UPDATE 22 February
It was quite some bunfight at this year’s Rottnest swim, what with sharks, capsized boats and an Olympic gold medallist rehydrating with beer. Throw in a bit of hypothermia and very lumpy conditions, and it makes Tory Thorpe’s swim with the support of Kristy McIntyre all the more of a success.
If anyone doesn’t want to conquer their fear of sharks then stop reading now. A three-metre long shark was spotted by the local surf lifesavers at the 10 km buoy, exactly halfway between the start and finish of the Rottnest swim. This makes you understand why John Hancock wanted his mum to donate $25,000 to charity if her baby boy was not going to wear a shark shield. Hancock was in a relay team which included Michael Klim, the former Olympic champ. “Klimmie” took a more unorthodox form of protection during his leg of the swim by asking for rehydration in the form of a tin of beer - liquid gold. Good on yah Klimmie, but didn't the branding on the photo in the article say "milk" on your wetsuit? Back to the racing where weather conditions were so lumpy that one boat capsized as a result of taking on too much water, not a problem that Klimmie suffered from.
Tory had significant support from Kristy McIntyre and the boat pilot who shielded all the brickbats you’d expect from a swimmer having a tough day at the office. There were some DNFs and sadly Ellery McGowan from SLSC was one of those. Former club member Irene Keel was a DNS.
Tory completed the swim in eight hours, 14 minutes. Tory was 212th out of almost 300 starters. Great swim and great support team. Full results are here at this link.
[John Tierney]
@swimmingdragons
20 February
Best of luck to Tory Thorpe who will be the first Serpentine SC swimmer to take part in a swim of marathon distance in 2015. For the record, a marathon swim is 10kms or longer, and Tory is now in Perth, Australia and ready to swim in the annual Rottnest swim. Tory's previous successes include swimming solo across the English Channel in 2012
The Rottnest Channel Swim is a 19.7km open water swim from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island with Tory having fellow club member Kristy McIntyre as support. Kristy, also a successful English Channel soloist has volunteered to do the canoe paddling alsongside Tory when the swim starts this Saturday around 5am.
There is a also a video link where the organisers say you can view the swim in real time. This is being transmitted by Channel Ten sport and the link is here: That feed will be on display at 01:30 am on Friday 20 February.
The full Rottnest startlist can be viewed at this link; and a cursory scan reveals some names familiar to Serpies. The evergreen and consistent Ellery McGowan from SLSC will take part, and former Serpentine SC member 74 year old Irene Keel is also included on the start list.
