I was starting in a wave with the 13-34 year olds both Male and Female... expecting some chaos at the start and a lot of people who have never done a mass start I seeded myself a couple of rows back and out to the side.

Chatted to a couple of guys while I was floating around in the water (groups of men in speedos is always a little hit and miss!) and then they called the start. Let the first rows of swimmers get moving then off I went.

As always it took a little time for me to settle into anything with a rhythm. There was quite a swell and the lack of training in it really showed for me but it wasnt so bad... I found spotting really hard as I often couldnt see the buoys but at the start they had said aim for the upright buoy.

Couldnt find any decent feet to follow so I got into my own rhythm andtried to spot every 10 strokes or so... not too bad and then I felt something weird against my hand as I pulled it through the water... and again.. JELLY FISH!!! Harmless thankfully but weird to the touch when you ran into them.

Kept swimming towards the upright buoy... I had lots of clear water and couldnt work out what as going on... approached it and had a life guard yelling at me... turns out I was heading to the WRONG BUOY and got sent back to the other turning buoy...ARRRGH!!

That would have cost me at least a few minutes and a few hundred metres at best... turns out there were to right hand turns around a first a straight swim between the TWO upright buoys then another right hand turn to head back to the Opera House/wharf.

So I headed back on course... around the correct buoy... yelled for instructions... found out about the second buoy (the one I originally swam to) so rounded that and headed for home.

The first time I lifted my head to sight the wharf on the return I was hit with just how AWESOME this event is... I was swimming towards the Sydney Opera House with the bridge just behind it! What a view!

The swell increased on the return journey and had a few moments where it broke on my head while I was breathing but that was without major dramas... as I headed towards the steps at the wharf one of the life guards out on her board shouted encouragement and I managed a big smile and a thankyou!

Hit the steps and got upright... then took a couple of steps loosing my balance onto a lifeguard that was standing there... oops!!!

Walked over the timing mat and looked at my watch... pretty happy with my time for my first real OWS event in the ocean!

Double check the course as I probably would have hit my goal time of 20 minutes if I hadnt made my mistake swimming to completely the wrong buoy.

I managed to sight a lot better than I have in the past but that still needs work!

All in all this was fun and I finished a solid MOP

My friend was waiting with my towel and bag when I got in, we waited for my other friend to arrive. She had run into a work colleague who had also swum but unfortunatley hadnt finished due to getting freaked out.

We headed over and got out goody bags...nothing really interesting but they did give us nudies (fruit smoothies) which were great for getting the taste of salt water out of the mouth!

We then wandered off to the Opera House to sit outside by the harbour with some coffee and toast!


Sighting! Sighting! Sighting! Oh and not being 100% sure on the course... ooops!


Because of the location this is a race worth doing... Its got a seriously laid back vibe compared to the tris Ive done... everything went on time and its well manned with surf lifesavers on boards and boats plus divers under the water.

Its not designed to be a major event but you go, you race and you appreciate how awesome Sydney Harbour is. Im glad I did it!

Just wish they had different coloured buoys out there so you knew what you were aiming for!