Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim 2013: that's what friends are for

Malabar holds a special place in my heart because it transports me back to my childhood and card nights at Merle and Vic's place, just across the bay from the sewage treatment plant.

In the early '70s, old Malabar was a bit on the nose. Back in the day there was no underground pipe to carry the waste 3.6 kilometres out to sea.

If the wind blew the wrong way the maladorous fumes would rush up the hill and through the front door of Merle and Vic's tres fashionable red brick home.

Not that my sister and I noticed the smell that much. We were too entranced by Merle and Vic's modern split-level home, especially the lilac bedroom with matching lilac ensuite. I know I wrote about this in my post about this swim last year but it's worth mentioning again.

The plush toilet seat cover, the crochet doll toilet roll holder, the vanity surrounded by Hollywood lights, the lavender-scented cushions, the satin doona. Fifty shades of lilac replete with the lilac room of retro kitsch.

My parents played cards with their old friends Merle and Vic and George and Maree, who lived with their daughter Janmaree in Cronulla.

The nights were always full of carousing, and us kids would harass Vic, George and Dad to form a circle so we could all sing and act out Pickin' up Paw Paws, Put 'Em in Your Pocket.

Later in the evening, after half a dozen too many sorbets, the blokes would sing the traditional New Zealand song Pokarekare Ana. I don't know if I'm getting all sentimental but I'm sure they did it in a three-part harmony. It was always a good indication that they were three sheets to the wind. 

At the time, my family lived on the North Shore. Visiting the southern suburbs was an adventure made even more exciting after my dad had knocked back several beers before moving onto the chateau cardboard.

That we made it home in one piece after card nights is a miracle. My sister and I rolled around seatbeltless on the back seat of the car as Dad somehow managed to find his way, hooning along Anzac Parade with no fear of being pulled over for RBT.

We never thought, "Dad's drunk and he shouldn't be driving", because that's what everyone did back then. Sends shivers along my spine.

Many years ago Merle, Vic, George and Maree moved on to the Great Spirit in the Sky, so my nostalgic ramblings are tinged with sadness.

 

That brings me to today. I find myself on my annual visit to Malabar for the Malabar Magic Ocean Swim after a night of pouring rain in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. I'd registered for both swims but this morning I woke up feeling like I'd been pushed through a blender. Nothing worked properly and my right arm ached.

I checked the Beachwatch website, which advised against swimming at Malabar because pollution was likely at all southern beaches. This always happens after rain. I'm not sure if it's run-off or 'run-back-in' that causes the problem.

Packing my earplugs in my backpack I drove through town and up Oxford Street, which is gearing up for Sydney Mardi Gras 2013 with banners celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex pride. What's intersex? Not in-to-sex but intersex. Is it when you're into all of the above? Or something to do with intersections? Must Google. And what's the difference between gay and queer? More Googling.


Will I ever get to the bloody swim?

I arrive finally and get the princess parking spot next to Cromwell Park, which leads to Malabar Beach/Long Bay. FYI, down the road a bit is Long Bay Correctional Centre so named after this pretty stretch of water. 

There weren't any shady characters out and about today.

I take that back. I strolled to the beach in time to see Mr Very Big tip toe over the rocks and out of the water at the end of the 1km swim.

Then I scoped the rest of the unlikely lads - Mr Mild Mannered, The Scotsman and another ring-in who apparently has links to Shropshire. The Lawyer was noticeably absent, probably tied to a chair by his disgruntled partner.  Not another bloody ocean swim!

I'd missed the 1km event but was up for the 2.4km distance at 10am. On the way to the starting line Mr Very Big asked The Scotsman to explain the emblem embroidered on the front and back of his budgie smugglers: a gryphon with three stars above it.

Turns out it's The Scotsman's family's coat of arms. Are you serious?  *Shakes head* The people you meet in this swimming caper.

Mr MM, Mr VB and I were on the startline together; the younger Scottish lad with a proud history ("No one famous, all my ancestors are rubbish") went off before us.

I started the swim in no mood for a swim. As usual, I had to put a lid on the head talk. It looked as though all my green-capped peers were dashing ahead.

About 100 or so metres out in a straight line towards the first can the swell picked up. I hadn't noticed any chop from the shore but there was enough to interrupt my stroke. I tried the straight-arm drill that we do in squad but found it tiring.

