A Little Night Swimming (at Coogee)

A great place to be on a hot, humid night in Sydney. The beach pool under the Surf Lifesavers Club is lit by street lights and a floodlight.

Okay. Not the best photos. Just from the mobile phone.

Bit of seaweed in the pool. From a recent storm.

The water looks cool.

And it is cool. Exactly what I needed.

Christmas Day at Wylies Baths

Christmas Day morning was cool, dull and overcast after a scorching Christmas Eve. Still, we headed off for a swim. For the past few months I've been swimming at Dawn Fraser Baths in the harbour, but it was closed for the public holiday. Wylies Baths was open, so Wylies it was. The baths are usually very busy with parties on Xmas Day, but, perhaps because of the weather, not  many people were down there when we arrived, so there was plenty of room to swim. The ocean water temperature is always cooler than the harbour water temperature, but today it felt especially cool. Perhaps there's been an upwelling? In any case I didn't believe the 20 degrees Celsius written on the board. Still, it was a great way to start the day. Ten lengths of breaststroke, then a couple more just gliding up and down with the goggles off, watching the waves crashing against the rocks. It started to drizzle as we left, and, eventually, it was a day of thunderstorms and heavy rain.

The End Of The Summer Swimming Season

On Sunday, I had my last swim at Dawn Fraser Pool (or Balmain Baths) for six months. It is now closed for the winter. I managed to have a few days swimming just before it closed. The weather was kind enough to stay dry for several days in a row (unusual for this past summer), so I went on Thursday evening after work, on Saturday morning at sunrise and again on Sunday morning at sunrise. Monday was actually the final day, but, after a wild storm on Sunday night, the Parramatta River was polluted by stormwater yet again. I'll be back on, or shortly after, the October long weekend.

On Wednesday I headed back to Coogee and Wylies Baths. I'll be swimming here for the next six months. I actually like having the two different locations at the two different times of year for my regular swims. It provides a seasonal feel to both sets of baths.

I swam again at Wylies today, on a beautiful Autumn morning in the warm sun. The water was clear, sparkling and 21°C. I'm used to swimming a kilometre at Balmain, which is 20 lengths, but I have to remember that a length at Wylies is 50 yards rather than 50 metres, so I need to swim an extra 2 lengths. Not much of a problem in this wonderful saltwater.

Today I was amused to see that somebody had dug out an old sign that I'd completely forgotten about. It used to be displayed quite prominently when I was a regular swimmer and member here during the 1980s before the renovation/ restoration of the baths.

Sydney's Wet Summer

Sydney has had an incredibly wet summer so far, with more twice last summer's rainfall already having been recorded. The La Nina phenomenon seems to be the cause. Such heavy rainfall affects swimming in Sydney's waterways. Because of the city's built up areas, stormwater runs directly into the rivers, bays and the ocean, causing pollution incidents. Generally, the ocean beaches are declared safe one day after heavy falls, but the bays and rivers can take up to three days to clear. I usually swim in the Harbour every weekend during the summer months, so it has been frustrating this summer when there have been so many pollution days. I've ended up going over to Coogee Beach or Wylies Baths for my swims, but, even in the ocean, there's been a lot of flotsam. The beaches are also quite crowded at this time of year, and the seasonal north-easterly winds often bring seaweed and bluebottles (Portugese Man-Of-War).

Midweek, during a normal summer, I often go for a swim, after work, over to Balmain Baths. It's a bit of a hike, as I work in the south-western suburbs, and have to take a train 30 kilometres into the city centre, then a bus 3km out to Balmain. I could just go to one of the many chlorinated municipal pools, but I really enjoy swimming in saltwater. I have been missing out on this swim since the new year because of the stormwater pollution, so it was with relief that I read the Beachwatch reports on Thursday morning when they declared pollution to be unlikely. 

I set off on the train into the city at 3:30. Half way there, of course, the rain started. It was pretty heavy too. I thought it might clear, but it persisted. Another wet summer evening. I really don't mind swimming in the rain, but I hoped that there wouldn't be too much runoff into the baths.

By the time I got into the city and waited for the bus, there was a lot of water on the roads. Still, I caught the bus out to Balmain, determined to swim. On the way across the Glebe Island Bridge, the rain started to ease, and by the time we got to Balmain it had stopped. I walked across a very wet Elkerton Park, and down to the pool. It was an unusually low tide, and the seagrasses were exposed. The water was a bit on the murky side, but I managed to do my twenty lengths and avoid any sort of sickness.

Coming on to the Glebe Island Bridge. Still raining.

Looking from Glebe Island Bridge across to the Harbour Bridge. The rain is easing over the city.

