Today’s was the 2nd running of the 2.5k race which had attracted 192 swimmers where the 135 males and 57 females were set off in separate waves.

Many thanks to the countless volunteers from the Jan Juc surf life saving club who made sure the event was safe and well organised.

The Torquay front beach was the idyllic setting of the fourth round of the Great Victorian Swim Series. Unfortunately the weather was not so ideal with rain threatening and a strong easterly wind blowing offshore making “Cosy Corner” look more like a surf beach.

Our shady spot was overrun by the Malvern Marlins who accepted us as if we were one of them. Keeping cool, resting up & keeping the fluids up was important preparation for the “Danger 1000”. In hindsight, I probably should have also have done a bit stretching..

Gary was on the beach and cruising in for 2nd place. However as per my footy coaches of old, the mantra of “keep chasing” was ringing thru my head.  I sensed Gary was slowing up and in fact he started to walk just before the line.  I was able to take advantage and slip past to snatch 2nd place right on the line.  Another unbelievable moment for me in this swim series which just gets better and better.

In the women’s race, Nerice Smith took the win in a time of 31:37 and relegated Zoe Whitfield to 2nd place with Danielle Tulloch comfortably holding on for 3rd.

Tags: "More Danger 2500 Swim", Danger 1000 Swim, Great Victorian Swim Series, Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club, Open Water Swimming

I cut left and put in an effort to escape Mr Sloppy Swimmer and  I managed to get some space and ultimately got a nice sit on Mike who was sitting nicely on the young non wet suited chap (who apparently is off to the 2020 Olympics). It was with some relief that we successfully lined up the final buoy and was able to head for shore and the finish line where we ended up being the 10th thru 12th blokes to finish.  Charles was only about 30 seconds ahead of us in 9th.

Without a doubt the most popular race of the day were the young guns.  For every kid racing there were proud parents taking pics & cheering them on.  I managed to squeeze through the throng, which included Sue Cox who was cheering on son James, to capture a bit of the atmosphere.

The first leg was a game of keeping on the right side of the marking buoys as you worked the cross current.  I took a wide line out and had nice clean water and was feeling comfortable.  I got around the first big red 2XU buoy and just followed the arms and legs ahead of me and hoped they knew where they were going as I could not spot the far marker.

There were a number of familiar faces on the start line which included Charles Erasmus, Mike Gowan & Andrew Musgrave who could all be potential allies or foes through out the swim.

I started off hard in a bid to get away for Andrew Musgrave & Johnny Lauretta. However Mussy was able to go with me and was more than happy to sit by my side and get bit of a draft. We turned the first buoy together & we were swimming shoulder to shoulder.

It was a very big day in very tough conditions. The open trophies were deservedly won by Naantali Marshall & Liam Humphreys.

I had some goggle issues at the start, however it was quickly sorted and after a good run thru the waves I managed to catch up with Anthony and Gary who were swimming shoulder to shoulder.

There was some current assistance as we headed to the 2nd buoy and you could feel the lift and increased momentum as the lumpy waves rolled thru to the beach.  I made the final buoy and stayed left as much as possible as I didn’t want to avoid being pulled too far down the beach.

The non wet suited chap did a top job taking us around the course and leading us back thru the current. The pace did pick up and the tidy little group became a bit ragged and I had the distinct feeling the bloke next to me (not the young chap without the wetsuit) was deliberately taking out my stroke.

192 swimmers for the More Dangerous race which included 49 women and we all set off together in one wave.  The shot gun start was replaced with a whistle due to the man with the gun apparently sleeping in.  A whistle was blown and there was a state of confusion as to whether that was the real start of just a test blow.   The impending stampede confirmed it was the real deal.

The women’s race was very close with Zoe Whitfield & Naantali Marshall emerging from the water together, however Zoe just snuck ahead in the run in to take the win by 1 second in a time of 13:37. Third place went to Kotuku Ngawati.

My M45-49 category had 57 starters and based on results from Angelsea and the Ripview swims, Anthony Purcell was the red-hot favourite. Gary Salt and Andrew Musgrave were also looking like they were podium contenders.