Instead, I focussed on sighting the first and second cans. The organisers had kindly tied a balloon to the second one so it couldn't be missed. After I chucked a right turn around it, the scene and my mood changed.

The next can ahead of me was on a diagonal, and the swell seemed to be gently heading in that direction. Or maybe the pain killers I popped before the swim were starting to work and everything just seemed easier. I reached that can with relative ease and began to enjoy myself.

The water temperature was 22 degrees and the ocean floor clearly visible. I glimpsed tiny fish dashing around the rocky reef and weed undulating like a hula skirt. I blew out perfect bubbles and sucked in the sky and the headland with every breath.     

The way back in was arrow straight, riding the swell with every surge forward. To be in it, a part of it, was empowering.

With renewed energy I stretched out for the shore. Often I can't see the finish but today I had the white blow-up pergola lined up.

I had total control of my destiny. I charged towards it and then... just inside my line of vision I saw it. Or did I sense it first?

A presence. Larger than life. Mr Very Big.

I couldn't believe it. I identified him by checking out his budgie smugglers. And I'm not talking about the contents. Our squad's name is printed on the back of his scungies. It could be none other than Mr VB. His right royal self pushing me to my limit.

He pumped up the volume and I rose to the challenge. We were neck and neck. No, that's not true. He was a half length ahead of me as we reached the shallows. My stroke rate had increased to a ridiculous rate and I was losing. I considered grabbing his leg but it didn't really matter who crossed the line first - we were that close.

I dragged my body over the small rocks, stood up and tippy toed out of the water. And there he stood. Waiting for me, hand outstretched.

I entertained the thought of running past him.

But it's not every day that Mr VB offers the olive branch. It was a beautiful, chivalrous gesture.

And so it came to pass that we ran across the timer pad together, hands linked in victory.

Now I have to be nice to him - at least for a couple of weeks.

Irish bastard*.

*Backstory: Mr Big said he'd seriously considered participating in the inaugural 900 metre Sydney Skinny Ocean Swim at Cobblers Beach, Middle Head. It started at the same time as Malabar. That would've truly been a sight to behold.

Ranking out of 10: 9.5
This swim raises money for Rainbow Club Australia, a charity that gives children with physical and developmental disabilities the chance to learn to swim or to just experience the amazing theraputic qualities of a watery world. One of the club's most avid supporters Murray Rose was the force behind the Malabar Magic Ocean Swim. Tragically the former Olympic swimmer lost his battle with cancer last year.

The swim is a wonderful and inclusive event in reasonably calm waters.

Yesterday peaches were up for grabs after the swim.   

Any gripes: One of the sponsors was an energy drink company - get rid of plastic and any sort of drink that's the wrong colour. I know, sponsors are hard to come by. Just ask the organisers of the Sydney Harbour Swim that was to take place on March 10 but had to be cancelled because of a lack of sponsorship.

Malabar Magic Rainbow Club Ocean Swim: inspiring people and lots of bitey things

Malabar Bay

Yep. The red circle with the diagonal line through it was stamped on top of Malabar Beach this morning when I checked the Beachwatch website. It was the only beach in Sydney with a pollution warning. 

I took my earplugs and decided to keep my mouth shut (I just accidentally wrote 'shit' instead of 'shut') throughout the 2.4 km swim. My mouth is usually full of the proverbial so it sort of makes sense.

The day was hot and Malabar was like it always is. I think I mentioned in a post on this swim last year that sometimes you have to grow up in a suburb to love it. 

I dunno. Malabar might have four golf courses and luxury residential developments chewing up what was left of the scrubland, it might be on the coast and within cooee of Maroubra and Bondi, it might be flat and therefore good cycling territory. But it's not for me.

It's a 'sought after' suburb in real estate lingo but ... I know what it is that makes it so wrong! There's no trees. A few but not a lot. And nothing native. Now that's sorted I'll get to the swim. 

I didn't register for the 1 km swim, which I regret because my swim-squad peeps Mr Very Big and Mr Mild Mannered did. They didn't tell me (hear the accusatory/petulant tone in my voice). 

I got down to the beach as the 1 km swimmers were coming in and was privileged to see three-time Paralympian wheelchair athlete Louise Sauvage finish along with her Canadian friend (also disabled) who swam backstroke the whole course (I bet she's an elite athlete too but I didn't find out her name). 

