Tuesday, February 19, 2008

24-Hour MegaSwim 2008

One of the highlights of the Swim4Life year occurred on the weekend of February 16 & 17, the 2008 24 Hour Megaswim held at Unley Pool.

2008 was the third year of the event and the third year our swimming group has taken part. This year we had two squads, one comprising the purist swimmers and another comprising people who dabble in other pursuits along with swimming, such as triathlon.

The event went from noon on the Saturday to noon on the Sunday. Each person swam with a partner in a two-hour block, the swimmers taking turns in the pool. Most people opted to swim for a certain length of time or number of laps.

The weather for the event was ideal – hot – 36 degrees was the maximum on both days. This meant that even at night it was warm. At 6am when I finished one of my stints, it was warm enough not to have to cover up.

Both groups swam around 60km over the 24-hours.

Waterworld

Unley Pool - the fabulous venue. We all saw a fair bit of these lane ropes.

Backstroke

Backstroke – Kenneth. Real Esther Williams stuff here!

Coach Kathy

Kathy – Breaststroke. An intense performance!

Water on the Lens

Self Portrait (Harvey) with the added bonus of water on the lens!

Spectators

Watching the proceedings (Harvey. Hot metal in the full sun - a really good material to make poolside seating out of!

Bella

Bella – Breaststroke. Little girl, big pool. She did wonderfully well. Grandpa makes sure she's an ace in the pool.

Penny

Penny about to set off.

Jonathon

Jonathon – Freestyle. Showing Kathy inspired technique.

Mark (the other one)

Mark – Freestyle.

Mark Drew

Mark Drew – Freestyle. He was swimming at somewhere near the speed of sound on this lap.

John Howard

John Howard completing a lap. He did surface to breathe!

Peoples

Magaswim 2008 Portraits or Rogues Gallery

Monday, February 04, 2008

Our Big Day Out

On Saturday we took Mum out for dinner. After picking her up from Murray Bridge we headed for the hills and Howard Vineyard, near Nairne. A new winery and cellar door, they do food on weekends(not sure about during the week) and have live entertainment on Sundays. Mum and I shared their tasting plate - very nice.

We then went into Hahndorf as I had two pictures to take to the Hahndorf Academy so they could be included in the Artist's Voice landscape exhibition being held in the Coonawarra.

After that we had a look at The Lane Winery and restaurant nearby. An amazing modern building. It's very swish with a huge deck overlooking rolling countryside facing Mount Lofty. We did a wine tasting and had coffees.


Howard Vineyard

At Howard Vineyard where we had lunch.


David and Mum

Mum and David at the Lane Winery, a new cellar door located just out of Hanhndorf. It has the most spectacular views.