Shoalhaven Seahawks - Results

Nowra - 9th February 2002

* Tim Pearse also swam: 400 Free 7:48.38

Shoalhaven Weekend
Report by Annette Britten

Everyone who attended had a fabulous weekend and are all making plans to do it again next year! Read on to see what you missed out on!

Friday afternoon and a large proportion of those attending the Shoalhaven swimming carnival made their way down to Nowra. Linda and Hilary arrived in Nowra early where they promptly sussed out the local drinking holes and had a few light refreshments to kick start the weekend and await the arrival of the rest of the team.

Adrian was having a leisurely drive on his own, minding his own business, belting out a tune (thankfully we had our windows up so we didn’t have to listen to the dreadful sound), when he was confronted by a car full of hooligans (Greg, Peter and Annette) waving and shouting out the windows as they passed by. We played relays for a while, passing each other, and taking turns to lead until Adrian became bamboozled by Greg’s flashing! ........blinkers that is. With Adrian taking one route and Greg the other, nearly ending up in Wollongong instead, we eventually met up in Nowra ready to join Linda and Hilary at the Returned Soldiers Club.

After booking into M&M’s Guesthouse we ventured down to the Returned Soldiers Club where we met up with Linda, Hilary, Jill and David. By this time Linda and Hilary were starting to feel the effects of those few light refreshments and a small hint of the typical feral behaviour was starting to emerge. The effects of alcohol were already showing on Adrian after one drink when he became confused as to where he would be sleeping for the night. He couldn’t for the life of him remember whether he was booked into rooms 3, 7 or 12, a bit of a worry. A fun or should I say worrisome night ahead for Greg and Peter who had the honour of sharing a room with him.

After sorting out the sleeping arrangements and a few beers and wines later Greg decided to give Ray a call to find out whether he would be joining us for the weekend. We played a game of pass Ray around the table and by the time the phone arrived back to Greg, Ray was pretty quick to hang up.

By 10 o’clock the food was being packed away and one of the workers came to tell us very politely that they were closing up. A very loud Greg, saying, "Are you kicking us out", confronted him. The poor fellow tried to explain that the food was being put away when Greg bellowed again, "What you’re kicking us out". He said "no" and walked away shaking his head, probably wondering what kind of lunatics we were.

At this time Jill and David said their goodnights and the rest of us ventured down stairs to party on. There were a few people on the dance floor attempting to dance, although they looked like they were trying to stamp on cockroaches. We decided not to join them but go and find a table instead. After a few more drinks and some joke telling we decided to call it a night and meet back at the guesthouse for a coffee.

We arrived back at the guesthouse, dawdling in like brown’s cows as some walked while others drove. Greg, Peter, Hilary and Linda arrived back last and as the front door was locked they trudged through room 12 where they found Adrian with his trousers down around his ankles rubbing a muscle.......!! After a coffee and a bit more of a chat we all made our way to bed.

On Saturday morning Greg awoke all bleary eyed to a knock on the door at around 6.45am. There standing at the door was Tim who left Sydney quite early to make the trip down, miscalculating how long it would take to get there. Eventually everyone started to re-surface, as it’s impossible to sleep with Greg, doing what he does best, talking in the hallway. Pam and David along with Hayley had also arrived sometime the night before and I had heard David comment during the day about certain people deciding to have a conference in the hall and waking him from his peaceful slumber. We all made our way down to the breakfast room where we kick started our day with cereal, toast and a nice hot cuppa.

After breakfast a team of would be helpers made the epic journey over to the pool where they swiftly erected the two cabanas. The front cabana was promptly claimed as the parlor while the back one was allocated to the kids as the rumpus room! Unfortunately this wasn’t to be, as the parlor sprung a leak when the rain started to fall, typical weather for the Shoalhaven carnival. We sent Greg and Peter to the local shops in search of a tarp, but when an hour and a half rolled by and still no sight of them, we were starting to wonder what they actually went in search for! We were preparing to send out a search party when they stumbled back through the gate profoundly claiming that they had to walk all over the town to find one. We have to wonder!! After securing the tarp we were once again able to congregate in the front parlor and stay dry.

The carnival was well underway by this time with Adrian kick starting our campaign with the 800 Freestyle. The last of our team consisting of Diane, Suzie, Liz and Katrina arrived at about 12.30pm in time for the afternoon events. We had a great day with many PB’s (personal bests) and PW’s (personal worsts) and a huge supply of choc-chip biscuits to build up our stamina.

A friendly rivalry was starting to form between Greg and me with our freestyle swims to come. During a recent training session Greg had stated that when I could beat him in a race that was when he would start doing tumble turns. So the challenge was on. After completing the two events we came out one a piece, with Greg doing a PB for his 100m Free. Looks like he had better start practising those tumble turns! The decider was to come in the form of a 3km beach swim the following morning. Ray arrived late in the afternoon in preparation for the 1km swim the next day.

