The swimming season in south-west Western Australia is just about to open. Well, I suppose if you’re die-hard (like most open water swimmers seem to be) it never really closes so what I mean is, swimming is about to happen in sunshine. At least I hope it is. We have just shivered through a long, wet, chilly winter. Longer, wetter, and chillier than usual. Swims in sunshine have been snatched at the edge of sunset, in glimpses between cloud bands, but, mostly, non-existent. There is an earnest desperation to the swimmers at the moment, as they yearn for spring.

Spring swimming sounds delicious. Gentle, warming breezes, wildflowers nodding dainty heads along the path to the beach, brilliant sunrises and more comfortable sea temperatures. The reality of spring swimming around Cape Naturaliste is that the Leeuwin Current, which transports warm, tropical water down from the north moves further out to sea and cool, Southern Ocean water floods the shoreline on the Capes Current. This is coupled with freshwater upwellings that dot the favourite swimming spots - winter creeks bursting with rain push up into the ocean, usually right where you want to step into the water. The sea gets colder, just when you want to be packing the wetsuit away and swimming in skin.

Somehow cold water doesn’t deter the vibrant community of swimmers. There are a few official swimming clubs in the region that cater to all ages of swimmers, with a focus on pool swimming and competition, but early morning at the beaches you’ll meet the unofficial clubs. Groups of mermaids and mermen who woke up one day and decided to make ocean swimming a regular thing. Most mornings at my favourite swimming hole, Yallingup Lagoon, you’ll find two or three different groups swimming laps around the 350m circuit that loops from the beach out to the fringing reef, across the length of it, and back along the shore.

Earliest in and quickest ‘round the laps are the ‘Fat Turkeys’, a group of men who swim hard and fast and have several Rottnest Channel Swim* soloists amongst them. These guys often swim outside the reef in unprotected waters, ignoring the little shadow of caution that most ocean swimmers in this part of WA have inside them. At the end of their swims, the Turkeys are buoyant. Friendly and full of jokes as they head to the showers.

The next swimmers into the water are the mermaids, in several waves. The A wave swimmers are strong and fast. There are a few Rottnest Channel Swim soloists in this group as well. The B and C wave mermaids tend to focus on sight-seeing and stopping for chats a little more than the A wave. If there’s an octopus hiding in her garden the A wave will spot her, and the B and C waves will stop to make friends. Finally, there are the Knickerless Swimmers. This group ranges in age from late 60s to early 80s and is completely dedicated to thrice-weekly dips. They meander with masks and snorkels, finding pleasure in a slow, mindful swim rather than the mad dashes of more competitive groups.

I am in the mermaid B wave. I enjoy the challenge of open water swimming races and have swum the channel to Rottnest as part of a team in the Port to Pub** race. I also enjoy stopping to make friends with an octopus. For me, swimming is a path to calm and perspective. Am I competitive? Yes, but also focused on finding pleasure from the swim rather than the win.

When I moved to this town in 2014 I didn’t know anyone. Through swimming I have been introduced to a whole community of people I might not have otherwise met. On the rare occasion I bump into someone from another group at, for example, the coffee shop (perhaps the next most common place to find a wild water swimmer, after the sea), the first question is always, ‘have you swum today?’ followed by a breakdown of the conditions, marine life sightings, water temperature, and when the next swim might be. This salty line of connection and resilience runs like a thread through all the regular swimmers of Yallingup Lagoon.

As lighter mornings and a bit of sunshine encourage more swimmers out of bed earlier in the day we occasionally end up with all three groups (plus a myriad of other keen surfers, swimmers, and dippers) in the water at the same time. This creates the perfect conditions for sighting practice as people move around the lagoon at different speeds and, quite often, in different directions. The changing platform fills with people. Cold swimmers queue for freshwater showers. Sand, towels, wetsuits are flung everywhere as people move in and out of the water, and there is the kind of excited conversation that only happens when the endorphins are flowing. To a non-swimmer or casual beach-goer, the hectic energy swirling at this interchange must be intimidating. Too bad if you want to rinse the sand from your feet, there are five swimmers at the showers and a guy coming up behind with his surfboard… By about eight o’clock, it is done. The lagoon emptied of these groups, the showers are free, and there’s space, once again, to drop onto the bench and quietly watch the water. The swimmers are dispersed to their favourite coffee locations to warm up, check in with each other, and talk about swimming.

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Notes:

*a swim from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island, about 20km out to sea, and the crown event for open water swimming in WA

**a different swim across to Rottnest. It starts from Leighton Beach, ends at the Rottnest Hotel and is ‘a swim for all’.

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Link to Katies' Substack

Hi, I’m Littlejohn — a Canadian/Irish guy living between Helsinki, Mallorca, and Big Sky, Montana.

I mainly OWS (open water swim) in the Baltic Sea or the many lakes near Nagu in the Archipelago of Finland. I love to swim in the Med off our place in Mallorca.

But I’m currently swimming in Bozeman at Glen Lake Rotary Park (near MAP Brewing Company — an après swim tradition).

We also swim at Lake Levinsky at the foot of Big Sky Resort and the famous Lone Peak — a never-erupted laccolith fed by melting snow. It’s refreshing!

Recently, I was pacing my friend Bradford there for the Bozeman Triathlon on June 21st. He finished 2nd in his division.

