solo start, or the solos wait to start. Yellow caps all except that one discordant pinkie. What's it doing there? Should it have been there? Did anyone in authority notice, or do anything? Or care? One thing's for sure, they say on the North Shore, you can't trust a pinko!


Milling before the start.


Under an icon.


This is the spot at which the torrent of water rushing into and out of Sydney Harbour is at its most ferocious. Yet again, this swim was run into an incoming tide - a tradition for the Bridge to Beach, it seems - but the tide already had eased as it neared its peak. Not so much of a problem this year.


"Is 'e 'avin' a laff?."


Off to Manly.


Glistening Dave's unique talent at evoking ... well, evoking; just that, makes it look as if this could be the bridge construction workforce heading to work in the 1920s.


Another couple of gems: Birchgrove, Long Nose Point, with the City of Sydney looming imperiously. But isn't it noice that you can have a big, big city like this, yet within minutes you can seek refuge in such a beautiful place as Long Nose Point on Sydney Harbour? This really is a stunningly beautiful place.


off to the pub.


Yes, here they come ... the paddlers started quite some time after the swimmers, so that they'd all get to Manly around the same time. And what do you notice about all of this lot? What do they all have in common? That's right: they both have two hands on it.


Jane Gillings, shortly after the start, was wondering what the hell she was doing there. But she did it: by far, easily, the longest swim she's ever done and, as we gathered afterwards, well away from what Jane thought, at the start of the season, that she'd be up to on the way through. Well done yourself, Jane. Now, see Jane swim ...


Mrs Sparkle had some wonderful, personal moments in Sydney Harbour early on Sunny morning.


This year's mug lair swimmer: Peter McRae. Go on, Peter. It's your turn ...


Water sculpcha.


A couple of Tosssers: Clare Payne and Kylie Elbourne.


Manly in sight. And a helicopter from the telly.


Graham Mundy (hiding under the hat, with the beard) and cobber paddling to support a swimmer from the Sutherland Shoire.Not sure what they'd have done had they actually been required to haul her out of the water into the boat.


Our skip: Cap'n Glynzo, dual citizen of Gladesville and Bologna. He married an Italian, and through one of those quirky idiosyncracies of Italian law, this qualified him to become an Italian, too. So he did. Go figure. That's probably why he's wearing his swim cap sideways.


At Manly, life awaited us.


A bit out of order, but haunting nonetheless.


The usual suspects line up for the preso. And some not so usual ...


Glistening Dave at his best again. They didn't mount these bier steins on the ceiling just for Dave's edification, either. This is how they store them normally. It's an interesting location for the Bavarian Bier Cafe. One could say they're privileged to be there. One also might expect they would be glad of any of us mugs wandering into the place prepared to fork out the outrageously pretentious and over the top $9.70 a stein for a grog at this place. Not so, evidently. For (the lass in the photo  aside, for we did not meet her ourselves on Sunday after the Bridge to Beach Swim,and she certainly looks here to be a very pleasant person) the Bavarian Bier Cafe must go down as having the unfriendliest staff in Sydney. It happened to us last year - so we should have learned - and it happened to us again this year: as soon as we went to sit down at a table outside this place, some officious northern European backpacker - "Quick! Check his work visa before he knocks off!" - slapped a "Reserved: sign on our table, told us to go away from it because it was reserved and to go inside, not even stopping to say it to us, but sneering it over his shoulder as he disappears to the other end of the patio. We wouldn't move. "We might be happy to eat," we said to him, when he came back a few minutes later to have another go at us. "It's Reserved .. it has been reserved for three days!" he claimed, wrongly, as we saw. Wrongly? Or was he lying? Some ill natured banter went between us. Eventually, we moved inside, where we hung about the very crowded bar for two more hours, drinking German grog at $9.70 a stein. You would think, as we say, they'd be glad to have us. The barmaid (not the one above, a different one), slammed our beers, quite literally, down on the bar in front of us , not so much through hostility, more through indifference. It seemed everyone at the Bavarian Bier Cafe had dedicated their Sunday's to making us feel welcome. Mrs Sparkle proferred a bier voucher, issued to swimmers for a free beer, for this miserable place was a sponsor of the Bridge to Beach Swim, but another barman ignored it, bringing her back not the free beer indicated but another $9.70 stein, ignoring her protests and insisting she pay. Unfriendly? The staff of the Bavarian Bier Cafe? Unfriendly is too slight a word. But, silk purses from sow's ears, here's what the Glistener turns out anyway. He really just is interested in his art, is our Dave. They don't deserve him at the Bavarian Bief Cafe, making their place look so much lovelier than some of their staff - not the one above - allow it to be. Oh, and when we left, two hours later, in time to get back upriver, to beat the hoon boats that were to close the harbour, the table sat there still, empty, its "Reserved" sign hubristically warding off any advances that might bring it to life.


