Race Report
If you didn’t end up with PTSD after the last race, then congratulations – you probably developed it from this aquatic circus instead! A mix of wind-versus-tide created the kind of chaotic soup that our very own adrenaline-addict-in-chief, James Blacklaws, would call ‘Character Building!’ For everyone else, it can only be described as a group therapy session led by the village idiot! Although the MetService promised the wind would drop away by the start of the race, it’s clear they’d cracked open their Christmas drinks about three hours too early. Despite the conditions, 105 nearly certifiable people decided to forego reason and self-preservation and jump in the water. A massive shoutout to Rylock for their support (and their clearly robust indemnity insurance) and to the volunteers who made this event possible, whom the Harbour master will surely find sooner or later.
With low tide being relatively close to the start of racing, officials were sure some of the swimmers ran part of the 750m long course. However, Lucas Bell and Tegen Stuart (obviously unfamiliar with the phrase ‘respect your elders’) refused to let anyone else share the top of the table completing the course and the challenging conditions in a time of 11:24.4 and 12:21.3 (respectively). However, punters should watch our for young Phoebie Diamond who was almost tickling Tegen’s toes on the last mark. For those more of a naturalist ilk, James Boocock again taking out top honours in the non-wetsuit class in a time of 12:52.8, while Liliana Perrett was the first non-wetsuit woman home in 15:00.7. What is with young people these days!!? Honestly, I blame TikTok!
Although the short course swimmers only had to complete a 250m circuit they had to content with floating obstacles like tables and chairs thrown from the Boat Shed dinners – possibly in panic- who feared for the long course swimmers safety. Obviously not a problem for 12 year old Ardan Warner who, yet again, charged through the course in a time of 6:21.4 with Chloe Styles right on his wake in 6:43.2, in the thermally challenged section. In the exothermic section Rodney Hansen again took out top spot in the males in a time of 8:14.9. Quite sensibly, the women in the exotherm class collectively decided that freezing for fun is strictly a male pursuit.
While it would be nice for our top contenders to share some of the points around, their leads are definitely getting reduced each race. They will have to keep pushing the envelope (and do some secret training) if they want to stay at the top. Enjoy the photos and the weekend and see you all next week. And remember: allegedly, legally flirting with the Grim Reaper keeps your heart unreasonably healthy!
📊 Full results
🏆 Series points
📸 Photos – By Pete Marshall