Whilst Olympian deeds to the north have soaked up much of the coverage, here in the south three Giants, a Trek and a Carpe Diem have continued quietly to convene most mornings this chilly winter to chew the fat, to swim and sometimes shiver together @ Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain, where the water temperature descends reliably each year to a sharpish 12 degrees.
The camaraderie of ‘The Winter Key’ – the pure exhilaration of immersing oneself in and ploughing the health-giving waters of Sydney Harbour with a handful of like-minded, increasingly-leathery inner-west legends – has proved irresistible to many of us for over 20 years, and remains an essential antidote to seasonal (even Trumpian) malaise.
Winter @ DFB is also about escaping the crowd, about having it (almost) to yourself, with no passing parade, no lane ropes and no lifeguards. It’s a time of freedom and idiosyncrasy: Dallas, for example, chooses to swim the (quite-complex) perimeter of the pool as opposed to conventional lengths, Jen regularly records the day’s water temp by inscribing a figure in the virgin sand with her flipper, and Nick, après-swim, is often as not upside down in a faultless yoga pose beside the pool’s elegant new stainless-steel railings.
Nor is the natural world ever far away: on Friday Greg swam out a few metres from Dawnie’s small but perfectly-formed beach to introduce us to the pool’s elusive resident flathead; earlier in the week Judy, departing on her bike, reported her first magpie swoop. In the pool there are almost always smartly-attired seagulls on duty. Sleek black cormorants chase schools of tiny prawns into the shallows and on occasion a lone darter, bittern or sea eagle surveys the scene.
As spring approaches and winds recede, below the glinting mirror surface a few wary whiting and luderick have begun to re-appear amongst the sea grass. Beneath the pontoon and around the stairs awaits a veritable aquatic flock of 200 or so patient bream, sustained throughout the long winter by Tony’s small but seemingly bottomless white-plastic bucket.
Above David, Judy, Ros, Kel and their steeds @ DFB, 28 July 2024. Pic Denise