In the summer time

It's summer here in Western Australia but we are enthralled watching the Winter Olympics. I love watching the events on TV and seeing the speed and exhilaration of the sports. These winter sports are so different for us, as we only have a couple of areas that have snow in Australia, and certainly not in Western Australia, except for an occasional light dusting on Bluff Knoll in our south west. 

Medals for Australians at the Winter Olympics are few and far between, so when an Aussie wins a medal, or in fact just gets into a final, it is a reason for celebration. So it was exciting to have just watched Matt Graham take silver in the moguls, our first medal at this Olympics.   Daily Telegraph - Winter Olympics. Congratulations Matt! 

But as I said it is summer in Australia and this last weekend we had a very busy weekend immersed in summer life. 

We had family come to stay so there was a BBQ on Friday night, and then Saturday morning we went to a waterfront restaurant for breakfast. The water was sparkling and the icecream van was already cranking up for the day.  Our town is surrounded by water on three sides - the Indian Ocean, the Leschenault Inlet, and Koombana Bay, so beach and water activities are a big part of our summer

In the afternoon we went down to the Inlet to watch our sons compete with their dragon boat club, Forza, in their local annual regatta. Dragon Boating has been a part of the landscape of our town, and our family life, since the first regatta was held here in March 1990. We have seen the big days of the sport when our local regatta was a two day event with over 70 teams, to the small regatta it is today. Our main competition is held in Perth, our capital city. Our local event was for teams of 10 paddlers, rather than the usual 20.

 On Saturday evening my husband and I drove up to the Ferguson Valley, a wine region only about twenty minutes from home, to enjoy a Spanish Sundowner at Green Door Wines. My Spanish friend Montse and her partner Laura, from Food with Passion South West cooked up a storm, including a variety of tapas and a huge paella. Delicious. 

And the light coming through the west facing window in the late afternoon was amazing. 

In between courses Flamenco dancers, Nicole and Susanna from Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company danced for us. Unfortunately the low light, the fast movement, and my skills didn't do their dancing justice, but you can get an idea of the colour and movement in these couple of images. 
These two talented ladies are our Flamenco teachers at Sol y Sombra. I've blogged about them several times before - Ole - Celebration of 25 years of flamenco

It was a fabulous evening. Oh, and don't forget the Sangria

On Sunday morning we had an early get up to travel down to Busselton to see our eldest son compete in the around the Busselton Jetty swim.  This is an annual event, which started in 1996, and which now attracts over 2000 competitors. The course is a swim of 3.6 kilometres from the shore, around the Busselton Jetty, and back to the shore. People swim solo, as my son, nephew and his wife did, or relay teams of two or four can nominate. 

Below you can see the start line and the end of the jetty where they swim round and then go back down the other side. 

And my son on the return leg.  We only managed to spot him because he was swimming alongside the jetty instead of further out. He said he was having difficulty dragging his arms out of the water at this point, but he managed to sprint the last few hundred metres to the finish line - what a welcome sight it must have been. We are so proud of him that he achieved this swim.

Thank you for stopping by everyone. I hope you have enjoyed this little look at summer in my part of the world. What is happening in your corner of the world? Are you watching the Winter Olympics?

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

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Busselton jetty swim - 2015 

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Busselton Jetty swim 2015

What does one do on a beautiful summer's Sunday morning in Busselton? Swim 3.6 kilometres around the Busselton Jetty with 2000 other people? Of course! but did I? No not me! I stood on the jetty and watched - I wouldn't want to get my camera wet would I?

But seriously this is what 2000 competitors, male and female, ranging from their teens to their eighties did on Sunday morning 8 February. It was the twentieth time the Around the Busselton Jetty swimming race had been held. Each year the race grows in numbers of competitors.

The event is unique in that the swimmers swim straight out into the ocean along the jetty, turn around the end of the jetty and then race back to the shore. The race can be viewed by spectators for the entire length of the course. 

In the image below you can see the competitors waiting on the beach for the start of the race.  I can imagine their nerves would have been playing havoc with them at this point. Or perhaps they just wanted to get in the water and start swimming.

 The inaugural swim in 1996, attracted 82 participants (18 solo females, 30 solo males, 8 four-person teams and one duo team), mostly local. Competitors travel from the Perth metropolitan and surrounding areas. Good support is provided from the districts of Bunbury and Margaret River. There have also been several interstate and even overseas competitors in recent years.

Numbers of competitors were capped this year for teams and individuals at: 120 x 2 person relay teams, 60 x 4 person relay teams, 1520 solo swimmers = Total swimmers 2000.

The swimmers are sent off from the beach in "waves" according to what time they estimated they will do the swim in. Each level wore a different colour swimming cap. In the pic below you can see the first of the "yellow cap" (fastest) swimmers leaving the beach. 

The Waves started at 08:00am and continued at 2-minute intervals, 2 and 4 person relay teams start at 08:15am.

After that it seemed to be a flurry of heads, arms, legs and froth. 

  That's the end of the jetty you can see in this pic below. There is an underwater observatory at the end of the jetty, and a small train which you can take out to the end. Might be an easier way to get to the end than swimming.

  There were plenty of people on hand on boards, dingies, jet-ski's and boats to help anyone in need of assistance during the race, and there are ladders along the jetty if people decide they have swum their limit.

 I was at the event with my family, sister and brother-in-law. We had gone to the swim to watch my nephew, my sister's son, and his girlfriend, compete in their first Round the Jetty swim. 
Below is a lucky shot I managed to get of my nephew swimming alongside the jetty back to the beach. This was the only time we saw him during the race, and we weren't even sure it was him. Should have checked his number!
He was pleased with his first attempt time 1:04:51

 There was a close tussle in the final homeward straight. These guys you see in the top image below where the first ones to finish.

 Overall male winner was Tim Hewett in 42 minutes 55 seconds, and female was Jamie Bowler in 44 minutes 45 seconds. Tessa Chapman was the first under-15 years female across the line in 50 minutes 18 seconds and Ross Rann was the first under-15 male across the line in 49 minutes 51 seconds. 
The first relay team in was "Double Trouble" - Hannah Greenfield and Maddison Johnston-Walker - in 1 hour, 1 minute, 11 seconds. 

You can see the full results by clicking here - Busselton Jetty swim results 2015

 Congratulations to everyone who competed. Just to complete the swim is a huge effort.
Here you can see some of the competitors coming into the beach, and the buzz on the shore afterwards.

For more information on the jetty swim please click here - Busselton Jetty Swim

This year's race also marked the 150th anniversary of the Busselton Jetty and there were lots of other events held over the weekend around Busselton. 
The heritage listed Busselton jetty extends 1.8 kilometres across Geographe Bay, and is the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.

Originally cargo ships tied up at the jetty. Since those days the jetty has been a popular spot for locals and visitors - as a place to fish or to just walk. When my husband's family used to go to Busselton for their summer holidays, my husband and his brothers spent hours out on this jetty fishing. There are not too many places where you can walk out 2 kilometres into the ocean to fish.

For more information about the jetty please click here - Busselton Jetty

I am pleased to be able to tell you that the terrible bushfires we have had at Northcliffe and Boddington where my son has been working in the logistics centre are now finally under control and he returned home today. 

Thank you for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to Mosaic Monday, Travel Photos Monday, Our World Tuesday, Wednesday Around the World, Travel Photo Thursday, and What's It Wednesday.  Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

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