As we drew closer to the beach Mussy held the advantage. I stood, spotted Johnny to my right & it was now a running race for 3rd. I started my run and without any warning it felt like someone had crashed into me. I looked around, but no one was there. I couldn’t run. I could hardly walk. I hobbled my way out of the water and could only watch Mussy hold off Johnny to take 3rd place.

The highlight of the 2nd lap a was catching some of the tail from the womens wave including one lady who was wearing a distinctive “Jaws” imprinted swimsuit. I finished the race in a time of 33:55 which had me finish in lucky 13th place. Surprisingly Mussy was not ahead, but rather he finished 10 seconds after me.

Looks like James had a great start & was first to hit the water.. but I will need to leave it up to Sue to tell us how he finished up.

Tags: Danger 1000 Swim, Great Victorian Swim Series, GVSS, Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club, More Dangerous 2500 Swim, Open Water Swimming

There were 194 starters in the 2500m race with 119 men starting off in the first wave and 55 women starting 10 minutes later.

As it turned out I swam with another chap who was going my pace for much of the downward leg and we even inadvertently rolled a few turns to share the load.  Turn left and head back towards land for about 20meters for the big pink buoy before heading back into the current to the final pink buoy.

Jason Forbes won in a time of 28mins & 35secs ahead of Liam Humpreys and Brett Tyak.  The first women home was Zoe Whitfield in a time of 32:20 which put her in 10th place overall.

Rob Staley, a Torquay local read about the swim in the paper on his way home from work on Friday night.  I was surprised to bump into Rob before the race as I know him as a runner.  Rob’s back ground did include Ironman triathlons and he was keen to see if he could go the distance.  Rob was all smiles after the race as he did achieve his his goal to finish which was impressive considering he hasn’t been anywhere near the pool for a few years.

As with the downward leg, there didn’t seem to be many markers guide us on our way, coupled with not so many arms and legs to follow, it was difficult to commit in case you were heading off course.  I tried to focus on keeping the stroke long using JD’s  pick an apple, put it in your pocket swimming tip, and before I knew it, I spotted the final pink buoy about 100 meters away.

In the 70+ Males, Tony Strahan who has made a welcomed & successful return to the open water scene with a win which relegated John McSweeneny & Ken Isaac to 2nd and 3rd respectively. It was such an emphatic display that Lester need to rewrite part of his Pier To Pub preview article.

The event names all inspired ominously by Point Danger which provides protection from the waves coming in off Bass Strait.

Charles Erasmus had a great swim to place 6th overall with his fiancé, Thea the 6th lady home in 28th place overall.  Cam Purnell and Mike Gowan duked it out all the way to the finish line to dead heat with 31.27 for 8th place.

Shane Asbury success this summer continues. Although he refers to himself as a pool swimmer, he was able to command the conditions and win the open category in the fastest time of the day of 12:31. Jack Hansen was one wave behind in 2nd with James Fennel seconds later for 3rd.

With still had a fair bit in the tank & now feeling confident I was on track, I was able to up the pace. There were a few other swimmers in close proximity and therefore it was a race to the beach.  Hand hit sand and it was time to do some wading. I sprung up out of the water in slow motion and the old legs just wouldn’t get moving.  I shuffled my way thru the knee high water and continued the slow motion charge up the beach to complete the swim in a smidgen under 35minutes in 24th place.

Anthony by this time was a minute ahead. I could see Gary on my right and I  had an advantage of about 10 metres.  I knew it is a long wade in & I was the first to stand. However it was probably a bit too deep & before I knew it Gary was already on the move and heading up the beach.

The race is started with a traditional firing of the shotgun. And even though you know it is coming, it scares the bejesus out of you.

Zoe Whitfield won the female division convincingly in 33:35 and was 5th overall. It was also a tight tussle for the minor places with Helen Whitford 3 seconds clear of Lisandra de Carvalho.

Mussy upped the pace and I was happy to sit on his toes. I may have tickled his toes once, twice, maybe even a third time, but it was accidental. However a big kick from Mussy sent a warning message not to do it a fourth time.

Mark Thompson & Damian Bennett were the red hot favourites to win the Totalmaster M45-49 age group & they did not disappoint. Mark took the win in a time of 10:15, 35 seconds ahead of Damian.

It was going to be a scorcher of a day with the temperature expected to hit 40° & a very strong accompanying northerly wind blowing. The conditions were ominous & a spot under one of the famous pine trees, preferably with a wind break, was prime real estate.

