Sydney Harbour Swim is a Classic

What makes an ocean swim a 'classic'?

Over at the ocean swims website this question is hotly debated.

But I think most people would agree the Ord Minett Sydney Harbour Swim Classic organisers are justified in using this overhyped word. And they earn the right solely because of the location.

The swim starts and ends at the Sydney Opera House, off the Man O' War Steps. And for most of the course, which runs a loop around Farm Cove, the 'House' in all its massive bathroom-tiled glory can be glimpsed as swimmers turn their heads to breathe. That's pretty cool.

The atmosphere surrounding this year's event was far more relaxed than in 2009, when Sydneysiders were scared to go in the water after a series of nasty shark attacks over the summer months. The most horrific was just around the corner from Farm Cove in Woolloomooloo Bay, where a bull shark tore off a navy diver's arm and leg.

But back then the shark experts predicted that 2010 would be much quieter - and it has been. Apparently, shark attacks are cyclic (comforting news) and a lack of cold currents and bait fish in the harbour and along the coast has possibly kept them away this year.

So, there wasn't the brouhaha, including TV news crews, like last year. Nor did the organisers provide a power boat or hire extra scuba divers to blow bubbles below the competitors.

Hey, maybe that's why I swam slow this year! No sharks. That's my excuse for allowing Davo to beat me - AGAIN.

Although I swim like someone's tugging on my foot, today's experience was fantastic. Last night's rain seemed to have no effect on the water quality as it appeared much clearer than last year.

The sun was shining, the crowd was chilled, the water was a pleasant 22 degrees Celcius and both the 1 km and 2 km (I think that distance is debatable, more like 1.5 km) swims ran on time. Davo reckons he finished in around 30 minutes, so it can't possibly be a 2 km course!

Check out my pic of the House, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind it.

Bull shark cruises Sydney Harbour from Manly to Abbotsford and back

Rupert Murdoch's tabloid The Daily Telegraph has managed to run a story on SHARKS, even though it's mid-winter in Sydney.

Last summer SHARKS were Page 1 headliners.

In early February, navy diver Paul de Gelder lost a hand and a leg after he was attacked in Woolloomooloo Bay, Sydney Harbour, at around 7am. The culprit was a BULL SHARK.

Less than a week later, a 2.5 metre GREAT WHITE SHARK almost tore off Glenn Orgias's hand while he was surfing at Bondi around 8pm. His hand could not be re-attached.

Now SHARKS ARE BACK. But the thing is, they've never really been away.

In March the Department of Primary Industries tagged over 55 SHARKS in NSW to trace their movements. The newspaper story is mostly about a tagged BULL SHARK that recently spent quality time in Sydney's waterways.

From March 24 to April 4, the '2.47m menace' travelled more than 300km around Sydney before heading out to sea. Interestingly, it cruised 230km during the night - when it would have been feeding.

If you know Sydney, you might be a little unnerved to learn the SHARK visited Abbotsford twice. That suburb is a long, winding way up the Parramatta River.

The SHARK also visited Manly twice.

My theory is the BULL SHARK did what a lot of Sydneysiders do - checked out the real estate, found it too expensive and headed north.

Headline idea: Smart SHARK attacks bull market

Romance bootcamp

Yes, a bootcamp for aspiring romance writers does exist and I am committed to it this Saturday and the next.

For almost 20 years I have been threatening to write a romance novel.

I have chewed the ear off anyone who could be bothered listening to my half-baked romance plots that have amounted to nothing, zero, doughnut, a BIG FAT ZILCH!

I am the queen of ALL TALK NO ACTION. To prove it, I have three unfinished manuscripts and two completed short stories.

The short stories are rubbish - I thought they were literary masterpieces when I wrote them. But there's nothing as sobering and depressing as returning to a piece of writing a couple of months down the track. What was I thinking? Was I on bad drugs when I churned out that soppy load of cliched drivel?

The bootcamp is conducted online by several coordinators and guest 'lecturers'. I have already started 'chatting' to some members of the group whose enthusiasm is catching.

But can I match it? All shall be revealed soon.

