SWIMMING WITH THE POD

Marc West

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There’s more to ocean swimming than swimming in the ocean.

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55 episodes

Ocean swimming... and biomechanics

Anthony Blazevich https://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/medical-and-health-sciences/our-research/school-research-areas/sports-science-and-exercise-medicine/centre-for-exercise-and-sports-science-research-cessr/researchers-and-staff/profiles/director/professor-anthony-blazevich is a Professor of Biomechanics in the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University. He is also the head of the Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research https://ro.ecu.edu.au/rcessr/, so is a fabulous person to talk to about biomechanics, body types and how our physiology affects our ability to move through water https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-underwater-swimming-how-staying-submerged-gives-olympians-the-winning-edge-163721. Listen in to hear how you could tweak your stroke for quicker times, and why we still may see many more world records in the pool (and ocean). He has also conducted extremely interesting research on the benefits (or not) of stretching https://theconversation.com/to-stretch-or-not-to-stretch-before-exercise-what-you-need-to-know-about-warm-ups-151190. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo created by me using Bing AI Image Creator https://www.bing.com/images/create?FORM=GENILP

54m
Feb 27
Ocean swimming... and connecting with blue spaces

Rebecca Olive https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/17030 is an ocean swimmer whose academic research explores the role of sport and leisure in human and environmental health. In particular, her work explores the practices and cultures of ocean swimming and surfing to understand how human and environmental well-being interact, as well as our relationships to all things blue-space, such as sharks, animals, plastics, pollution and health. Her Moving Oceans https://movingoceans.com/ website examines how participation in ocean sports shapes our behaviours towards taking care of the oceans. She has also published some fantastic reads in The Conversation - we talk about these two in the podcast: __ __ Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Moving Oceans https://movingoceans.com/multi-species-communities/when-we-swim-in-the-ocean-we-enter-another-animals-home-heres-how-to-keep-us-all-safe/  

37m
Nov 30, 2023
Ocean swimming... and culture, inclusion and society

Michelle O’Shea https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-oshea-457947 is a Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University whose research interests dive into the areas of sport, culture and society, particularly with regard to swimming. She has looked into issues such as why swimming lessons for kids are important https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/story_archive/2020/why_should_my_child_take_swimming_lessons_and_what_do_they_need_to_know, as well as the role of the swimming pool in society. Her research particularly examines issues relevant to gender and diversity, and how the pool https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/story_archive/2020/for_many_a_pool_swim_is_an_australian_birthright_lets_make_it_easier_for_solo_parents_to_claim_it and the beach https://www.theinertia.com/surf/the-myth-of-the-open-australian-beach-not-everyone-can-access-these-spaces-equally/, despite the great Australian egalitarian myth, can be quite exclusionary places. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __   Image from wikicommons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fanny_Durack,_Mina_Wylie_1912.jpg              

1h 5m
Oct 26, 2023
Ocean swimming... and germs

Primrose Freestone https://le.ac.uk/people/primrose-freestone, Associate Professor in Clinical Microbiology at the University of Leicester and science communicator, is an infectious diseases expert, and has dived into the debate of whether swimming in a pool or in the natural environment https://theconversation.com/swimming-pools-v-wild-swimming-a-germs-expert-on-which-is-worse-199166 is the safer option. She also takes us through the cleanliness of hot-tubs https://theconversation.com/faeces-urine-and-sweat-just-how-gross-are-hot-tubs-a-microbiologist-explains-198367 (hint, they're gross.) Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo from wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Microscopic_view_of_germ_theory.jpg

29m
Sep 05, 2023
Ocean swimming... and a healthy brain

Seena Mathew https://www.umhb.edu/resources/hr/directory/seena-mathew is Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. As a neurobiologist, she studies the effects of swimming on the brain, which are many! You can read her article in The Conversation (Swimming gives your brain a boost – but scientists don’t know yet why it’s better than other aerobic activities) https://theconversation.com/amp/swimming-gives-your-brain-a-boost-but-scientists-dont-know-yet-why-its-better-than-other-aerobic-activities-164297 or tune in here! Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo from StockSnap https://stocksnap.io/photo/idea-brain-5NLKT00MVB