At Balmain Baths. The rain has stopped.

A very low tide with the seagrasses visible.

A good standby for this wet summer has been Birrong Pool which is on the train line from work back home. As I said, I don't really enjoy chlorine pools, but it's been better than no swim at all. The ocean baths and beaches are just too far after work. It would mean taking a train into the city, then a bus out to the Eastern Suburbs, then a bus and train back to the Inner West where I live. Sometimes on a Friday afternoon I'll go, but never midweek.

Birrong Pool

I normally have a midweek swim here in the winter when Balmain Baths are closed.

A Short Swim Around Coogee Bay

I enjoyed last week's Dawny to Cockatoo Island swim so much that I decided to have a go at the 1 kilometre swim around Coogee Bay, an event which is hosted by the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club (http://coogeesurfclub.com.au/club/). There is a total of three swims in the event: an 800 metres dash for the juniors (11 to 13 years), the 1km course inside the bay and a 2.4 km swim out of the bay and around Wedding Cake Island.

Before the majority of entrants arrived. The line of breakers in the distance is Wedding Cake Island.

The swim around the island is, by all accounts, one of the most amazing swims along the Sydney coast, with submarine views of large boulders on the shoreward side and reefs of rock, seaweed and marine life on the open ocean side - all seen through clear blue water.

The registration process: entrants registered by age group and distance.

There is no way that I could manage the 2.4 kms out to the island, let alone navigate the currents behind the island and make it back to shore, so it was the 1km swim for me. 

The first buoy has already been placed in the water.

The day was gorgeous, warm and sunny after a week of rain and surprisingly cold temperatures. It's a popular swim, and there were lots of entrants in many age categories. The junior dash was first, then the 1km swim went off in two waves, the younger age groups first.  I was, of course, in the second wave. Altogether there were 427 people in the 1km swim, and, amazingly (unless I've misunderstood something) almost one thousand in the swim around the island (some people doubled-up by swimming in both).

A glorious day at Coogee Beach

The water temperature was 18°C, and there was a very high tide. Swimming out into the bay, I could notice the difference between this week's swim in the swell and the chop and last week's swim in the calm, flat waters of Sydney Harbour. I set off from the beach using a front crawl stroke, but several times reverted to breaststroke to catch my breath and give my shoulders a rest. One or two people were doing backstroke or sidestroke at various times. 

Last week I swam the 1.1km in 21 minutes, and felt fine afterwards. This week the 1km swim took me 33 minutes 16 seconds, and I had to have a sit in the sun for several minutes after finishing. Later in the day I had sore legs and shoulders. A reminder that the open ocean takes a bit more effort than the ocean rock pool or tidal baths. 

Later I walked up onto the cliffs to watch the real swimmers rounding the island.

Looking from the cliffs to Wedding Cake Island (barely visible in the very high tide). 

It's impossible to see the swimmers in this photo, but they were somewhere out the back when it was taken.

A Swim In The South Pacific

Actually, nothing unusual about a swim in the South Pacific, but it's a precursor to a swim in the North Pacific some time tomorrow. Yes, I'm off to San Francisco again, for (among other things) a few swims in The Bay.

My swim at Coogee was unexpectedly cool, but probably nothing like as cool as the chilly San Francisco waters will be.

Today, out in Western Sydney, where I work, the temperature climbed above 32°C on a very sunny day. But, by the time I'd taken train and bus the 45 kilometres to the coast, the 'southerly buster' had swept through the city and pushed temperatures down to 15°C. It was overcast and gloomy, with dark clouds over the sea, as the evening light faded.

On the beach, the strong winds were very cold indeed. Even the water temperature was lower than it's been since early August, clocking in at 16°C. I swam a great many lengths of the S.L.S.C. pool, and eventually warmed up a wee bit. However, no hot shower, and those southerly winds, made for an uncomfortable few minutes while I was getting changed.

The water was cooler than it's been for some time.

The evening lights were coming on after I finished swimming.

The Last Weekend of Winter

Early today I set off for my final swim of winter in thick fog. As I arrived at Coogee, the sun had just begun to burn off the worst of it, but it was still a little misty out on the ocean.

The water is back to 17°C again after dipping down to 16°C last weekend. The water seems to have stayed warmer this winter. These temperatures are so mild, that we've even had some bluebottles (portuguese man of war) drifting in on the unseasonal onshore breezes.

The water was very clear. There were scores of small fishes swimming alongside and below me. I did 20 beautiful lengths avoiding the occasional  bluebottle.

A Wintry Day At Wylies Baths

Yesterday, it was blue skies and bright sunshine, and a perfect Winter's day in Sydney. The baths were gorgeous, and some people were even sunbathing on the wooden decks.

