After-work paddle with Jon at a very flat Coogee. Not as many
people in the water as I would have expected for a fine final evening
of the year.
Late-afternoon dip with Jon at a very flat Coogee. According to
last night's TV news, the water is 19 degrees, but it still feels
cold. Quite warm out though.
After-work duck-and-paddle at Coogee. The water was still a little
cool, though it was pleasant enough out. The waves were reasonably
large and strong (for Coogee) but not perilous.
Early-afternoon swim and bake at Coogee with Daz, who's been in
Australia for about a week now. Not as many people there as I would
have expected a week before Christmas. A little surf, slightly cold,
on-shore wind and some warnings of blue bottles.
After-work bathe at Coogee. The water was a bit warmer, the wind
on-shore, the sun out. Very pleasant, average Coogee surf.
Another early-evening five minute dip, this time in a filthy Gordons
Bay. I had hoped it wouldn't be so bad as it hadn't rained for a
while.
Very quick late-afternoon dip at a freezing Coogee beach. The
off-shore wind was pretty stiff, but the resulting dumpers didn't stop
a couple of the very few blokes in trying to body surf. I lasted five
minutes. No idea why it was so much colder than last time.
Mid-afternoon paddle at a flat and largely empty Coogee. It was
supposed to be a rainy day but turned out much like the others of the
past week — cloudy but dry. Apparently Penrith and Gosford got
some rain.
Late-afternoon swim at Gordons Bay with Jon. By then the heat had gone
out of the day and the clouds were mounting. Quite a bit of swell and
wind.
Decided to brave Coogee, where the surf was averagely flat and the
water warmer. Very pleasant way to end the day, when the expected rain
did not eventuate.
Keeping the roll on, went for a swim at Gordons Bay, then grabbed some
dinner and watched the new
Wallace and Gromit short with
Pete R.,
Jack and Luca.
Another after-work paddle at Gordons Bay, in a wife beater.
Being the first day of summer, I had to brave the passingly-temperate
water of Gordons Bay. The forecast was for blue skies but some ominous
storm clouds blew past during my quick after-work paddle.
An after-work dip at Gordons Bay. Quite pleasant watching the clouds
mount from the west while paddling lazily around. I somewhat regretted
not wearing a wife-beater.
First non-wetsuit swim of the season, at Coogee. A moderate
on-shore wind made for some fairly-hefty-by-Coogee standards waves,
which proved my judgement to be quite rusty. The water was very
pleasant once in, with a wife-beater, and the evening quite
tranquil. Hopefully this sets the mold of after-work beach going.
Midday snorkel at Little Bay. The water was OK, with some cold patches
and some of the largest (half-metre) surf I've seen there. I wouldn't
have lasted five minutes without the spring suit. Visibility was poor
and the fish were hiding from the relatively rough conditions. My
timing was a bit off, it got hotter as the day progressed.
Mid-afternoon swim at Little Bay. They're getting serious about
building houses in the makeshift carpark, adjacent to the golf
course. Pretty soon the beach will be locals-only, due to limited
parking. Saw a gazillion fish, including one with a cat-like face and
a rippling skirt-like thing for getting around and the old small
swordfish-like things. Loads of groper and mobile-seaweed-fish. Some
days I wish I had a camera and some clue as to their names.
The water was warm enough in the bay (in a spring suit) but cold-ish
past the rocks. The wind would've been painful without the suit, but
didn't seem to hamper the best underwater visibility I've had this
season.
Early-afternoon snorkel at Gordon's Bay. Saw some tiny groper, some
middle-sized and small fish I can't name. A middling-sized one had
horizontal fore-fins and was patterned almost identically to the
seaweed. Purportedly 18 degrees in, quite comfortable in the spring
suit. Warm to hot out, I'd say 27 degrees or more before the storm
rolled in.
Mid-afternoon snorkel at Long Bay. Low visibility after all the recent
rain, a little cold in but quite nice out. Saw some small gropers and
other tiny fish I can't name.
Mid-afternoon swim at Long Bay after dropping
Peodair off at the
airport. Very quiet, some wind but little whitewater. Saw heaps of
groper. The water was cold, bearable in a wetsuit out of the current
coming in from the sea. Hot out, 33 degreees.
Midday snorkel at Gordons Bay. I lasted about 20 minutes in the spring
suit. Saw some groper and a school of medium-sized silvery
vertically-flat fish. The wind was picking up and the storm clouds
rolling in...
First swim of the season, an early-afternoon snorkel at Little
Bay. Loads of people were on the beach enjoying the 33-degree
heat. The water was a bit cold, but not too bad once in, at least in a
wetsuit and boots. Didn't see much, was content just to be back in
salt water.
Early afternoon snorkel with Rob at Long Bay. We started at
Little Bay but were put off by the relatively large surf and
whitewater. Absolutely perfect day for it, cloudless and warm, modulo
the idiots on their jetskis.
Continuing to make the most of my time in Sydney, I met up with Sarah
at Coogee and headed over to Clovelly for a swim in some
increasingly rough surf. The water was a perfect temperature and the
clouds threatened but passed on by.
Brief early-afternoon dip at Gordon's Bay. Incredibly flat, would've
been great to go snorkeling off the northern side.
Got to make the most of my time in Sydney... back to Coogee. Almost identical to yesterday.
Back to dear old flat-as Coogee for the first beach swim of the
year. The crowd was fairly thin, the weather warm but pregnant with
storm. The water was pleasant, the surf absent. In other words a
fairly standard day.
