Just four 8 o'clockers made it down to Hahei for the Cathedral Cove swim. And what a glorious swim it was.
The conditions were calm and still, and it was warm but not too sunny. The water was clear and we could see big (not 20cm baby sharks though) and little fish.
Brent's mum and aunty were the administrative powerhouse, signing up a record number of swimmers (around 90). Brent's mum had made two splendid double-sized banners, as they were fed up with seeing sponsor logos and writing in previous swims!
Despite some of us inadvertently missing the briefing, it was a fairly obvious course in the conditions. The start was 'staggered' on account of the hooter not working, and must have looked very funny from the beach. We rounded the traffic-cone buoy in line with the cave entrance, and either ran out of the water, dashed through the cave and dived back in again for the return leg, or savoured the approach to the beach, stopped for a chat with fellow swimmers, took in the scenery and strolled back along the beach in anticipation of a lovely swim back.
The prize giving saw practically everyone get something off the laden table, including the Schofield family who picked up two Samoa Swim entries. I was awarded second place in the non-wetsuit category, which was clearly a mistake, as Helen hadn't been called up. Second to last was more likely in my case, so they must have got our race numbers muddled up.
We finished off a fantastic morning with lunch at the fabulous Colenso cafe on the way home.
Next year, this is the swim not to miss (except if the conditions are awful)!
The conditions were calm and still, and it was warm but not too sunny. The water was clear and we could see big (not 20cm baby sharks though) and little fish.
Brent's mum and aunty were the administrative powerhouse, signing up a record number of swimmers (around 90). Brent's mum had made two splendid double-sized banners, as they were fed up with seeing sponsor logos and writing in previous swims!
Despite some of us inadvertently missing the briefing, it was a fairly obvious course in the conditions. The start was 'staggered' on account of the hooter not working, and must have looked very funny from the beach. We rounded the traffic-cone buoy in line with the cave entrance, and either ran out of the water, dashed through the cave and dived back in again for the return leg, or savoured the approach to the beach, stopped for a chat with fellow swimmers, took in the scenery and strolled back along the beach in anticipation of a lovely swim back.
The prize giving saw practically everyone get something off the laden table, including the Schofield family who picked up two Samoa Swim entries. I was awarded second place in the non-wetsuit category, which was clearly a mistake, as Helen hadn't been called up. Second to last was more likely in my case, so they must have got our race numbers muddled up.
We finished off a fantastic morning with lunch at the fabulous Colenso cafe on the way home.
Next year, this is the swim not to miss (except if the conditions are awful)!
Great report Jo yesterday was a lovely day to swim - there weren't many of uss at Takapuna either xok
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