TamaCloey... sharks in a chunderous sea...
Dave says: "Arrived at Cloey at 'bout 9.30am, and was wondering, how in hell are they gonna bring 750 swimmers in through this small gap, on top of all the rocks, with this sea running, as the next 3 pics show..."
But, says Dave, "But I knew all would be ok, as they had the right booeeys for the job on hand." There is a very good reason why these booees are shaped like dunce's hats, and that is because they are very, very silly booees. They clearly were bought for swim events by a non-swimmer, who has never had to sight a tiny speck in the distance in a turbulent sea. (These booees were not acquired by Tama SLSC - indeed, the Tama swim is unique for the strong swimmer involvement in its organisation. They actually go to extraordinary lengths to put on an event that is interesting, a bit different, and swimmer-friendly, contrary to the the views of some on the os.c blob at the moment. They do an excellent job with very difficult conditions to work with, eg the waves were "small" because there is such a narrow window to get out through the Tama break in conditions such as Mondee's.)
Dave: "... Then arrived at Tama, and thought... How are they going to get 750 swimmers out through that?"
"These chaps... had their work cut out for them..."
"Probably how a lot of swimmers felt, after. "
"... search for meaning".
Pensive.
The glamour that is Tama.
So you think you can swim?
Maurice Westerweller knows Tama pretty well, being a local, and he made his way to the end of the rock platform, before sliding into the break. This gave him a considerable advantage through the break, although it may not look so here. Westo said afterwards: "The place to go in is right off the end of the rocks.. There's a channel, and you slide into it and it takes you straight out..." Westo won his age group, the Maturing Codgers division.
Ticker of the Tournament goes to Ann Hemmings, who left in one of the first waves and, 30 minutes or so later, still was trying to get out. She never gave up, not as far as we saw, anyway
Off they go, as one...
... Off they go, too.
... Off they go, 3.
Some had the wisdom to withdraw.
God's Waiting Room, Cloey.
Waiting for the swim to come in.
The spectacle that is Glamarama.
We made the first booee, en route to Cloey. This swim was an adventure.
Finis.
A poignant juxtaposition -- swimmers finish down Clovelly Bay, under the "watch" of Tom Caddy, perhaps the father of ocean swimming in Stray'a. Caddy taught thousands of Stray'an youngsters to swim at Clovelly and he coached many to become international champeens, Under his watch, perhaps the firstelite ocean swimming race was held in the 1960s between Clovelly and Coogee. Caddy died a couple of years back, and is commemorated in Clovelly Bay. It would be nice if this swim could find some way to commemorate him, to recognised the link.
There's a blob on our lens, as well as on our website, but you should get the gist of what happened to our staff photograrpher, Glistening Dave, in the break at Tama: foot or elbow or something in the eye, leaving him with one hell of a shiner. Dave's bride is a nurse, which means she knows all about these things. Dave said after consultation with her: "Nurse Liz reckons, it gonna be a bit black in the morning, pity as I kinda liked the colours... purple, red and black. .just needed to warm it up a bit with a little cadmium yellow deep, and a touch of medium, then a bit of pthalo blue to offset the yellows and Bob's ya uncle, pretty as a pitcher!" Dave always is a colourful cove.
Pacific Palms... Another taste of paradise...
To market, to market... that was the mantra all the way up the highway to Pacific Palms. In all our visits, over four or five years now, we have never before arrived in time for Mrs Sparkle to visit the Pacific Palms Easter Sunday markets. But this time, we did.
Pacific Palms is one of those very select, north coast, north-facing beaches, which is calm when all those around are chunderous, as it was this day. There was a heavy dump coming into Pacific Palms -- Elizabeth Beach -- but it was even and serene compared with those more exposed to the tossing sea.
This is Mel Eustace, who does this swim each year. This year, Mel was escorted by a flotilla of supporters, including her swim coach, Matt Webster. We noted how well Mel stuck to the catch up that Matt clearly has been teaching her. Get that streamline right, Mel, and everything else will follow. Good girl, yourself!
This hand belongs to someone who is headed for problems with their shoulder. Lift the elbow,drop the wrist below it, keep the hand close to the body on recovery, and turn the hand to a flatter entry,
and you might avoid a very nasty injury.
Perspective on the course at Pacific Palms... it's an X shape, with each end of the long back reach marked by very tight turns.
Here's another one... if Glistening Dave had taken this pic, it would be placed straight into next year's ocean swims calendar.
Melee.
Side view of Mrs Sparkle on the return reach, running with the current, affords a nice perspective on swimming with your leg in a caste... note the flex in the right foot, then compare it with the position of the left foot, forcibly rigid with a downward point, although her left big toe -- the one that had headed to market earlier in the day -- is trying ever so valiantly to flex as it can. Note, too, the reach of her left arm, the position of her hand, and the pull through of the right hand, the crook at the elbow, a nice 90 deg
, and there you have, apart from the caste, a very nice technique for all of you kiddies to emulate. And you boofheads. You will go a long way to find a technically nicer technique to observe than Mrs Sparkle's. On display for all to see each weekend.
Disappearing caste... on Easter Tuesday, Mrs Sparkle hopes that her sawbones will get rid of her caste forever.
Mrs Sparkle and her helpers... in the break, Shelly Clark, Mrs Sparkle's touring daughter, and Luane Rowe generously surged through the break to escort her through the dump into shore, where Mrs Sparkle's Fairy Oddomother, Rosie Lang-Langley, was waiting with crutch support. Good girls, yourselves!
Tilbury Classic... A terrific discovery...
Down to the beach along tracks.
A forbidding sea.
C. 78 finished the Tilbury Classic, 2010, but more will be here next season. Nowra Culburra surf club say they will retain the Easter Saturday date, with this year's numbers were around double last year's.
There was a heavy shorebreak at the start and a strong drag northwards. We started farther south along the beach, to take advantage of the rip. The break was short, however, before we made deeper water.
Rounding the point at Tilbury... during a sunny patch. The day alternated between sunny and overcast. It's a stunning vista here, with a lively swell running, a pretty point to our left, a bombie ahead of us, and a calm cove ahead. A lovely, lovely swim.
You'd think that, having just emerged from the water and standing there dripping wet, the last thing this mob would need would be to seek shelter from the rain. But, hey, there's no accounting for human nature...
Tilbury Cove, normally race start but, this time,
race finish. Pretty little spot.
Glistening Dave couldn't make it to Culburra -- some selfish reason like, wanting to spend time with bride and billies, or something silly like that -- so he missed these wonderful examples of Stray'n holiday architecture. Here's one...
... and here's too... look carefully and note the front door...
