COASTING ALONG • Autumn
Coasting along with
LIBBY GREIG
THE BIG SPLASH
E
ven if the last time you swam a lap was at the school swimming carnival in the last century, or getting your Bronze Medallion for Lifesaving, I have news for you. Swimming is back! You may not be in that cute bikini, slathered in coconut oil — as you may have been then — but you can grab your very sensible one-piece cossie and cover yourself in factor-50 sunscreen. And don’t forget that very large cover-all beach towel. After years of jogging, gym memberships and aerobic classes I suddenly discovered that swimming is a simple way of keeping fit and making new friends. I recommend your local pool. Better still is an ocean pool, if you’re fortunate enough to be near one. You can swim in all weathers and if you can find a pool with a café nearby, what could be more perfect.
60 COAST
Would I do this on my own? Absolutely not! I am far too lazy to leap out of bed and do something quite so wholesome. So, how did it all happen? In one word: JACKY. Jacky, who has swum in the freezing waters of New Zealand and South Africa and, only a week or two ago, in the shark-infested waters of the Barrier Reef (apparently, being followed by a tiger shark improves your swimming times enormously). Her enthusiasm is highly infectious, as are the number of texts designed to get you out of bed and into the pool. Sometimes it’s only the warm glow of self-righteousness that keeps one glowing and going. But it helps if, like me, you have a firm layer of blubber. Some of our group are very slim and find the water can freeze them to the core. Poor dears! I’ve fallen under the spell of our local rock pool and now, two or