Today is a different story. The skies were grey, the breeze was cold, the rain drizzled down and the top temperature for the day was 15°C. 

According to the board, the seawater temperature was 17°C, but it seemed cooler than that. After I finished my 25 lengths, the hot shower felt like it was scorching my skin. I haven't had that feeling since the 14°C water in San Francisco last year.

Winter Swimming At Last (and only three weeks left)

The notice board at Wylies Baths tells the story. The seawater temperature has finally dropped down to a winter level. Last weekend it was 18°C; this weekend it's 16.5°C. I doubt that it will drop much below this temperature now. In a little over three weeks it will (officially) be Spring.

I swam my twenty lengths in clear, sparkling water. Though the temperature is a bit cooler than recent weeks, it's still mild enough to swim in just a pair of speedos and no swimcap.

There seem to be a lot more people swimming right through the winter these days. There also seem to be fewer people using wetsuits. 

Finally - A Little Calm

Swimming in the sea has been difficult these past couple of weeks, even at low tide. The swell has been very big (up to 4½ metres some days). Wylies Baths has been closed to swimmers on and off over the past few weeks. Last weekend I didn't get a swim at all. So, it was with relief that I read about the swell dropping during this past week. As the weekend approached the seas flattened out, and I was able to turn up at the pool for an early morning swim, even though it was just after high tide.

It was a glorious morning, but the air temperature was a wee bit on the cool side at 9°C. On the board it said that the sea temperature was 18°C, but I'm somewhat sceptical about that. The first length felt colder than I've been used to recently. Still, three years ago it was about 15° at this time of year, and it got down to 14° during early August. In any case, the water was clear, clean and refreshing. I swam 20 lengths through several small schools of tiny fish, then sat in the sun until I started shivering. A hot shower and a hot mug of tea soon fixed that.

About a fortnight ago, I was swimming here in rough conditions at low tide, when I noticed that one of the two posts that stick up out of the pool was missing. It had been buckled over and bent under the water by the force of the waves. The image below shows the two posts, which is how Wylies has looked for the 25 years that I've been going there. In that time they've been used to rope off a wading area for small children in the summer, but nobody seems to know what they were originally intended for nor how long they've been there.

Big Seas

Last week I had a pretty wild swim on high tide at Wylies Baths. Nothing too unusual about that. This week there has been a big swell off Sydney, so it was too dangerous to swim while the tide was high. But, even at low tide, it was a wild old time in the pool.

All of these photos were taken at low tide. Actually, two days ago it was probably even wilder. Even today, some big sets were crashing into the pool and washing up over the concrete platforms at the base of the cliffs.

Twenty lengths seemed like thirty today after struggling against the swell.

Strangely, though, the water temperature is back up to 18°C.

Cooler Water

It's beginning to feel like winter swimming at last. The water temperature at Wylies today was (according to the board) 17°C. I still don't feel the need to wear a swimcap, but that's because I only swim my 20 - 25 lengths.

The week has seen very strong (and cold) westerly winds. Today they were particularly strong, but, as the cliffs protect the baths from the cold westerlies and southerlies, it was warm in the sunshine. 

The offshore winds were, however, meant to flatten out the seas, but when I swam, just past high tide, I got a rather rough and choppy pool.

Winter Solstice

The water at Wylies Baths has stayed reasonably warm since Winter officially began about three weeks ago. I swam there on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, just a couple of days before the solstice. Both days were bright and sunny, but, due to a swell, I had to save the lap swimming until low tide at 4PM or thereabouts. By this time, the sun was low in the sky, the pool was in shadow and there was a bit of a chill in the air. 

On Saturday the water temperature was 19°C, and on Sunday it was 18°C, so still warm (although there was an occasional wetsuit to be seen). There's still no real need for a swim cap, but I will admit that I was glad of a hot shower and a mug of tea on Sunday.

I swam twenty sparkling lengths on Saturday (plus another couple without the goggles, just looking at the views), then another fifteen on Sunday. There were plenty of fishes swimming around the pool, but I didn't see the friendly octopus this weekend. The resident cormorant also failed to show up.

Coogee Ladies Baths

This is the one pool that will (quite rightly) always elude me on my somewhat silly attempt to swim all of the ocean pools and tidal baths in Sydney.


McGivers Ladies Baths at Coogee is a very important recreational facility for women in the greater Sydney area. It is, to my knowledge, the only swimming pool to be available for bathing by women and children only at all hours.


According to the NSW Ocean Baths website ( http://www.nswoceanbaths.info/pools/b043.htm ), it has been used as a women's swimming area continuously since the 1860s.