Louise Sauvage hugs her friend after the 1 km swim

Louise's motto is: "You never know what you can achieve until you try."  

I went into the 2.4 km swim feeling chipper. Malabar is in a bay so there's no surf though there's often swell out near the headland. 

The course was straightforward. Three yellow buoys with big red balloons affixed to their tops were lined up out the back of the bay. All we had to do was swim to the first one, chuck a right, swim past the second, and then chuck another right around the third before hitting the home stretch. 

I put in my earplugs and felt odd because, you wouldn't bloody believe this, I could hear my heartbeat through the pulse on my neck! Thumpa thumpa thumpa. I'm serious. I'm seriously neurotic too. 

The swim began and my goggles fogged so I took them off and cleared them. Then they half filled. I wasn't too worried about that because I was more concerned with the earplugs. The sound in my ears was like a gargle every time I breathed and plunged my arms into the water. I couldn't hear anything else. And then there was the ingestion of much (polluted) water. It's impossible to keep your mouth shut when you're swimming. I am laughing as I write. Sometimes I am dumber than a goose. But how dumb is a goose?

Bloody Mr Very Big (or whatever I call the Irish bastard) tugged on my leg as I swam towards the second can. Then he did what he loves to do. Put on the clappers and left me for dead. He gives me the Jimmy Brits. I hope he gets an ear infection*.  Petulant, bad loser... must think of Louise Sauvage and remain inspired.

Even though the water was supposedly polluted, it was rather clear and I saw fish. Hundreds of little ones flitted beneath me so the water quality can't have been too bad.  And the temperature was glorious. Just cool enough.

I followed some bloke in a wetsuit to the finish line and beat him over it. I felt pretty good doing that because earlier in the swim he passed me. I don't know what my time is because the results aren't up yet. 

All in all, it was a lovely day and beaut swim except for the bitey things that attacked my face, arms and torso. I've written a post about bitey things before. Everyone calls them sea lice but they're not. They're either stingy bits that fall off bluebottles or something to do with jelly blubbers - I'm too lazy to look it up and I've rabbited on for long enough.  I don't know whether I'll experience their after-effects tomorrow.

Another reason why this swim is one for the calender every year is that the registration fees go to a great cause, the Rainbow Club, a charity that organises swimming lessons for kids with special needs. There are 16 clubs in NSW and two in Victoria. 

Speak soon. Precious Princess is back from Europe this week. It's gonna be a big one. 

*As my old mum would say, "That's a joke Joyce."

Malabar Magic Ocean Swim this Sunday: iffy & whiffy

Belmont at Lake Macquarie. Spanner obligingly posed for this pic. Check out the rims of his spectacles. What a dork! 

Ocean swimming is addictive. 

I find it hard to miss a swim in summer when there's an ocean swim on somewhere in Sydney every weekend. This Sunday it's the 2.4 km Malabar Magic Ocean Swim. 

Because of the continual wet weather Malabar, a surfless* beach in Sydney's south, sometimes gets a bit whiffy. The effluent from the sewerage outlet tends to hang around after heavy rain. 

The Malabar Magic swim has been around for three years and that's how many times I've done it. In its first year the finish line was in Little Bay, a beach 'around the corner' from Malabar. By corner I mean a small headland.

Conditions that day were so bad - I remember the vomit-inducing swell - that the course now starts and ends at Malabar. Boring maybe. But that first year I'm pretty sure I missed the last buoy, so desperate was I to get to the shore. Sort of accidental cheating. It was a bloody hard swim.

I find Malabar and its surrounds a strange part of the coast. Not my cuppa. Behind Little Bay is the more famous Botany Bay, where the then Lieutenant James Cook, who later became a captain, landed in 1770 on the ship the Endeavour. In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip popped in with the First Fleet but decided to move on because of poor soil quality and a lack of fresh water. 

Back to the present... Oh dear. I just checked the Beachwatch Bulletin, which gives updates on conditions at Sydney beaches, and Malabar isn't looking good. Check out the map of the coast with smiley faces handed out like gold stars to the unpolluted beaches. The only beach with a Ghostbusters symbol (representing POLLUTION) stamped on it is Malabar. Yuck. Guess I'll have to wear earplugs.

