Our road trip to Mollymook (near Ulladulla) for the Mollymook Ocean Classic

Precious Princess says she wants to do the Mollymook swim on the NSW South Coast. Immediately I'm suspicious. Then I realise PP has the urge to increase her driving hours. She's been on her 'Ls' (learner's permit) for three years and time is running out. L-plate drivers can't sit for their driving test in NSW unless they complete 100 hours behind the wheel with an experienced driver by their side.

The deal is, we share the driving. First mistake. I plonk the NAVMAN on the dashboard. Second mistake, I allow it to take us along a toll road.

Four and a half hours later... we arrive at our destination. Another hour was added to the drive because 1. PP has to sit on 80 km and 2. we take the most circuitous route known to (NAV)man. Mr Navman demands we travel along the freeway towards Canberra - heading south-west rather than south along the coast. He's a bossy bastard and it's too late to turn back so we let him lead us on and on and on.

We hop off at Mittagong in the Southern Highlands and Nav then direct us on to a single-lane back road that runs by the properties of wealthy farmers who can afford painted wooden fences and neatly clipped hedgerows. The road winds, wiggles and wends over hill and dale. We decide to enjoy ourselves and pull into the tourist village of Kangaroo Valley for coffee at nine bucks for two large takeaways! Madness. Sydney prices for Sydney eejits.

We pop back onto the Princes Highway at Nowra and I fang it the rest of the journey. We spot two cop cars on the way down - both when PP is driving sedately. Phew!

Mollymook is waiting for us. The waves are small and the sun is soft on our skin. My sister, Little Sis, brother-in-law, Davo, and two nephews, Little Prince and Astro Boy*, are on the beach.

Every year when we stay at their holiday house for the swim, which is now a family tradition, we do the same excellent stuff.
* Lunch at Pilgrims in Milton. Yum. Mango lassi, ANZAC biscuits, Bliss Burgers with special peanut sauce, banana milkshakes, Mexican burgers.
* Shop in Milton and then drive to our favourite surf shop in Ulladulla - Southern Man - where we buy our surfie gear for the winter so at least we can pretend to be the real thing.

* Swim and a surf before dinner. In my last post you will have noticed the gorgeous pics of the sunset on the beach. There was no wind and no waves. It was the perfect evening.

The next morning we were all nervous, even though the conditions were swimming-pool flat and windless. The silky threads of cloud had drifted away overnight so it was pretty much blue sky.

Mollymook is a typical country swim, where all the punters start together. I'm not good at numbers but I reckon around 200 pelted across the sandbank after the starter gun fired. I don't like sandbanks because often they drop away suddenly. They're potential ankle-breakers so I tip toe until I can do a shallow dive and start to swim. It was 300 metres to the first buoy. The course is shaped like an 'M'. You swim out to the first big orange buoy, into the next orange buoy at the middle of the course, back out to the final orange buoy and then back in at the southern end of the beach.

Unlike other years, where choppy conditions have caused plenty of discomfort, this year I just plodded along and found a few swimmers to pace myself against. I don't know my time yet, but Davo said the course was longer than 2 km. Dunno. 

I was surprised I didn't see one fish during the swim where, for most of the time, the sandy ocean floor is visible. Afterwards, another swimmer told Davo he saw a stingray.

PP came third in her age group but prizes were only awarded to first-place getters. Last year she came third and Little Prince came third in his age group in the 500 m, and they both received a towel. Maybe there's a world towel shortage.

I thought it was a bit rough that they couldn't manage prizes for all placegetters this year, considering it was the swim's 10th anniversary. Davo argued that country surf clubs find it harder to whip up support compared to city clubs but I would've thought it was the other way around. Just a minor gripe - and Little Sister took my side; she's action woman. If Little Sister ran the show EVERYONE would get a bloody prize!

After the swim, it is family tradition to lunch at the Beach Hut. Yum again. A barra burger washed down with a flat white.

Then we stroll back along the beach to have a dip at the northern end.

We drove home last night with Nav packed away in the glove box (so we couldn't hear him scream). It took around three hours.