21m
Aug 05, 2023
Ocean swimming... and swimmer’s ear

Episode 50! Swimmer's ear https://theconversation.com/summer-swimming-season-may-be-over-but-you-can-still-get-swimmers-ear-and-you-dont-even-need-to-go-in-the-water-189213 (acute otitis externa https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/18.2.96) is an outer ear infection that many swimmers will have had at some point in their lives. However, it turns out that you don't have to go swimming to get swimmer's ear. Thomas Schrepfer https://ent.ufl.edu/profile/schrepfer-thomas/ is assistant professor of head and neck surgery in the University of Florida Department of Otolayrngology, and a keen diver and swimmer. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo by Franco Antonio Giovanella https://unsplash.com/fr/@francogio?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/PVDWaEhSIAg?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText.

24m
Jul 25, 2023
Ocean swimming... Alcatraz (part 2)

Rolf Hut https://www.tudelft.nl/citg/over-faculteit/afdelingen/watermanagement/medewerker/staff-water-resources-management/academic-staff/dr-ir-rolf-hut is a hydrological scientist from Delft University of Technology https://www.tudelft.nl/en/. Or perhaps he's better described as MacGyver scientist, attacking problems from different and interesting angles. One such problem was the infamous 1962 escape from Alcatraz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt, in which inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, by tucking papier-mâché versions of their heads into their beds, escaping their cells through the ventilation ducts, climbing through an unused utility corridor, across roofs and over fences, before leaving the island on an improvised inflatable raft made of rain jackets. Rolf helped build perhaps the most sophisticated model https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/alcatraz-escape-flow-models-san-francisco-bay/2627/ of the currents in the bay area on the night of escape to look at the question of whether the inmates could possibly have survived the journey, and then tested the research in his own Mythbusters-esque escape from Alcatraz https://rolfhut.nl/2016/03/11/how-i-followed-in-the-paddlestrokes-of-my-hero-and-escaped-from-alcatraz/. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Rolf's page at Delft https://www.tudelft.nl/citg/over-faculteit/afdelingen/watermanagement/medewerker/staff-water-resources-management/academic-staff/dr-ir-rolf-hut

41m
Jul 02, 2023
Ocean swimming... with Andy Donaldson

Andy Donaldson https://oceanswims.com/marathon-swimming/andy-donaldson-to-conquer-the-oceans-seven-in-one-year/ is a world-recorder holding open-water swimmer. In 2023, he is attempting to swim the Oceans Seven https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Oceans_Seven in one year, and is making a pretty good fist of it, having already swum the English Channel (in a British record time), the North Channel (only 4 minutes off the record), the Cook Strait (in world record time) and the Molokai Channel in Hawaii. At the time of recording, he was setting off to swim the Strait of Gibraltar - and by time I published, he had broken the British record. He is raising money for Black Dog Institute https://www.teamblackdog.org.au/fundraisers/oceansseven Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo from Andy on instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Cggt9m0P6-O/

59m
May 30, 2023
Ocean swimming... Alcatraz (part 1)

Pedro Ordenes https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Pedro_Ordenes is an Alcatraz legend, having swum the famous route over 1000 times!! Pedro runs Water World Swim https://waterworldswim.com/member/pedro/ that organizes many swims in San Francisco Bay, California and across the world. I was lucky enough to swim Alcatraz with Water World Swim recently in April 2023. Pedro is an exceptionally accomplished open water swimmer, perhaps the highlight being swimming the Strait of Magellan https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Strait_of_Magellan in South America, in 3.5°C with 60 km/hr winds and 3-5 feet swells against 12-14 knot currents! He has also swum a double crossing of the Beagle Channel https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Beagle_Channel between Chile and Argentina. Pedro is now also a very well respected open-water coach. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Water World Swim https://www.facebook.com/waterworldswim

1h 6m
May 07, 2023
Ocean swimming at... with Peta Bradley, World Ice Swimming Champion

Peta Bradley is a member of the Australian ice swimming team that recently competed at the World Ice Swimming Championships in France https://internationaliceswimming.com/samoens-2023/. She competed in the 1000m, 500m, and 50m butterfly, bringing home a bronze medal in the 500m. Peta hails from Gilgandra, quite some distance from any coastline, and does a lot of her training in dams. She has also completed the coveted ice mile at Thedbo. Peta https://www.gilgandraweekly.com.au/agricultural/peta-bradley-mlais the manager of sheep genetics, within the livestock genetics team at Meat and Livestock Australia. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo from Peta Bradley - it is the Australian team at the World Champs - Peta, Nick Hungerford and Ellery McGowan

