The Malabar Cup

Yes! What a great swim indeed?

The course can certainly be compared to such great journey swims as the time honoured Palmy to Whalo Big Swim, Foster's Club2Club or the relative newcomer of similar vintage to yesterday's Long Bay to Little Bay event, The Tama2Cloey.

But in terms of organisational excellence, The Malabar event wins, as HG would put it "pants down with daylight in second place".

However I too found it a bit hard to spot the distant bouys, even with my new fangled View prescription goggles; but not impossible due to the wise choice of colours. So I must join the chorus: "get the shape of the bouys right please!"

On the subject of nomencalture, I feel compelled to have my two blob's worth as well. The labels "classic" and "challenge", whilst entirely appropriate (particularly the latter) to describe yesterday's event, are far to hackneyed. HG reckoned yestdy that it should be called "The Long Bay to Little Bay Fantastic.... get up in the morning and say: I'm gonna swim The Fantastic today." Truly a great line of thinking.

But as I've stated many a time, I reckon a few turf terms should be employed, to give the impression that there's somethin more than a little kudos ridin on the result. Some examples are:

The Farm Cove Stakes (Sydney Harbour)

The Port Hunter Weight-for-age Handicap (particularly if it gets into the Hahn Series -Newcastle Harbour)

The John Fairfax and Sons Cole Plate

and wait for it...

The Stockland - Rainbow Club of Austalia Malabar Cup.

The Malabar Cup! Get workin on the silverware folks, it may be ocean swimming's first perpetual trophy.

Remember you heard it from me first,

Swim with yer head, not under it,

Davo.

C'arn Cole....Supersize Me!

Last Sunday gave my sore shoulder a rest and gave me a chance to recuperate from a dreadful headcold. The way the weather was, the timing couldn't have been better; especially considering that I've competed in an oceanswim somewhere in NSW on every weekend (with the exception of the Boxing Day weekend) since the Coogee Island Challenge, as well as 'Straya Day in Newie.

But my decision to sit out the Cole again this year was made long ago due to the exorbitant entry fees and the lack of a "Supersize Me McMeal Deal" for both distances, as well as the organisers well known aversion to the risk of swell.

For the kind of bickies they are charging at the Cole, I could take me Lovvies to a matinee sesh at the flicks and spring for a spot of lunch as well, and still come out in front.

This means any combination of the following is true:
a) Davo is tightarse, and/or
b) The Loves are cheap date, and/or
c) The Cole is a ripoff, or
d) All of the above.

Youz be the judge.

See yuz for the chance of a wave in both distances at North Bondi this Sundy.

Regs,

Davo.

Short Changed At The Big Swim?

Yes Richard,

I reckon you're onto something there. I timed myself with my watch in the same group and found my published time to be a few minutes longer than expected. I wasn't particularly disappointed with this as my time was still a good couple of minutes faster than last year's. But I did find I had slipped a few minutes with respect to the winners' times; a useful benchmark that many of us use to measure our performance.

I'm no cup hunter so I wasn't going to mention it; especially since it was such a great, well run swim. But I certainly could use the extra Hahn points if an error is uncovered, and I reckon some of our number, "the gentlemen of the sea" as described by the anouncer on the day, may have had a little more riding on it up the pointy end.

Did anyone else in the pink caps notice this?

Maybe worth looking into?

Kind regards,

David Love.