There were some absolute stella performances on the day. Mark Thompson in the M40-44 group smashed his competition with the 2nd fastest time of 12:44.  The story was the same in the M55-59 age group where Frank Christian was simply too good winning  by 2:43 in a time of 14:16.

I didn’t give that first  buoy enough respect and ended up getting tangled in the ropes which stuffed up my momentum.  The gap to Anthony just got bigger and gave Gary a chance to get back on even terms.

The M50-54 was the largest categories with 80 starters and it also some of the best swimmers going round.  Tim Boness won in a time of 14:02, Steve Osborne 14:20 in 2nd with Peter Williamson 3rd in a time of 14:37.  These times were all significantly quicker than our age group.

This was the 16th running of the Danger 1000, with 788 swimmers competing across 24 different categories based on age and gender.

I ended up swimming with another chap who I originally thought was Kip Homewood, a training partner of mine from Harold Holt. The pace was very civilised and I felt like I was in pretty good shape as we closed out the first lap.

The water was choppy and the line of buoys marking the outgoing leg was stretched out under the pressure of the outgoing tide into an arc. I started down the beach looking for clear water & possibly a straighter line to the first turning buoy. However clear water wasn’t that easy to find given the strength of the current and the bouncy waves.

The were taking a nice wide arc to the 500m buoy & I was happy to tag along.  With around 100m to the first turn, Anthony veered left and had opened up a gap while Gary kept out wide.  I decided to go after Anthony,  and while I was able to get some space on Gary, I was not able to match it with Anthony.

As we started our wade back in to the beach I made a couple of realisations. Firstly that my swimming partner was not Kip and secondly this wading business sucks. I struggled to get the legs out to the water and practically walked around the big orange buoy sitting on the beach while the Kip impersonator had no such problem and quickly opened up a gap of 15 metres on me.

First swim of the day was the “More Dangerous 2500” where, given the conditions, the Jan Juc Surf Lifesaving Club decided to modify the course to do 2 laps of a smaller more protected circuit. This modification also introduced an extra set of wades & a mid swim beach run.

Peninsula Pirate, Dana Galbraith is having an excellent summer to swim the 2.5k in 33:24 to share 14th place.  He then backed up in the 1000 with a 4th in the M50-54 age group and, to top off his day, he won the GVCC spot prize.  Fellow pirate, Con Duyvestan also did the double,  and earnt a 3rd place in the M65-69 of the 1000.

The first 100M of the swim was pretty messy.  The water was moving from the Point down into the bay causing swimmers to be dragged down the beach and making  the swim out to the first 500M buoy pretty hard.

The 5th race of the  Great Victorian Swim Series was the Danger 1000 hosted by Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club.  The club also decided to spice the day up by introducing a 2.5km version of the race which was dubbed the More Dangerous 2500 and encouraged those looking for the added challenge to do both.   Many did, but not me.   I was quite content to test myself over the 2.5k distance.

Both Glenn Wilson & Charles Erasmus got away nicely & while I never did see him, I assumed Andrew Musgrave was also up ahead.

Overcast morning with a threat of rain which never eventuated.   The  current was running down the beach from Point Danger and when we started the water was still pretty full with an outgoing tide.  During the week the build up to this race focused on the shallow water and the importance of wading and porpoising to help you start & finish off the race.  Some excellent tips on the GVSS FB Page which came into play as as the tide continued to go out for the later wave starts.

At the front of the race, it was the battle of the young guns where James Fennel managed to hold off Liam Hunphreys by 5 second to take the win in a time of 31:04.  Tom Wood and Lachlan Brown were racing for the final spot on the podium which Tom won by just 3 seconds.

I could not see the 2nd buoy which was around 1k away, nor any of the interim marking buoys. I had a general idea, but fortunately I hooked in with a small group which was moving along nicely and appeared to be heading the right direction.

Much sage advice was handed out to the kiddies during the pre-race briefing including “Do not swallow the water”..  I wish they gave this same advise to the adults..

Geelong Ironman, Peter Kerr won the 2.5k event in a scintillating time of 28:26 almost 30 seconds ahead of Matt Gilling. Robbie Dilissen managed to hold off Will Paatsch to take 3rd.