The last event of the day was the relays where we hotly contested three different races. Those in the relays swam exceptionally well with some great results. After the relays we promptly packed up camp and made our way back to the guesthouse where we showered and prepared ourselves for the tea that followed. Hilary, Linda and Adrian decided not to join us for tea, with Linda and Hilary opting to find the nearest bottle shop instead, a bad mistake letting the ferals out on the town alone. Look out Nowra. Adrian decided to go and catch up with a few friends.

By the time we arrived at tea there was one table left and we were starting to wonder just how we were all going to fit around it. After a bit of shuffling around and locating a few more chairs, thirteen of us sat around a table built for eight, a very cozy affair indeed. Once seated there was no escape as our chairs were firmly linked together and one hoped that everyone remembered to use their deodorant due to the close proximity of each other. Eating proved to be an exercise in itself with extremely limited elbow space. One had to be careful not to injure their extremely close neighbour when attempting to cut the slightly tough steak. Without too many injuries, and no broken ribs, we managed to survive tea.

Presentations followed where many from our table received medals for their fine efforts during the day. We also scored very well in the point score, with an overall third placing. As we are renowned for our rather boisterous behaviour, we took this opportunity to let every one know we were present.

Presentations over and it was time to locate the ferals who had been sending messages all night on Greg’s phone. We promptly found them lounging around on the back porch of the Guesthouse enjoying a few drinks. Nearly everyone joined them except David and Jill who decided to call it a night and catch up on some much needed sleep. It was decided not to do the pub crawl but to participate in some team building exercises on the back porch. Several topics of conversation were tossed around the table including "Honey" and "Chooks". (Content of conversations cannot be revealed due to it being too hot and saucy for public display!) One by one people slowly drifted off to bed, armed with alarm clocks, in preparation for the "BIG" swim the following morning. The stragglers called it a night at around 11.00 pm, promptly falling into a deep slumber as their heads hit the pillow.

There was movement at the guesthouse around 6am the following morning as everyone woke to the sounds of buzzing and ringing as the alarm clocks sounded. Tired and weary we all stumbled out of bed, hardly able to keep our eyes open. At this particular moment in time we were all starting to wonder, except Linda and David M, why we were about to put our aging bodies through the trauma or torture of an early morning 1km or 3km beach swim. Tim was looking exceptionally tired and it was revealed later that be had had to contend with Ray snoring, talking in his sleep and banging the walls. Looks like Ray will be enjoying the luxury of a room of his own next time.

After recharging the energy levels with an early morning breakfast it was time to pack the cars and make the epic journey to Callala Beach. Once at the beach we lined up in preparation to be tattooed with our race numbers and to collect our appropriately coloured hats. With this done we headed back outside to await pre race instructions and the start of the race. A few brave people ventured down to test the waters while others chose to remain warm and cozy. Greg was enjoying a leisurely paddle, minding his own business, when a certain someone thought it would be a great idea if he became accustomed to the water temperature prior to the race. One gets used to being called a bitch, it’s a wonder I don’t have a complex!

Finally it was time for the race to begin with the 3km competitors entering the water first followed by the 1km competitors five minutes later. The race progressed quite quickly although it felt like an eternity to the first turning buoy. In no time at all the 1km swimmers were emerging from the water and once recovered a few of them decided to venture back in the water for a bit of fun and to cheer on our remaining competitors as they made the dash to the finish line.

Unsure of where Greg, Suzie and Adrian were, and happily swimming along I suddenly spotted a familiar looking set of arms approaching from behind. It wasn’t long before Adrian pulled up along side me. We tried to turn at the far buoy, ready for the last leg, but Adrian became tangled in the rope. Once he freed himself he continued on his merry way with me hanging onto his feet and legs like a leach. About 150 metres from the finish he was finally able to free himself from me. Slowly one by one everyone made their way out of the water. Greg’s first words were "Bitch, you beat me", charming indeed coming from the Club President himself. With one open water swim apiece the rivalry continues on until round three next year! Suzie went through a sudden sex change during her swim and emerged from the water looking like she had two days worth of growth on her face and in need of a shave.

Presentations followed the completion of the race where fourteen out of our fifteen competitors placed first, second or third in their respective age groups. An exceptionally fine effort by all. With the weekend drawing to a close it was time for many of us to return to Canberra. Jill and David ventured down south for a few days of R & R before returning to the big smoke. A group of us stopped off at Kangaroo Valley where we enjoyed a lovely lunch, although it was a pity about the rather slow service. Lunch eaten and it was time to hit the road once again.

Tim not being sure of the way decided to follow Greg back to the Hume Highway. I’m not sure that this was a good idea. Greg decided he would take a detour via Exeter rather than go through Moss Vale. Greg not being familiar with this particular route and doing what he does best, "talking that is", missed the turnoff reading "TO THE HUME HIGHWAY" and ended up taking us for a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive through Bundanoon. Eventually we arrived home safe and sound and extremely exhausted.

Come and join the fun. See you there next year!