After a long winter of training in the pool, the Mentone Swim was our first open-water competition outing; a chance to test our fitness in ocean conditions without a black line to follow on the bottom. Fifteen Belugas decided to take the plunge, split roughly 50:50 between the longer 2.5km swim and the all-out 1km dash.

Some cracking times were set in both events, with some well-deserved podium finishes for our swimming superstars (Jaye Dowling, 1st; Tracy Cameron, 3rd; Anthony Purcell, 3rd).  Well done to Ale Cateriano and Richard Uren on a great first outing!

We couldn’t have asked for better conditions on the day, with lovely sunshine and a flat, gently undulating ocean. As always, Paul Turner shunned the neoprene and swam as a cleanskin, but the water was such a lovely 18 degrees that even the bettie-wearers were tempted in for a ‘nude’ dip after the event.

Afterwards we enjoyed lunch at the Mentone Corner Store, before heading home contented, with weary arms, sun-kissed faces and full bellies. Another perfect Saturday!