''Swimmers are in the way, not on the menu"

Sharks swimming not in Sydney but the Bahamas: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/best-pod-september-2011/

It's windy and overcast in Sydney. 

I got up at 4.30am, looked out the window, turned off my alarm and went back to bed. Some days I can't reach my body switch to flip it back on. This morning the ol' mortal coil groaned and wimpered: "I have suffered enough, let me sleep bitch."

I caved in and missed squad at Bondi.

I'm naughty because I really should be working out for the weekend - this Sunday North Bondi hosts The Roughwater 1km and 2km swims. A lot of punters do both but I'm not sure I'm ready for 3km.

In the meantime, I thought you might be interested in this article from The Sydney Morning Herald, which discusses the misleading use of the term 'shark attack'. The experts interviewed for the story claim us humans are of little interest to sharks for a variety of reasons including our low nutrition rating! Also explored is the concept of the 'rogue shark' made popular by the film Jaws. 

One of the experts quoted in the story has tagged bull sharks. She said last year on Australia Day (January 26) when the harbour was choccas with pleasure craft, swimmers and an organised swim off the Sydney Opera House steps, there were seven bullies roaming around the harbour. It's a little off-putting but they are out there. 

I noticed Jaws is on Channel 7 on Tuesday night and rated as a 'Thriller' (Jaws 3 is on Saturday at 11.10pm - it's rated as 'Horror'). 

Here's the link to the SMH story:

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/shark-attack-term-misleads-people--expert-20120104-1pl8b.html 

Think of it this way: it's not an 'attack', rather just a 'bite'.

Bondi Beach can be bliss: swim squad at dawn

Any beach is beautiful at dawn but Bondi is extra 'spesh' because after the sun is up there's usually no peace for this slice of paradise.

Today I arrived well before swim squad started at 6am (check post from December 21, 2011, to find out what happens to those who arrive late) and soaked up the soft focus on a new day. 

There was no surf - flat as - and I reckon that's because poor old Bondi is still recovering from New Year's Day when hordes of hungover Irish, Pommy, Dutch and Scandinavian backpackers collapse onto its golden sands and fry themselves into carcinogenic chips (the South Americans head north to Manly to play beach volleyball). 

Dunno where the Americans go, though I suppose there's not many here because of the Australia/US currency rates (apologies to US readers of this blog but would you visit Australia when the Aussie dollar is so strong?* No bloody way. This is why there's so many bloody Australians over in the States. You must be really sick of us. We're everywhere, like a virus)

Back on topic... squad was wonderful. Chief coach Mr Mean was absent but his lovely girlfriend took the slower swimmers, myself included, on a swim from North Bondi to the Bondi club and back.  We also did a lot of 'lifting and looking', which I'll talk about in my next post.

Speak soon.

*I visited the USA on several occasions when the Australian dollar sucked so I suppose it shouldn't make much difference. 

Bondi on New Year's Day 2012


 

Newport Beach Pool to Peak 2km Ocean Swim 2012: I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya

Newport is one of Sydney's glorious northern beaches

About halfway through the Newport ocean swim I wondered if I should have downed 2.5 glasses of champers (a nice Australian drop from Chandon) the night before. At the time I thought nothing of it. In fact, I thought nothing.

How cool is this? A post-swim massage with an unbeatable view

Silly me. The middle of an ocean swim with a healthy dose of chop is no place for regrets. After seeing my Irish swimming mate Mr Very Big amble past me with a grin across his smug mug, I was motivated to carry on.

A further psychological boost came from a swimmer in my age group, who I noticed just before the last of the eight cans that marked the anti-clockwise course. She was starting to inch ahead, which usually wouldn't worry me. But yesterday I thought, 'No way chicky babe. One way or another I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya."

And I did. Just as we were coming in, I powered up and tried to catch every available wave. I didn't have a great deal of success but still managed to get ahead of her to run up the beach to the cheers of Miss Hissy and her friend and Mr Very Big and his family who'd come to the beach to celebrate his birthday.      

I was pretty chuffed even though my time wasn't amazing and I'm at least 10 minutes behind the fastest swimmer in my cohort (this is why I never post my times!). 

It was a brilliant day. The sun is finally here to stay in ol' Sydney town, which can be a mixed blessing.

I'm loving summer.

Boxes of fresh fruit for placegetters. One day...

New Year's Eve in Balmain in Sydney: a brilliant welcome to 2012

Spanner has a smart bastard of a brother* who lives on the water in Balmain in Sydney's inner west with an uninterrupted view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Where else would you want to be on New Year's Eve, unless you're friendly with someone who lives in the eastern suburbs who has a view that includes the Sydney Opera House**.

Spanner, The Hiss and I parked the car in the nearby suburb of Rozelle and caught a bus into the heart of Balmain. If you don't know it, the peninsula suburb of Balmain is one of the city's more appealing suburbs because of its low-rise village atmosphere. Spanner doesn't like it because he reckons it's too higgledy-piggledy and congested.  But that's Spanner. I love it and lived there in several other lifetimes.

Darling Street is the main road in and out. When you reach the bottom of Darling Street, you've hit Sydney Harbour. People stream into Balmain for the New Year's Eve fireworks because there's parks along the water so the view is bloody beautiful.

There's two lots of fireworks - at 9pm for the families and at midnight for those revellers who want to see in the New Year with a bang. It's been a long time since I've hung around for the midnight fireworks but this year I was determined. Spanner left after the 9pm show. Woo hoo Spanner. Life of the party.

The Hiss and I stayed and rocked on to an excellent covers band The Hippie Hoppies (? I can't find them on Google) whose members looked like they'd been dragged over gravel and tossed around in a cement mixer for 25 years. Appearances can be deceptive. They played in Spanner's brother's yard, which is a lawn the size of a postage stamp (dunno how it didn't get flooded with the recent king tides). The band's note-perfect sets took me back (way too far). The Hiss and I danced the night away to the Doobie Brothers, Creedence, InXs, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Police, The Beatles, T-Rex, Van Morrison and more. 

I can't even begin to describe the fireworks, especially the midnight extravaganza where the bridge was ablaze with pyrotechnics for much of the time. Breathtaking. Gasp. Wow. Ooooo. Aaaaaaah. Woo hoo. Gobsmacked. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL 

* I am still working out my New Year's resolutions as I didn't have one last year and I do feel a list is worthwhile (even if it ends up as a list of failed promises). On my list will be the usual - do not be jealous of other people and their good fortune (or something like that).

** I will also endeavour to be happy with what I've got (or something similar).

I bet you can't wait to read my list! Mmm... must not be self loathing and arrogant simultaneously.  

PS: Would you believe it's a stinker in Sydney today? This is the first real summer day for at least a month. Tomorrow I'm doing Newport swim so I'll post on that.  

PPS: I'd like to thank all the regular readers of this blog. It's a small world. I wish you all the very best for 2012. Let's put it out there!