Check out the map here: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/beachapp/OceanBulletin.aspx

 

I think rain is predicted for the weekend. Sydneysiders won't know what to whinge about once the rain goes. They'll have to re-focus on our ailing economy and a super strong Aussie dollar that's great if you're travelling overseas but not much good for anything else.

Everyone is cranky.

On a happier note, next Saturday my swim squad peeps and I are tooling it past the Central Coast to Lake Macquarie for the 3.8 km swim across the lake. I've never swum that far before in an an open water swim. It's gonna be tough but lots of fun.

* = sans surf

Malabar Magic Ocean Swim: a nice swim on a sweltering day in Sydney

I feel like I'm entering a different country when I head along Anzac Parade to the eastern suburb of Malabar. Unlike much of Sydney, the terrain is flat - with a moderate hill as you enter Malabar. And then there's the huge median strips that divide the left and right sides of the road, turning it into more of an avenue. I'm sure property developers have eyed the median strips off. And I bet it kills the RTA bigwigs to see so much unused land. It could never happen today.

It appears the developers have sized up and made a claim on every other piece of available land. The sponsor of today's swim, Charter Hall, is developing a massive swatch of land in an area near Little Bay, around the corner from Malabar. Little Bay is also being developed.

Just an aside - I recall that back in the olden days when my Aunty Merle and Uncle Vic lived in Malabar, it wasn't such a desirable suburb because the sewerage plant spewed out effluent close to the shore. I remember the smell. Peeeuuuw. But that's all changed now the crap is pumped further out to sea.

Back to my points about Malabar's points of difference - the other thing is a lack of big shady trees and trees in general. I guess the environment was originally shrubby and windswept. Still is. 

I guess you get used to where you live in Sydney - we all have our tribes and familiar places. I've never been an eastern suburbs girl, except for two years in my 20s when I shared houses in Paddington and Rushcutters Bay. Other than that, I've spent my life in the inner west and the hillier and leafier northern suburbs. When I was growing up we surfed at Narrabeen, Dee Why and Bilgola.

Today I got that weird feeling again of being somewhere alien as I parked and strolled to the beach to register for the Malabar Magic Ocean Swim, with all proceeds going to the Rainbow Club, a charity that helps disabled kids. Actually, before I got to the beach I took a wrong turn and ended up at a rifle range (more land for the developers to ogle). Strange place.

But Malabar Beach is pretty and Long Bay is just that - a long bay. It must be about 1 kilometre in length, because the swim was 2.37 kilometres out and back in to the beach.

When I arrived the 1 km swim was in full swing. The weather was muggy and stinking hot, so many people seeked shelter under the few low spreading trees on the grassy picnic area that runs down to the beach.

Radio announcer and comedian HG Nelson was commentating on the event, as he did in 2010 when the course ran from Malabar around to Little Bay. As I walked to the late registrations tent I heard him announce that the winner of the 1 km event completed the swim in 10 minutes! As the results aren't up on http://www.oceanswims.com/ yet I can't give you his name or the exact time, but I do know he's from Japan. He went on to win the 2.37 km event. Incredible. The other elite swimmers finished in around 11 minutes.

While I was getting ready for the 2.37 km swim (applying sunblock) I met a lovely man who'd just done the 1 km swim. He told me that almost every day he and his friends swim across the bay and back - with their dogs! Is that sharkbait or what?

Unlike last year, when the conditions were stomach-churning choppy, this year there was barely a bump on the water's surface. All was calm as the starter gun went off for my age group (we were the second last group to go - the elite swimmers were already half way around the course when I dived into the water).

For me, the nice thing about this swim was the short run into the water at the start and the short run to the finish line at the end of the swim. Malabar Beach is a narrow strip of sand, so swimmers could almost swim to the finish line - that's how close it was to the water. This suited me down to the ground because I tend to lose precious seconds in the runs to and from the water. And I need every second I can get!

I agree with Mr Oceanswims who, on his website described the swim as one for those who like swimming in pools, but I still think the new course is superior to last year's difficult trek from one beach to another.

The Southerly change was meant to kick in this afternoon, but it's still sweltering in Sydney tonight. We didn't get a summer over December, but we're sure getting it in February. YUCK. I'M SWEATY. WHERE'S THE WIND? 

I forgot to take my camera to the swim, so the photo is from http://www.oceanswims.com/
Go there and have a look. There's video of the swim and a blog.