24m
Feb 14, 2023
Ocean swimming... with Lynne Cox

Lynne Cox https://www.lynnecox.com/ is arguably the most accomplished ocean swimmer of all time. She set the record for the English Channel in 1972, was the first woman to swim the Cook Strait in New Zealand in 1975, famously swam between the US and the USSR in 1987 across the Bering Strait in bone-chilling 3 degree waters, and then even colder in Antarctica and Greenland. She has a list of achievements too long to list here. Lynne is also an author, and has a new book called Tales of Al - The Water Rescue Dog https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670616/tales-of-al-by-lynne-cox/?ref=PRHA0F68EAE302D&aid=22582&linkid=PRHA0F68EAE302D, detailing her experiences with Italy's elite, highly specialized corps of water rescue dogs who jump from helicopters and save lives. Thanks very much to Knopf https://knopfdoubleday.com/imprint/knopf/ for sending me a preprint. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Photo from Lynne Cox https://www.lynnecox.com/media-downloads/

56m
Jun 18, 2022
Ocean swimming... and seaweed textiles

Professor Peter Ralph https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Peter.Ralph is Executive Director of the Climate Change Cluster in the Faculty of Science at UTS, and is partnering with Australian surf brand Piping Hot to develop textiles made from seaweed https://www.uts.edu.au/news/health-science/fashion-forward for surfwear. Nature-derived alternatives for the fashion industry have the potential to revolutionise products and vastly reduce their impact on the oceans. Apologies for a little bit of building noise in the background! Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from UTS https://www.uts.edu.au/news/health-science/fashion-forward

27m
May 21, 2022
Ocean swimming... butterfly

Eli Ball https://www.facebook.com/Eli-Ball-Long-Distance-Butterfly-Swimmer-779730152103934/ is training to swim the English Channel... butterfly. Yes, you read that correctly. Butterfly. He is an exceptionally accomplished butterflying ocean swimmer, having completed a plethora of marathon ocean swims https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Eli_Ball, including the 20km Rottnest Island swim https://www.openwaterpedia.com/wiki/Butterfly_Rotto, along the way setting the butterfly record. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Eli fan page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Eli-Ball-Long-Distance-Butterfly-Swimmer-779730152103934/ I would like to acknowledge the horribly sad tragedy here in Sydney last week, with a swimmer killed in a shark attack at Malabar, a place at which I have swum many times. Sharks are an ever present thought for ocean swimmers, and they are one of the topics in today's episode, which was recorded a few weeks before the incident. My sincerest condolences are with Simon's family and friends.  

54m
Feb 24, 2022
Ocean swimming... around Lord Howe Island

Lauren Tischendorf https://laurentischendorf.com/ is the first woman to swim solo around Lord Howe Island - 32.2 km of sharks, currents, 25 knot winds and 2.5 metre swell, finishing in 13 hours 50 minutes and 26 seconds. She has also filmed a documentary of the swim, I just went for a swim https://laurentischendorf.com/film, highlighting the spectacular ocean as well as the importance of the empowerment of girls and women. You can watch this film throughout Australia very soon in the Women's Adventure Film Festival https://www.womensadventurefilmtour.com/australia. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Lauren on instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CTB7dFxnPjc/

20m
Oct 10, 2021
Ocean swimming... with Brendan Cullen

Brendan Cullen is training to swim the English channel https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/broken-hill-sheep-farmer-trains-to-swim-the-english-channel-20200330-p54f6r.html, but what makes his journey exceptional is that he is a sheep farmer from Kars Station, east of Broken Hill in NSW, and is about 350 km from the nearest coastline. Four mornings a week, Brendan swims in the murky waters of Lake Pamamaroo and Lake Copi Hollow in the Menindee Lakes, where he can't typically see more than 20 centimetres in front of his face (video https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/brendan-cullen-trains-to-swim-the-english-channel/video/64f2df2a457ab5d49b061b9119be152d). And there's not a lot of open water in the desert!  Brendan already has some major swimming achievements under his belt, such as swimming for 8 hours non-stop https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=355323439208198, and he an ambassador for lifeline https://nswfarmers.org.au/NSWFA/Posts/The_Farmer/Community/Broken_Hill_farmer_helps_turn_the_tide_on_mental_health.aspx, raising awareness and money for mental health. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Jacinta Cullen / smh https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/broken-hill-sheep-farmer-trains-to-swim-the-english-channel-20200330-p54f6r.html. 

