After the Auckland Harbour Crossing swim.
Today is the Auckland Harbour swim so I get up at at 06.30 to watch Ireland loose to the All Blacks (the game turned on the penalty try. But the All Blacks failing to dominate Ireland in the way they might have done 3 or 4 years ago – more evidence perhaps that they are not the unbeatable force they have been in recent years). Afterwards Ruth ran me into town to catch the ferry to the start of the Harbour Swim (http://www.oceanswim.co.nz/) a 2.8Km swim across the Waitamata harbour from Bayswater (on the North Shore) to Viaduct Harbour (on the South Shore).
1200 people competed and, at the race briefing before the start, it was noted that the Orca Whales (killer whales) had been seen in the vicinity of the race course that morning (they have been swimming around the Waitamata Harbour all week and we’d see three when we were picnicking at Narrow Neck Beach the previous day). The safety advice was “if any one wants to pull out they can get a lift back in the boat”, nobody pulled out.
Anyway, the race was completed without any drama and, having prepared more thoroughly it was a lot easier than last year. But I was disappointed that, again, my navigation / awareness of the currents let me down and I certainly did not take the most direct route across !! Gillian & Hywel and Ruth and the children met me the other end and we stayed for the award ceremony (with overall prizes and age group prizes up to over 70s !)
The harbour swim is a great event and I determine that it will be a life ambition of mine to make the podium. The only conceivable way that this will happen is if I am still able to swim the distance when I get to 70 years of age as there were only 2 people in this age group. So that’s the plan, see you same place same time in 2038 !
NewZealandly 