All done for another year. Preso over, swimmers in, paddlers still with two hands on it, somewhere ... The Last Picture Show.

There, there, there and there again by Journeyman Alex Prendergast ...

Much to my surprise when I turned up for the fourth Bridge to Beach swim there was a crowd. Not just a little group of cold, nervous swimmers but a buzzing crowd of swimmers and their support crew. The marshalling tent was organized and quick sort out our tags. The briefing was thorough and there were a lot of very excited punters lining up for their 1st, 2nd, 3rd and in cases 4th Bridge to Beach swim.

Firstly I must apologise to all in earshot for the Tiger shark jokes as a few of the younger ladies were not happy with the humour “sorry everyone”.

Now the Bridge to Beach is a great event to participate in but previously there were some organizational concerns but after this years swim I cannot encourage enough swimmers to try it. The pre-race briefing covered all the important topics on a very loud announcer and believe it or not we were in the water and away on time. Great stuff because as the morning drags on the NE down off Manly can make the last 2km a bit choppy so the earlier you get away the better.

The first leg of the swim journeys up the main harbour channel under the Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House, on to Fort Denison, Garden Island whips (for the leaders) past and finally to Dobroyd (spelling is not my long suit) point. Now I cannot stress this enough for anyone that does this swim. STAY OUT OF THE MAIN CHANNEL (I will repeat this later)!! Every year we have been punching into an on-coming tide and FYI the thinnest part of the Harbour is under the Bridge and past the Opera House hence a nasty head on current. There is also a mean current either side of Fort Denison as everyone found out a few years ago in the Harbour swim.

Now, for some reason all the elite swimmers went close to the point (I think I saw them in the distance at some point early in the race) but all the rest seemed to go wide. Trust me, don’t do it! Although my Tony Greig water testing key sank the water through this section of the harbour is well yuk… unfortunately we had rain in the lead up to the race and that did not help. Now, when I say yuk it’s just murky with a bit of flotsam which is great because you can’t see anything below you….. but I am always glad to leave this section behind.

The second leg goes past Clifton Gardens along to Georges Head (I think) and on to Middle Head. Now once again all these swimmers were travelling in the main channel? Suggestion #2, the Bommies and natural underwater structures along this section actually create a back eddy that loops around and actually pushes you back against the on-coming tide i.e. you get a current pushing you the right way if you stay to the left of the bommies and head as close to the points as possible. This by the way is very beautiful part of the swim. The water is clearer and calmer and the little current just makes the whole section very surreal as you head up to South Head. Previously as we headed up to Middle Head the very very keen Paddlers would now be charging past you like a herd of blind Rhinos. Now whilst it’s nice to have company a few times previously I resisted the urge to drag them in as their paddles dipped very close. This year however they were given very strict instructions and as a result as we passed Middle Head no harassment. Just a group of swimmers surging back and forth and seeing who gets the Piano on their back first.

Once again here is where the tale of swimming close to the rocks pays off. A small group of us were racing to see who could win the 25th half empty Gatorade Bottle and sundry other prizes and the swimmers who were wide beat this journeyman but I reckon that they would have knocked 10 minutes off their times had they followed a tighter course. So, unfortunately I won’t have them for company next year.

So, the last leg from Middle Head goes a bit like this swim between the heads, over the main channel that flows to Middle Harbour where the nasties travel to breed. Over past Grotto point where a 15' Hammerhead was caught a few years ago… scary, you betcha but all the while there was plenty of motor craft, paddlers and other swimmers thrashing around like crazy. The visibility is awesome and you can see the bottom for much of the time.

Finally the motor craft in towards Manly including the Ferries and Jetcats seemed to slow down earlier this year making the swim into Manly calm and with very little side chop which is blessing. So, for all you swimmers out there who do squad about 3-4 times a week, get a paddler and do this swim and if you want company I am more than happy to swim with anyone but I won’t be going wide.

See you in the Water.

The James Squire Bleedback

Send us your Bleedback on The Manly Wharf Hotel Ocean 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 Bleedback section is for swimmers to raise issues and make constructive comments about ocean swimming matters.

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Our winner this week? Nicholas Humphrey, who wrote an impassioned defence of breaststrokers, if that were possible. Nicholas thinks none of us likes breaststrokers. He's wrong. We're a breaststroker ourselves. But breaststroke, like smoking, is the kind of thing that should be done only between consenting adults in private. It has its place. And right on a turning booey ain't it, Nicholas. But for taking up the fight, you get the award. Contact us (click here), and we'll be delighted to arrange for a carton of James Squire to be pointed in your direction.

Click here to read Nicholas's bleeding heart Bleedback.

Good Manly pics by Glistening Dave. Newport pics by Sevadevi. Others by oceanswims.com

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