54m
Sep 20, 2021
Ocean swimming... with Peter Hancock

Peter Hancock has now swum well over 1000 consecutive days, most days in Dumaresq Dam http://www.wildswimmingaustralia.com/locations/dumaresq-dam/ in Armidale, central NSW. Often the temperature is down near freezing. But this is not the first time Pete has conquered an incredible swimming challenge. In 2014, he swam in 333 different locations in the one year, including in the 1.6 degree Fox Glacier River in New Zealand. As a freshwater ecologist, it's not just the swimming that Pete likes - there are plenty of things to look at! He has discovered new species of fresh water crustaceans and beetles,  and documents much of it on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/platocean/. Pete also recently completed an indoor Iron Man, raising money for Headspace https://www.mycause.com.au/p/253987/sportune-indoor-ironman. So he knows how to run and cycle as well! You can see his adventures on strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/23146915. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Pete on https://www.instagram.com/platocean/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/platocean/. Also see Pete on Twitter https://twitter.com/platocean. 

57m
Aug 12, 2021
Ocean swimming... with Jaimee Rogers

Jaimee Rogers https://jaimee.com.au/ hosts the Big Sports Breakfast http://www.bigsportsbreakfast.com.au/index.php?component=team&task=bsbteam&Itemid=215&id=21 program on Sky Sports Radio, is a national level swimmer in the 200m breaststroke, and is now tackling the English Channel. She is raising money with Gotcha4life to support mental health programs. You can sponsor her here https://jaimee-rogers-uk-swim.raisely.com/. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Jaimee on instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CQutVSapeRJ/

31m
Jul 04, 2021
Ocean swimming... in the nude

Jon Stagg has completed the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim https://www.darkmofo.net.au/event/nude-solstice-swim every year since its inception. What makes someone swim nude in the middle of the Tasmanian winter? Jon has some fabulous stories - he even did it himself when the event was cancelled during covid! Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from ABC https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-21/dark-mofo-nude-solstice-swim-towel-shortage-tasmania/8637118 I'm hoping to do the Canberra version https://wintersolsticeswim.com/ - let's see where we're at come the solstice! You'll see it on strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/43917206 or twitter http://www.twitter.com/westius if I do.

42m
Jun 04, 2021
Ocean swimming... in La Nina

If you live on the east coast of Australia, your ocean swimming season has been rudely interrupted by the weather, with swims cancelled up and down the coast because of high swells and flooding. Australia has just experienced its wettest summer for five years https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/wettest-summer-five-years-la-nina-coming-end because of a climate cycle known as La Nina.  Associate Professor Andréa Taschetto https://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/ccrc-team/academic-research/andr%C3%A9a-taschetto is an oceanographer and ARC Future Fellow at the Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from hippo px https://www.hippopx.com/en/cloud-formation-sky-storm-cloud-storm-clouds-thunderstorms-dark-314345 Some links from the show: Andrea on twitter https://twitter.com/AndreaTaschetto, Marc on twitter https://twitter.com/westius, Marc on strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/43917206

17m
Apr 18, 2021
Ocean swimming... and Australian beach history

Associate Professor Anna Clark https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Anna.Clark is an ocean lover, fisher and historian at the University of Technology, Sydney. She has extensively researched the history of beach culture in Australia https://theconversation.com/sun-sand-and-survival-a-short-history-of-the-beach-in-australia-148527, an important place for thousands of generations of Indigenous culture,  a place of last resort during the Great Depression, and a place of upheaval during the more recent Cronulla riots. And throughout all that time, it has been vital for food and industry. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from exploroz https://www.exploroz.com/places/88024/sa+aboriginal-midden