There’s also “Buoy Nights!,” put on by TrainAnything up at the Hyalite Reserve every Thursday night starting at 6 p.m., from July through the end of August. It’s a short but glorious window when the water’s warm enough to swim.

It’s a great scene up here in Montana — some of the most athletic people in the world, like climber Conrad Anker, call it home. There are also private jets and billionaires, but I don’t know anything about those...

Catch me at the outdoor music at Len Hill Park or at the “Brothel,” the cycling-inspired dive bar on Aspen Leaf Dr.

Summer is short here (and yes, it has been known to snow on the 4th of July) in this last best place — so get moving!

And my connection to Ruby Fresh?

I used to be the Senior Editor at Snowboard Canada magazine and Canadian Editor at Snowboard UK magazine right back in the day when Eddie Spearing, the owner of Ruby Fresh, was the publisher. He was surprised when I got in touch after many years saying I was a keen swimmer too.

Now I work in tech and import Spanish wines to North America. I’m a dad to three (plus one bulldog), and I stay fit through open water swimming (OWS), CrossFit, biking, snowboarding, and golf.

— LJ

#OpenWaterSwimming #Montana #Finland #Mallorca #Triathlon #ColdPlunge #AdventureLiving

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My family relocated to Dunedin in January 2023, so it was important to find a swimming community before we moved. I had been swimming with the Southern Lakes Swimming Club in Queenstown since the start of my open water swimming journey in October 2019. Open water swimming has become a big part of my life and well-being. I was incredibly happy to find the Sunday Swim Squad online and joined them for my first swim in the Otago Harbour at Macandrew Bay in October 2022.

It is a beautiful drive to Macandrew Bay, a suburb of Dunedin on the Otago Peninsula. The public park's small, man-made beach and landscaped areas were completed in the late seventies. I felt anxious going for my first saltwater swim with the Sunday Swim Squad. Chris and Dean, the founding members were welcoming. Lee, my good friend from Queenstown, who at the time lived in Dunedin, also joined us. I experienced a panic attack as we headed out, feeling claustrophobic due to the lack of visibility. I stopped and wanted to turn around but saw Lee keep going. I knew I would never hear the end if I got out. I kept going and after a while started to relax and enjoy the swim.

The Sunday Swim Squad swims for six months of the year, mid-October to mid-April. Sunday mornings usually at Macandrew Bay and Wednesday afternoons at Vauxhall. The group swims to the nearest marker, with Chris or Dean setting the route. The squad goes into hibernation during the cooler months, as some believe the water becomes too cold. 

Determined to swim through winter to prepare for the International Ice Swimming Association Nationals at Blue Lake in Saint Bathans in July 2023, I was very grateful to Brendan, Tane, and Susan for joining me, which naturally led to the creation of the winter division of the Sunday Swim Squad, named the Frozen SeaDogs. During winter 2023, we regularly swam in water temperatures of 8° degrees Celsius (46.4°F), occasionally dropping to 6°C (42.8°F). We used the Macandrew Bay Boating Club facilities to shower and change, rewarding ourselves with coffee at The Duck or Glenfalloch.

During summer we swim at least two kilometres per outing. Depending on the tide we either swim towards Glenfalloch (ebb or outgoing) or Company Bay (flood or incoming). Close to low tide, the current is at its strongest. We have learned to swim close to shore on the way out, into the current, making use of available eddy currents. On our way back we swim in the channel or on the sandbank. It is a lot of fun. On still days the water close to the side can be clear and I find it interesting watching the subaquatic environment. A substantial portion of the harbour is very shallow with a large sand bank in the middle of which parts are exposed at low tide. On the northwest side we have the main channel, dredged for large ships, and on the southeast the secondary channel, perfect for us to swim in.

I regularly swim over stingrays. The surprise is usually mutual, and the stingrays will take off and disappear. I am a slow swimmer. Once, I was last out of the water at a Wednesday night swim hosted by the Dunedin tri-club in Macandrew Bay. There are usually six such events a year. As I was finishing, the lifeguard paddled back with me saying something I pretended to understand, and I made my way on to the beach. Walking out of the water I realised a large sea lion had cleared the tiny beach of humans! The conversation I pretended to understand in the water then made sense. I have not come across a sea lion in the water yet. That day will come. I am planning not to freak out.

We usually swim at Macandrew Bay but we also swim at Vauxhall or Sawyers Bay on the other side of the estuary - where the water is very shallow and usually clear. Sometimes we swim around Pudding Island. Vauxhall is typically the Wednesday night Sunday Swim Squad venue. I also swim there during the month of June on weekdays preparing for the ice swimming event in July. Pudding Island is the venue for the annual swim in March to launch the Wild Dunedin Festival.

Open water winter swimming in Dunedin is growing. We have seen a five-fold increase compared to last year. I met the Harbour Honeys, (a ‘new’ female swim troupe) in the water. During the colder months Macandrew Bay is also a popular spot for followers of ‘The Hof’ – The Wim Hof Method. Many dippers frequent the cool waters. I often wonder why more people do not utilise this incredible resource. We are quick to spend money on ‘gimmicks’ promising well-being, yet we are fortunate to have this wonderful healing resource right here in Dunedin.

If you live in or travel through Dunedin, please come and join us for a swim or a dip. We would love to share this beautiful place, Dunedin, with you – ‘Castle on the Rock’.

Contact details on Facebook - for the Sunday Swim Squad and through which you can contact Francois.

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