Balmoral’s fearless Swimming Idiots never miss their early morning dip
OVER more than a decade the self-proclaimed Swimming Idiots of Balmoral have met every morning without fail for a sea swim — no matter how cold the water or how many stingrays join them.
Mosman
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IT’S 6.30am and the clouds over Balmoral Beach are rimmed with golden frosting. The sun is barely awake and it’s a typically serene, yet chilly, morning in Mosman.
But at the edge of the beach there’s a lively pod of activity.
Legs and arms are being pulled into wetsuits and neon swim caps quickly become bright second scalps.
Goggles are strapped on and without hesitation this merry band stride into the winter waters seemingly oblivious to the cold. (That morning the sea had an official temperature of 15C).
“I don’t swim with these guys, they’re idiots,” a seasoned Balmoral swimmer told the Mosman Daily on the beach.
“They go to New Zealand and back.”
The hardy bunch appropriately call themselves the Swimming Idiots and they’ve developed a reputation among the early morning beachgoers.
Over more than a decade they have met every morning without fail for a sea swim. Sometimes it’s around the island, other times its around the bay — averaging about 1km.
They even have an option called the dead man’s route.
And it doesn’t matter what the forecast says, the swim is always on.
“If you can’t come you text but you don’t text to ask are we swimming today because the answer is yes,” Chris Meredith said.
The group got their name from the young son of a swimmer who told his dad he was an idiot for venturing out so far.
However, at their core the Idiots, as their name suggests, are really about having fun and enjoying the best of Balmoral.
“It’s just a beautiful beach and to be there at dawn when the sun is coming up and the sea is calm,” Mr Meredith said. “Every swim is a little bit different.”
The group often get joined by wild swimmers including turtles, seals and dolphins. A sting ray even brushed past the group on the morning of their photoshoot.
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The group have all become good friends and come from diverse professional backgrounds.
They couldn’t start their day without a swim.
“When your feet touch the sand at the end of the swim, that moment you always feels fantastic,” Mr Meredith said. “You feel completely alive.
“You’ve done the swim, the blood is pumping round and you know there’s a coffee not far away. “That moment is always brilliant.”
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