30m
Mar 05, 2021
Ocean swimming... with John Sheely

John Sheely is head gardener at the Warrnambool Botanical Gardens, an acclaimed ocean swimmer who, with pools closed due to covid, has now swum 300 consecutive ocean swims https://www.standard.net.au/story/7088988/ocean-swimmer-racks-up-300-consecutive-dips/, and is aiming at 365 - a fair achievement when you consider he's swimming without a wetsuit off the coast of Victoria! It will end up being over 1000 km swum. He's also got quite the take on beer and steak as sports nutrition! You can find John on Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/17059703 and Twitter https://twitter.com/Bundogs. Image from The Standard https://www.standard.net.au/story/6545276/swiss-challenge-awaits-warrnambool-swimmer/. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __

39m
Feb 02, 2021
Ocean swimming... with Chloe McCardel

Chloe McCardel https://chloemccardel.com/ is probably the world's best ocean swimmer. She holds the record for the world's longest unassisted ocean swim (124.4 km), has crossed the English Channel 37 times, was inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2016 and was International Marathon Swimmer of the Year, 2014 & 2015. Her achievements are too long https://www.openwaterpedia.com/index.php?title=Chloe_McCardel to fully describe! She is also an acclaimed coach, and in November is giving free online English Channel solo swim advice talks for which you can register here https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/english-channel-openwater-swim-free-coaching-program/?fbclid=IwAR30heeduT04Okv-tphKIR55H083YIS1BYJUrwFm6ZCBwCatn0W0JyHLEvI. Image from Chloe's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ChloeMcCardel/. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __

1h 12m
Nov 24, 2020
Ocean swimming... the Coals to Newcastle

Craig Clarke is a champion Australian surf life-saver who has had a dream of swimming the English Channel since watching Des Renford in the 1970s. He had a slot booked in for this year, and then Covid-19 hit. Undeterred, not wanting to waste the training, and to raise money for Beyond Blue, Craig developed the 36 km “Coals to Newcastle” ocean swim on the Australian East Coast, a swim leg that has never been attempted before.  The course dates back over 100 years https://northstorm.com.au/36km-coals-to-newcastle-swim/ to when coal ships loaded at Catherine Hill Bay jetty (where the swim started) and transported coal into Newcastle Harbour past Nobbys Lighthouse (finishing point for the swim). It also has a great deal of personal significance to Craig as a coal-miner, with Newcastle being Craig’s home town and Swansea Belmont SLSC his club. Craig also raised as astonishing $32000 https://beyondblue-individual.everydayhero.com/au/coals-to-newcastle-craig-s-english-channel-crossing-in-newca for Beyond Blue. The swim took 12 hours https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6895805/made-it-marathon-swimmer-reaches-nobbys-after-almost-12-hours-in-the-water/ and you can read more about the swim at the Coals to Newcastle Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/coalsto.newcastle.9. Image from Newcastle Herald https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __  

57m
Oct 21, 2020
Ocean swimming... in extreme environments

Heather Massey https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/heather-massey is a senior lecturer in the Extreme Environments Research Group https://www.port.ac.uk/research/research-centres-and-groups/extreme-environments-research-group at the University of Portsmouth. Heather has done extensive work into the human response to cold water, both the physical and mental effects, and her areas of research interest include thermal, altitude and survival physiology. She's also an amazing ocean swimmer, having swum the English Channel and around Jersey, among other things. And has a podcast called Humans in Extremes https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/podcasts/humans-in-extremes, interviewing extraordinary guests who have done extraordinary activities in extreme environmental conditions. Image from Heather on Twitter https://twitter.com/H_Massey1979. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __

44m
Sep 21, 2020
Ocean swimming... with Bold and Beautiful

Bold and Beautiful https://www.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/ are an informal Sydney swim group for all ages and abilities who meet out the front of Manly Life Saving Club every day and swim at 7am, 7 days a week from Manly to Shelly Beach and back. Dorset Sutton is a philanthropist and along with Bold and Beautiful has been a key part of Operation Crayweed http://www.operationcrayweed.com/, an effort to bring crayweed back to Sydney beaches - you may remember this from the last episode http://www.thepodpodcast.net/e/ocean-swimming-and-underwater-forests/. Dorset, along with wife Jenny, runs the Lim-Sutton Initiative http://www.goodformanly.com.au/news/sustainable-seawalls-and-underwater-forests which is focused on marine philanthropy. Image from Bold and Beautiful https://www.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/random-images.html Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __  

