Danger Ocean Swims 2017, Torquay

The Torquay Danger 1000 Ocean swim is one of my favourite Open Water Swims. It’s a great swim to bring family and friends along to. There is a swim for ages 10 years onwards, lots of giveaways, food, and the start and finish lines are close together, so you can stay with your group right up until only a few minutes to go. The Brunswick Belugas truly embraced the spirit of the event with most bringing family and friends to enjoy the day.

As I approached the ocean view of Cosy Corner, the seas were calm, very little wind – woo hoo – awesome conditions. I spotted the Brunswick Belugas flag flying in the distance. I puffed out my chest and marched proudly towards the group.

The More Dangerous 2.5km Beluga swimmers had already completed their swim by the time I arrived. Anthony Ferguson was quick to point out that Raoul had beaten him by several minutes, Raoul nodded to confirm the claim and to affirm his winning tally position.

Owen got caught in a pack and struggled to find his own space amongst an elite group of swimmers. He managed to hang on and to finish 6th overall male, 5th Open Age Swimmer out of 111 male competitors. Go Owen!

Janet was happy with her swim, and even happier with her newly purchased “cover me jules” terry towelling poncho that she could frolic around naked in, taking enormous pride in being able to get dressed under there without anyone noticing.

I didn’t see Paul Turner or Paul Gatcum, however, the results show they swam well.

Danger 1000
By the time we had been given a run down on the 2.5km efforts, the wind had blown up and the seas were looking angry. Raoul, Paul and Anthony were quick to pack up our flag and leave the beach, no doubt for the nearest coffee shop. Owen kindly stayed to support his 1km team mates, making sure our wetsuits were fitted correctly and zipped up tightly. Sandy was most appreciative of this – given that her fingernails are 3 inches long – a hole in her wetsuit is inevitable.

It was typical ocean swimming conditions for the 1km swim. There was a strong tidal push from right to left, wind, and waves to battle out to the first turning buoy. It was a marathon run to the finish line (at least 10 metres).

The highlights of the race for me was having mixed age groups on the start line, and having Tracy Cameron join me in the queue for the podium by finishing 2nd in her age group. What another brilliant swim by Tracy! I was grateful and very, very lucky to finish 3rd in my age group.

Liz Bell had an impressive and brave swim without a wetsuit. Sandy (6th) continued to give the opposition a scare and is improving with every race. Doris Brown was in her comfort zone at her ‘home’ beach. Ale hasn’t wasted any time getting back on track after having baby Mattias – now 10 weeks. Ale did a great time and finished 7th in front of her beautiful family and friends. Maureen Weir provided the laughs for the day and managed an impressive top 10 finish.

Craig was happy with his top 10 finish, (his time slower than mine – at last…that’s one to me Craig). Ken Shannon is a regular at the Torquay swim, and was rapt with his efforts.

Well done to everyone who swam.