Reader\'s Digest Australia & New Zealand - June 2018

June• 2018 | 11

hepoweroftheocean,thethought

of creatures, silent, lurking beneath

me,frightenedthehelloutofme.

Everything about ocean swimming

was new: wading awkwardly through

the foaming water, diving to the

bottom,grabbingthesandasthe

turbulent waves washed over my

body.I’mstillhauntedbythepanic

Ifeltaftermyinstructorscreamed

outtome:“You’reouttheback,

now swim!” Weeks of training soon

turnedintomonths,andthebig

day arrived.

Amini-bushadbeenorganisedto

transporttheSixPackandourever-

so-proudpartnersandfamiliestothe

bigevent.Wefelteuphoric,andwith

ourenthusiasticentourageintow,we

were ready for the swim ahead of us.

Banterandlaughterilledthemini-

busasweweavedthroughtheheavy

weekendtraictoBondiBeach.

hescenewhenwearrivedatthe

beachisbestdescribedasorganised

chaos. We arranged a meeting place

and manoeuvred our way through

thevastcrowdstopickupour

brightly coloured swim caps.

Nerves raw, we donned our caps

and goggles and headed to the start.

We felt like celebrities, lining up

and posing for photographs; the

comraderyweexperiencedastheSix

Packwasincredibleandhaswithout

doubtcementedourfriendship.

Iwasthrilledwiththeweather,

the cloudless blue sky relected on

my security blanket. I’d groan at the
thoughtofgivingthemup.Itwas
toughgoingbutasmyconidence
grew,Icametoenjoythesessions
and the clean, sparkling water.
Seeingthesettingsunchangethe
colourofthecloudsfromhuesof
redtomauve,andhearingbirds
chirping in the surrounding trees
broughtanunexpectedpleasure.
Addedtothiswasthesurprising
senseofaccomplishmentIfeltafter
each session.
Ocean training, on the other
hand,wastotallydiferent.he
second training session was on
SaturdaymorningatElouera
ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCKBeach,  and it illed me with dread.