The Port Hunter Handicap - 'Straya Day 2010

What a crackerjack 'Straya Day 'twas in Newie yestdy?

After being woken several times by the torrential rain and thunder storms of the night before, I clambered onto me treadley on the Warners Bay side of Speers Point early in the morning and had good cause to wonder what shabby weather Huey might serve up for us at the harbour swim. 'Twas a very grey morning indeed, 100% relative humidity they said on the radio at 6 o'clock, but not particularly cool though. This made hard enough work of the first half of me bike ride alright. But by the time I climbed the challenging last and steepest bit of Hillsborough Road, and crossed the watershed that separates the vast Lake Macquarie Basin from the even vaster Hunter Valley, the sun began to burn off that foggy haze and the sky began to clear. And as I fanged down Park Avenue towards the flat bit that is the floor of the Hunter Valley, it became abundantly clear that this was gonna be a special day.

As an expatriate Novocastrian living in Sydney I relished the chance to get back to me old home town and frolicking in it's main artery, The Hunter River; which for me is akin to stopping the traffic and trotting over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

And as Mr. Os.c puts it so well "it’s all about the kulcha!" shortly after arrival and registration of my attendance, I was lucky enough to engage in a little "kulcharel" exchange. I got chin wagging before the race, as ya do, to a feller of similar age who turned out to be an expat Sydneysider now living in Newcastle; a Firey named Bob originally from Sydney's Eastern Suburbs; the part of the world that I call home now. We parted company for the 1400m swim at the jump off the wharf only to meet at the finish line within 5 seconds of each other; Fireman Bob in front of course. It's a small world but I wouldn't wanna paint it.

As Mr. Os.c warned us, the race required some tactical allowance for the flow of the tide. Before the 700m kicked off the tide was not long after high ebb, just beginning to run out. But by the time the biggie got underway it was running out much faster. Despite attempting to allow for this, I still got caught with at least a few others having to swim upstream to get around the first buoy at Stockton. But on the way back I sufficiently adjusted my course to bring me directly in at the gates; but I saw many others who didn't, struggling upstream in the even faster, later flow on the outside of the river bend. All good lessons learnt for next year, hey?

Thanks to all the people who ran the event, it was well worth the drive and ride. Next year I'll be back to do both races if I can?

The way read the entry form, you could only do one race or the other and there was no supersize-me discount for doing both. But there were certainly plenty of punters backing up after the first race. So I reckon you had to pay and register for both separately. Maybe that's why Catrin's time was not recorded for the 14 hunjee as she stated above?

So to the good folk at Stockton SLSC, how about a McMeal deal price for swimming both distances next year?

And Mr. Os.c, how about gettin it inta the Hahn Series? Then we could call it The Port Hunter Handicap; to give the impression that there's more than just a little kudos ridin on it? It could be the equal of, if not superior to Sydney's Farm Cove Stakes in March?

Remember, you heard it from me first; swim with yer head, not under it.

Davo.