46m
Aug 12, 2020
Ocean swimming... and underwater forests

Crayweed, a type of seaweed, forms dense forests on shallow reefs all the way from Port Macquarie to Tasmania. However, there is a 70 km gap in crayweed off the coast of Sydney. Sometime during the 1980s, crayweed disappeared completely between Palm Beach and Cronulla, likely due to the poorly treated sewage that used to be pumped directly onto Sydney’s beaches. However, despite Sydney's water quality improving dramatically since the establishment of the deep ocean sewage outfalls, the crayweed forests have not returned. Ziggy Marzinelli https://www.sydney.edu.au/science/about/our-people/academic-staff/e-marzinelli.html leads the crayweed restoration research at the University of Sydney https://sydney.edu.au/ and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science http://sims.org.au/, and is part of Operation Crayweed http://www.operationcrayweed.com/, a concerted effort to restore Sydney's underwater crayweed forests. One of the places they are working is Cabbage Tree Bay http://www.operationcrayweed.com/the-solution near Manly, and have enlisted the help of ocean swimming group with Bold and the Beautiful https://www.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/ (stay tuned for a podcast with them very soon). Image from Patagonia AUS & NZ https://www.instagram.com/patagoniaaus/, who are also working with Operation Crayweed. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __  

41m
Jul 15, 2020
Ocean swimming... with Shane Gould

Dr. Shane Gould is the only swimmer to hold every world freestyle record from 100 to 1500 metres and the 200-metre individual medley simultaneously. She is the first female swimmer to win three Olympic gold medals in world record time, and the first swimmer to win Olympic medals in five individual events in a single Olympics. She is also the only Australian to win three individual gold medals at one Games. And now she's a card-carrying member of the Ocean Swimmers' Union! But not only that, Shane has completed two Masters theses and a Doctorate on the role of swimming in Australian culture, runs swim courses, is involved with surf life-saving and swims as often as she can in the ocean in Bicheno, Tasmania. So she knows a bit about swimming. And she also won Survivor! Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __ Image from Numismatic Bibliomania Society https://www.flickr.com/people/coinbooks/.

1h 9m
Jun 05, 2020
Ocean swimming... and Places We Swim

Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon run the beautiful website Places we swim https://www.placesweswim.com/ and have just released a book, also called Places we swim, a travel guide for water-loving people, exploring Australia through swimming. The book takes us to beaches, pools, waterfalls, lakes, hot springs and gorges all over the country. Caroline and Dillon visited hundreds, if not thousands, of swimming holes to explore Australia's wild beauty and to curate the absolute best of every place they visited. Make this your list of places to swim when we come out of isolation! Image from @placesweswim https://www.instagram.com/placesweswim/ Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __

40m
Apr 29, 2020
Ocean swimming... and COVID-19

Hannah Sassi https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hannah_Sassi is a virologist from the University of Sydney who studies the persistence of viruses in the environment. She is also an ocean swimmer who trains with BondiFit http://www.bondifit.com.au/, whose local beach is Maroubra. Right now during the Coronavirus pandemic, many swimmers are wondering whether it is OK to go for a swim. At the time of recording, a lot of world is in lockdown or headed towards it, so some of this is a moot point. If the local laws say don't swim, then obviously, don't swim! In summary, should you swim right now? __ __ While a properly cleaned pool will kill the virus, the virus can live for a long time in the surrounding environment and everywhere you go on your way to the pool. And in such places where people exercise, people tend to be breathing heavily. Viruses can persist for a longer period of time in fresh/salt water, and so there are further risks with ocean pools, especially those that don't get flushed or cleaned regularly. If you want to swim, swimming at some distance from others in the ocean is the way to go. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __

37m
Mar 26, 2020
Ocean swimming... and event organisation

The Cole Classic https://sunruncoleclassic.com.au/history/ is one of Sydney's oldest and largest ocean swims. It has a storied history https://sunruncoleclassic.com.au/history/ and in 2020, ownership of the swim moved from Fairfax to Manly Surf Life Saving Club, meaning essentially a whole new swim had to be organised.  Simone Hill is a member of Manly SLSC and runs her own company My Crew Travel https://www.mycrewtravel.com/. Simone coordinated the volunteers and logistics for the day, and helped create a new community vibe around the event. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: __ __

31m
Mar 10, 2020