Hey, don't forget that I have yet to post part 3 of my shark tales. It should be a good one. So, my six faithful followers, stick with me; I won't let you down.

What a combo - sharks and romance writing! I think I'm onto a winner!

What lies beneath: shark attack in Sydney Harbour

From memory, one of the most terrifying scenes from the movie Jaws is when the monster shark takes its first victim.

The audience witnesses the attack from two vantage points, above and below the calm surface of the water. Above is the head of a young woman, below is her torso, arms and legs. It's the legs I remember - moving languidly, enticingly - just enough to keep her afloat and just enough to alert the killing machine of her presence.

Naturally, the rest is carnage.

Human beings have a primaevil fear of sharks. A visceral, gut churning terror grips every one of us at the possibility that we might ever encounter such a massive, powerful, robotic terminator. Worse still, is contemplating a horrific death as the shark chainsaws its way casually through each of our body parts.

As an ocean swimming participant, I have learnt to manage my fear of sharks. Research shows that most sharks are more frisky at dawn and dusk when they're out hunting for food.

And the ocean swims are generally well patrolled by the organisers and swimmers are comforted (though some are distburbed) by the knowledge that the majority of Sydney's surfing beaches have been meshed (since 1937).


However, Sydney Harbour is another story. It's deep and dark. Some areas aren't meshed. Visibility is limited to about 20cm. It's not like the ocean where, on a calm day, swimmers can marvel at the fish and reefs they might be lucky enough to swim over.


In Sydney Harbour you're swimming blind. I know because I've done it twice as an entrant in the Sydney Harbour Swim Classic, which starts from the Man 'O' War steps at the Sydney Opera House. Swimmers then follow a 2km course out to Mrs Macquarie's Point and around Farm Cove before returning to the steps.


It's an inpsiring swim, mostly because with each breath and turn of the head you're catching a glimpse of the Opera House sails, the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Royal Botanical Gardens.


But back to the main point (or white pointer) of this blog. SHARKS!


The event's location is just around the corner from Woolloomooloo Bay and the naval base Garden Island, where a navy diver was recently attacked by Bull Shark (the experts are pretty sure the bull is the culprit).

The shark struck Able Seaman Paul Degelder, 31, from below. It bit his right hand and leg, but retreated after he punched it. Degelder is in hospital in a critical but stable condition, according to a story in The Sydney Morning Herald (February 12, 2009).

Another story in the SMH reveals that shark numbers in the harbour are on the rise. John Dengate from the National Parks and Wildlife Service was quoted as saying: "February and March seems to be the time of year when we get more sharks and surface fish in the harbour.

"I guess it's the downside of the environmental controls... 20 or 30 years ago the harbour was a very difficult place to be for a fish, these days it's actually quite beautiful."

Great! I wonder if the bull shark was admiring the Opera House before becoming distracted by a whiff of breakfast?

I also wonder how the organisers of the harbour swim, which takes place on Sunday March 1 from 9.30am, are dealing with this minor complication?

If you go to the website which can be accessed through www.oceanswims.com you will find a slab of information on safety and risk management. The organisers explain that they have the 'safety of the swimmers as the number one priority'.

The event is professionally run and I'm sure the organisers will attempt to cover every base on the day. Apart from the 1km and 2km swims, this year a new event - a charity sprint to and back from Fort Denison - has been added. Mmm, not for a plodder like me.

In the report Likelihood of a Shark Attack in Sydney Harbour During the Sept 2000 Olympic Games, the authors suggested that one of the best ways to deter sharks was to 'have boats with motors (as opposed to canoes, kayaks or surf boards without motors) patrolling outside of the swimmers ... this is on the presumption that motors in the water will deter sharks from the immediate vicinity.'

Or what about this? 'Placing a line of scuba divers equipped with Electric Protective Oceanic Devices ... between the patrolling motor boats and the swimmers.'

I like it.

I haven't paid my $40 entry fee yet. I'm holding off for a bit. Maybe it's itchy feet. Maybe it's because I'd like to keep my feet!

This is part 1 of a 3 part series on sharks. Look out for part 2 SOON.
















































Shark attack in Woolloomooloo smh.com.au#