Actually, those were the conditions at the Domain Andrew Boy Charlton pool at dawn this morning, where I joined the "Vladswim" squad - due to having a bit on at work its a lot closer to home and work for me (and i definitely need to work on my technique!).... Continue reading

Wednesday 29 March - pitch black at 6:09am.... flashes of blue, green and red in the water..... I can hear but not see the small rolling wavelets.... zephyrs of breeze, the air felt a little heavy.... the clubbies have chosen to run to Queensie and play on the boards at... Continue reading

Wednesday 8th March - a day to celebrate women, and what women want - and if you haven't seen the film of the same name, starring our own "Love Songs" - you should! Not only is it a brilliant movie with the necessary elements of a compelling story, laughter and... Continue reading

Wednesday 15th February - the day after the carnage & the power of mother nature & Posiedon is still on show. At 6am when I arrived for "Dolphins" clubbies board training (not really knowing whether we would be able to actually go in the water given the conditions of the... Continue reading

Wednesday 25th January - and its Burns night (day) when Scottish all over the world celebrate Scotland's much loved Poet, Robert ("Rabbie") Burns. Not to be confused with our very own manmaid Rob Burns! Burns wrote about nature, and the sea is a key theme in many of his poems... Continue reading

Four days into 2023 and what a change from the last few days - the sun (aka the greek god apollo) seems to have decided to take a holiday and Posiedon has sent Aegaeus, the god of stormy seas seems to visit, waiting for Triton to sound his conch shell... Continue reading

The week before Christmas - Sagittarius season, silliness, sleepiness, summer, so sydney.... Water temperature: 19.4 degrees Air temperature at 7am: 14.6 degrees Conditions: Silky, serene, sensational... Vibe: a bit of sleepiness... perhaps still recovering from the Epic B&B Xmas party? Its the week before Christmas, and all through the Bay,... Continue reading

Wednesday 23rd November - is it the luck of the Irish and the return to the fold of Irish mermaid Ciara Gaffney that Mother Nature brought us (almost) fabulous swimming conditions today? Even the Palmie surf boat chose our beautiful bay to train in the golden morning light ! The... Continue reading

View this photo Oh, and a few birthdays too including our temperature artiste in residence Guy Dunstan, Marie Antoinette, Daniel Boon, KD Lang, David Schwimmer, Ken Rosewall and yours truly :) ... Seems to be some Confuddlement in the universe at the moment - is it Mars retrograde? ... an... Continue reading

Wednesday 12th October - the morning after the night before, when the generous Bold & Beautiful community came together to raise much needed funds to support those in need... The evening was a huge success, so much so, was that the reason only 43 people (so far) had logged swims... Continue reading

Sunday 9th October - winter badge ceremonies, First patrol for the season for Patrol 1, the first day for nippers (beach drills only!), beginning of a new week and rain records continue to tumble down like the relentless deluge .... officially the rainiest year in Sydney since records began! At... Continue reading

Wednesday 21st September - a week ago I was arriving in Fiji, Mana Island for the Mana Swim Fest run by Oceanswim safaris. We were blessed with (mostly) calm seas, sapphire blue, warm, clear water teeming with fish and coral all the colours of the rainbow. Such a contrast to... Continue reading

Its the last day of winter! Everyone who has swum through winter and shivered through winter without a wetsuit will have the badges to prove it, and those enduring invigorating vitamin Sea without wetsuits can now indulge in covering head to toe with neoprene - I suspect not without a... Continue reading

Wednesday 10th August - Cabbage tree bay is Our magic Xanadu where we go together & swim like greased lightning whilst getting physical … a tribute to an inspirational and beautiful human, talented singer, tireless fundraiser for cancer research & treatment & friend of our ocean ….RIP Olivia newton john... Continue reading

Wednesday 20th July - Bonnie Tsui, in her book "why we swim" muses "“Swimming is a way for us to remember how to play.” She also Suggests “a giddiness to being in that water”…. “It connects with a playfulness that we forget about as adults”. One things for sure, the... Continue reading

Wednesday 29th June - and the magic continues… for how long until Mother Nature decides it’s time for more rain & moody skies .. Its week 5 for those aiming for their winter badges - remember 20 swims over 7 different weeks and the badge is yours! And extra special... Continue reading

Wednesday 8th of June - we love a magical Sydney winter.... cool air & warmth of friendship This is a picture of the Mermaids and manmaids jumping for joy at swimming in our magical winter wonderland, with a tinge of sadness as Dan, the original manmaid, last swim (for now)....... Continue reading

Wednesday 18th may What a wildly wonderfully windless waveless Wednesday! Great for swimming , not so much for the surf comp at north Steyne today … the silence, calm & serenity as we entered the water moments after “drinks express” , watching the sun rise and the moon set was... Continue reading

Wednesday - Jelly Wrestling today after yesterdays underwater volleyball.... Water temperature: 21.8 Air temperature: 18.2 Conditions: smooth … like smooth jelly … oh I mean it was full of jelly Vibe: “swim to the first jellyfish & turn back” A few fun facts about Jellyfish (thanks National Geographic!) They have... Continue reading