Last Saturday’s swim was held at Balmoral Beach, which is a good location for various safety reasons - swimmers can get a hot shower after a long swim in cold water and the location is protected from strong winds and, therefore, big swells.
And Balmoral certainly welcomed us with great conditions – the water temperature advertised on the Bathers’ building showed 15.7C and sunny weather was a good sign for a great day and also an enjoyable swim.
Instead of a mass start, those completing an 8hr swim started at different times this week. First off the blocks were Marty and Sonny who arrived before 5am so that Marty could start swimming in the dark at 5am. Having Sonny as a seasoned support paddler made this a safe swim option for Marty and also good practice for having to swim in the dark on his English Channel attempt.
Cae, Rachael, Justin and Ross arrived at 6am and were in the water for 6.20am whilst it was still a bit dark but nice water conditions.
At 7 am a final group of swimmers gathered: Karl swam with Jim, the latter wanting to make his 6 hour qualification swim for the English Channel; Simon and Katarina who swam for an hour with a good rhythm; and Daniel swam with Anna Taurek. Anna was aiming for 6 hours whilst Daniel’s plan was for an easy 3 hours but in the end he kept Anna company for the entire 6 hours which demonstrated great team spirit and support.
Justin’s swim was one of the best and most adventurous. Vlad paddled with Justin for 2 hours on a kayak towing a floating surfboard with all the drinks and energy gels. The loop started from Balmoral beach round to the North to Chinaman’s beach and then onto the boat shed. From here they crossed to the other side of the inner harbour and along the coastline until the next little beach before coming back the same way. Justin then swam for another 2hours before repeating this loop again in Barbora’s company.
Over all Saturday swim:
For the safety of our swimmers, the long swim in only 15.7°C water needs to be close to lifesaving building that offers hot shower and first aid facility. For this reason we are moving Saturday swim to Balmoral Beach. Apologies for any inconvenience with changed location.
Channel swimmers starts at: 6am
Other swimmers start at: 7am
Feeding from two floating baskets – one for cold drinks and food and second for hot drinks
Channel swimmers: food, drink and thermos for hot water and smile.
Please bring your support for 6-8 hour swim.
Other swimmers: drink, nutrition, wetsuit and warm clothes
Waiver form: No waiver no swim!
Short swims (up to 2 hours):
Vladswim bronze, silver and gold pass holders – no extra fees
Multi-pass holders – one session will be deducted from your pass
Casual swimmers - $20per person
Long swims (2 to 8 hours):
Vladswim gold pass holders – no extra fees
Vladswim silver pass holders - $10 for any additional hour after initial 4 hour swim
Vladswim bronze pass holders – $10 for any additional hour after the initial 2hour swim
Multi-pass holders – one additional session will be deducted from your pass for every 2hr swim
Casual swimmers – $60 (for 8 hour scheduled swim)
 |
||
Is located on Sydney Harbour on the north shore of Sydney, just down from Mosman. |
||
View Balmoral sat swim in a larger map |
 |
|
Average Temp. 18-20°C Summer |
Average Temp. 14-16°C Winter |
|
Marine Life  |
||
