dawny's cockatoo challenge ocean swim 2008

Dawny's Cockatoo Challenge, Sunday, Nov 23,'08
Down on the boardwalk, we'll be havin' some fun ...
Event	Dawny's Cockatoo Challenge, 2.5km, Dawny to Cockatoo Swim, 1.1km
Date, times	Sunday, November 23, 2008, 8.30 am (both swims) Race day entries and registration at Dawn Fraser Pool 7am-8am Please ensure you allow a generous amount of time prior to event start to register and prepare for your swim. Parking can be difficult in Balmain around the Dawn Fraser Pool.
Organiser	Balmain Water Polo
Major sponsor	Harris Farm Markets, Cobden & Mason, Photel, Warwick Williams R/E, KFC Roofing, Konica Australia, View Swim Gear

Course	Both courses run from eastern side of Dawn Fraser Pool at Balmain. (Registration inside the pool on the boardwalk.) The main swim is approx 2.5km leaving from the wharf just outside the pool and swimming around Cockatoo Island. This really is a stunning course. It's a unique experience swimming around Cockatoo Island, past some of Australia's most interesting heritage both maritime and industrial. Gaze up at the towering derrick cranes, the creaking timbered wharves, the industrial buildings. Cockatoo Island wasn't just a dockyard in the old days. Prior to that, it was a prison. Thunderbolt was gaoled there, and escaped by swimming across to the mainland. This swim equally could be called Thunderbolt's Escape. Or Thunderbolt's Bolt! Thunder's Bolt? The shorter swim is approx 1.1km leaving from the wharf just outside the pool and swimming to Cockatoo Island and back.
Conditions	This event is in the inner harbour, upstream from the Harbour Bridge, so conditions generally are smooth with a bit of chop depending upon passing maritime traffic. Depending upon the state of the tide, too, there can be a current running either way across or along the course. If it's running out, it makes for a scintillating ride along the back of the island in the longer swim. Water is turbid but not usually dirty. Some flotsam and jetsam, but that's the harbour! Water temp. expected to be 21-23 deg C.
Years run, starters last time	6th year. Last year, 209 in the longer swim, 104 in the shorter. This swim's first outing was the morning after the Rugby World Cup final in Sydney in 2003. It made for plenty to gasbag about on the boardwalk before and after the swim.
Prizes	1, 2, 3 prizes male/female all age groups.

Categories	10-year age groups in the main swim, no age categories in the shorter.
Information	Call Peter Simms 0427 801 674 or email.
Eligibility	Public, but only those swimmers who have trained for the event and can swim the course with confidence should enter. Minimum age 12.
Water safety	Balmain Water Polo (working with the Waterways Authority to keep the course clear of extraneous power boats).
Right: Come on in! One of the pics included in Glistening Dave's ocean swims calendar 2009. It's a glorious gallery of ocean swimming photography from our favourite temperamental artiste. Click here to order your pre-Xmas copy ...
os.c says	One of our favourite swims. Oozes atmosphere and bonhomie. Run by the Balmain Water Polo people, so they approach this with a fresh attitude. Excellent barbie, made all the better by the support of Harris Farm Markets. We were surprised initially with how good the water is -- turbid, not dirty, but it is the harbour! -- and with the current that can run through the strait between the Dawny pool and Cockatoo Island depending on the state of the tide flow. Makes for a very interesting swim. And a stunning swim, passing by some of Australia's most enigmatic heritage: Cockatoo Island dockyards, derrick cranes towering overhead, inner harbour and river ferries plying to and fro. "... Down on the boardwalk, we'll be having some fun ..."
Entry	Entry - $30 prior to race day, $40 on race day. Moral: Enter before race day. NB: For online entries, we accept Mastercard and Visa. Attempts to enter using any other card will not succeed. On-line entries close midnight, Friday, November 21, 2008. Click here to enter online Click here to check progress entries on-line. Click here to download entry form for more info and mail entry. Click here to download event flyer -- recommended strongly!