Iceberger News 20th August 2020 Editor: Ria Bleathman

Melbourne’s year-round open water swimming group Lead Article

Welcome to New Icebergers – Antony Lynch Joined Icebergers: September 2019.

Early years: Grew up in . Boarding school in Geelong. Sorrento in summer. Lived in Hong Kong (late 80’s) then Dallas Texas in the early 90’s. Learnt to swim: A swim school in Rose Street, Armadale. Nippers at Portsea SLC. Open water experience: Started in 2009 with Portsea morning regulars. Eleven Pier2Perignion’s, The Rip, Bondi to Bronte, numerous Port Phillip Bay swims and Byron Bay. Best swimming experience: Point King to Sorrento swimming with a pod of dolphins and The Rip just for the experience itself. How did you find us? Kirsty invited me to a 6.30am swim with the Figgies and I never looked back! Swims with: Since the RBYC has closed I have been Antony - Croatian Coast 2019 swimming most mornings at Hampton Beach. Favourite route at RBYC: Reef Pole and back around the sea wall (No Brainer or St Andrews). Swimming goals: My daughter lives in San Francisco so I would like to swim Alcatraz. Interesting factoid: I caught a 1,000-pound marlin off Cairns but fishing for whiting off Sorrento is hard to beat.

Miscellanies - Morning Glories

Anglesea. Photo: Ingilby Dickson RBYC. Photo: Clive Fraser

Hampton Beach. Photo: Antony Lynch [Serpo and Lance] RBYC. Photo: Rupert Hugh-Jones

20th August 2020 © RBYC Melbourne

Melbourne’s Upside-Down River – Ria Bleathman

These are, indeed, exceptional times. As some of you know, I have been effectively ‘marooned’ in the Melbourne CBD since mid-March due to Lockdown restrictions on movements. My brief moments of outdoor exercise generally involve walks along the .

I have started to view this otherwise uninviting body of water, disparagingly referred to as ‘the upside down river’ due to the volume of toxic sediment and run-off it carries, with a newly-emergent desire: ‘Can I swim in this water?’

Apparently, it is illegal to swim in the Yarra anywhere south of Gipps Street in Abbotsford, not because of its poor water quality but due to it being designated a ‘boating channel’ and the need to avoid boat-and-swimmer accidents. However, the Lockdown has resulted in not just an empty city but an empty river; ergo no boating in this channel!

Perhaps without boating the prospect of a swim in the Yarra is possible and thereby achieve the inconceivable that our ‘upside down river’ could become Melbourne’s very own equivalent of the annual TrygFonden swim around the canals of Copenhagen or the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim in Manhattan.

Empty-envy. The city from MCG from Princes Bridge.

The Yarra River has a rich swimming history and ‘richness’ is not just a descriptor for the nutrient load. Short anecdotes of the Yarra’s swim history will be included in future editions of the Iceberger News in the forlorn hope that this wonderful waterway could someday become a swimming destination. Now that would really turn things upside down!

The Haiku Challenge

The Haiku Challenge

Haiku #4 Haiku #5 Haiku #6 Twenty twenty sucks. Hypothermia - Jet skiing speedsters Our well-thought-out plans for life, Familiarisation Unf**ing-believable Obliterated. Obligatory. Abominations.

Who’s Swimming Where…? 1. Hampton Daily between 7.00 and 7.30am. Includes: Figgies (Serpo, Lance, Janie, Ken, Lindsay, Ant, Billy) and special visitors from time to time. 2. RBYC Daily all times. Often between 6.45 to 7.45am. Includes: B-Team, 7.30 Group, Figgies, 8isisoleight. 3. Parkdale Tuesday at 8.00am. Includes: Don Warner, Christina Wilhelm. 4. Point Leo Daily in the morning. Simon Mezger. 5. Anglesea Most days at 8am from Point Roadknight. Ingilby Dickson. 6. Torquay Most days at 7.30am from Cosy Corner. Brian Cook (ex-Iceberger), Ingilby Dickson. 7. Portsea Pier Daily at 8am. Includes: Garry Johnson, Kirsty Webb, Sue Semmens, David Urquhart, Chris Yencken. 8. Mt Martha Most days. Joe Tsalanidis. 9. Mentone Most days. Includes Gary Finnis, Les Finnis, Greg Barclay, Cam Owens.

20th August 2020 © RBYC Melbourne Australia