I recall that, during the 1990s, a man made a complaint (either misguided or spiteful, it seems to me) to the Anti- Discrimination Board, claiming that his exclusion from the pool constituted an act of discrimination. Good sense prevailed, the case was dismissed and McIvers Ladies Baths was excluded from the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. 


Obviously, I am unable to provide photographs of the pool area, but I am able to supply links to two blogs that have excellent descriptions and photographs of the baths:


firstly, from the blog, Swimming, a post, McIvers Baths, Coogee
http://swimsallyswim.blogspot.com/2006/09/mcivers-baths-coogee.html


and from the blog, Swimming Pool Stories, a post, Ladies-only at lovely McGiver's Baths
http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com/2010/01/ladies-only-at-lovely-mcivors-baths.html

Coogee At Sunrise

It's been very hot indeed for the past month in Sydney. Not only have the daytime temperatures been in the thirties (and occasionally the low forties), but the nighttime temperatures have been in the low to mid twenties. After yet one more hot and humid night, I decided I'd had enough, and, rather than wait for daylight, I set off for the beach in the wee dark hours. I got to Coogee sometime around six, and sat up on the cliff to watch the first light come. As the light grew stronger, I walked down to the beach to watch the sun rise from the Pacific.

At the pool below the Surf Lifesavers Club

There were already several people on the sand. Some were meditating, some were swimming, some were paddling surf skis, some were jogging and some were photographing the dawn with huge cameras and tripods. My cheap Tescos camera couldn't compete with that, but I took a couple of snapshots anyway.

Sitting on the cool sand watching the sun rising

I sat for a good while, accompanied by seagulls and seaweed, at the edge of the beach where the waves were breaking. The sand was cool and the breeze from the water was also cool, so I forgot about the heat, and just watched the sun slowly rise.

Walking to Giles Baths for a swim

As the sun got higher in the morning sky, I set off for a swim. It's been quite some time since I swam in the rock pool below the old Giles Baths, so I headed over there. It was still not really light, and it was a lot of fun jumping off the rocks into the dark water. Surf was gushing over the rocks, and I loved being washed around by the foam. I swam up and down the pool until it was light, then walked slowly back along the beach.

First Leg Of The Pacific Swim

I'm hoping to swim on both sides of the Pacific today. First up is a South Pacific swim at Coogee Beach. It's early morning; the air temperature is 12 degrees C., and the water temperature is 16 degrees C.

Next stop is San Francisco, where, after crossing the International Date Line, I'm hoping to swim in the North Pacific on the same day (well, date).

The Last Of The Winter Swimming

The First of September is the (official) start of Spring in Australia, so this weekend has been my last chance for an (official) Winter swim.

All last week there were strong (and cold) westerly winds blowing, flattening the ocean, and making swimming conditions perfect at any stage of the tides. Today, however, a southerly change has been moving up the coast, bringing a swell with it. I could only get to Wylies on high tide today, and the pool was too rough to swim in. So, it was a case of wandering down to the beach and swimming in the pool under the Surf Life Savers' Club. It's protected, to some extent, from a southerly swell, but, even then, it got a little rough at times. I swam for about 20 minutes in the 15 degrees water, and certainly missed the hot shower afterwards. Luckily, it was a perfect day, so a mug of hot tea in the warm sun soon restored me.

Colder Water

I didn't think the seawater temperature would get down to 15 degrees this winter, but it has (with one weekend to spare).

Today was a gorgeous Sydney winter's day, sunny and bright with barely a cloud in the sky. There was a strong, cool westerly blowing which flattened out last week's swell on the ocean.

The water was clear and sparkling (and cool). I swam twenty, lazy lengths in the sun. I still can't be bothered to wear a swimming cap. Later I sat up on the decking, drinking a mug of tea and watching the ocean.

Afterwards, I wandered along the cliff path, past the Ladies' Baths, and down to Coogee Beach.

Only Two Weeks Left

There are only two weeks left for (official) winter swimming. The water temperature has only just dropped to 16 degrees. I doubt that it'll now get down to 15. I've given up the idea of wearing a swimming cap this winter.

I swam my twenty lengths late in the day, just as the light was beginning to fade. I had to wait for low tide because the swell had been so big. In fact, conditions were so dangerous that Wylies was closed on high tide.

The Water's Getting Cooler

The water is finally cooling down. I went swimming at Wylies yesterday, and the temperature has just dipped below seventeen degrees. Today is the first of August, so there's only four weekends of Winter left. I wonder if it will make it down to 15 degrees this year?

Still no need for the swimcap. I swam twenty lengths with the occasional set of waves breaking into the pool.