Today I'm dreaming of the coast, Bliss Burgers and hot chips with salt and vinegar.

*I have replaced the other nickname as I was informed that it means something rather spicy in French! Apologies to Astro Boy, family and casual passers-by who don't give a toss.  

Bondi Bluewater Challenge: a beautiful swim and baitfish everywhere!

The usual suspects - before the 1 km swim

Afterwards the clouds blew away and heaven came to Bondi

Mad people who swim a lot

Bait fish can only mean one thing as far as I'm concerned. SHARKS.

I'm not paranoid.  Just ahead of myself - so let me backtrack.


The day got off to a chilly start and I wasn't in the mood for swimming. I'd overdosed on Easter eggs over the weekend; my nose was blocked and I had a mild headache.

Chocolate, they say, is good for you but not when you consume kilograms of the stuff like the world is about to end and this is the last time you will ever taste chocolate before you're zapped out of existence. Once I start, it's impossible to stop. Familiar story? 

Back to the beach.

I rugged up and cruised down to Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs on this day, Easter Monday. It was a lovely drive - it's rare to see Sydney traffic-free. Got my usual park and strolled to the surf.

It was also a lovely day but there was a stiff breeze and the clouds blotted out the sun for a while around 9am. The cosy bed I'd left behind was the best option but it was too late. I'd already paid up to swim in both the 1 km and 2.2 km swims and wasn't about to waste $65.

Mr Very Big expects a mention in all my blogs on swimming so I'll get him out of the way now. There. Done.

At the start of the 1 km the Irish bloke with the Irish tan said he was going to "take it easy". Like, whatever. I learned the hard way that this is code for: "I'm gonna swim my milky-pale Irish arse off."

The surf was neat and small, the course straightforward and as I swam out towards the first buoy I spotted a school of mullet. Now, mullet may not be the most appetizing fish (though it's probably one of the most nutritious fish in terms of omega 3 oils) but to witness hundreds of big black fish about 20 cm in length swimming beneath me was a privilege. It was the highlight of the swim.

Afterwards I was buggered but, because a lot of the good swimmers in my age group must be on holidays, I finished in third place. Woo-hoo! The chocolate binge strategy obviously paid off.

I don't know if many people who read/stumble upon this blog have ever been in an ocean swim, let alone the ocean (someone from Libya checked in the other night. My bet is there's not much ocean swimming going on there) so for your enlightenment let me explain how the 2.2 km course looked from the beach.

LONG.

Before every ocean swim I do I wonder, "How the .... will I manage this?"

That Irish guy with the big feet stood next to me and we both whinged about how tired we were. Then, as soon as the starter horn hooted, he bolted into the deep blue sea like his milky-pale arse was on fire. I followed, albeit with a delicate skip.

Once in, I started to enjoy myself. The water was around 22 degrees and the fish were out in force. Everywhere. Even though it pelted down in Sydney last night and the storm uprooted trees in some suburbs, today the water was clear and I could see the sandy bottom for most of the swim.

Out the back of the break I encountered thousands of bait fish. Deary me. Please don't let there be sharks out here today God. It's Easter Monday, please save me for I am really a nice person who just likes to enjoy my life... etc, etc, as the rant in my head is never-ending.

For me, the most testing part of the swim was getting back in. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere and wondered if I might have wandered into a rip. I got through it in the end but ended up swimming into a part of the beach occupied by recreational swimmers. I then had to trot along the sand and through to the finish line.

By the time I was back on the sand, the sun was out and the wind had dropped. It was one of those Sydney days you see on postcards. All brilliant blue and golden.

Later, in the surf club I claimed my Bondi SLSC T-shirt for third place in the 1 km event.
  
The season is almost over and I thought I was over it but next weekend several swims are being held. I usually do Mollymook on the NSW south coast but this year I might have to give it a miss. There's another swim at Coogee on the same day.

Maybe... I'll have to check on that Irish git with the big nose to see if he's entering.

Have a good week. Speak soon.