104-year-old marks birthday by swimming with sharks
When you are turning 104, no ordinary birthday party will do. Swimming with sharks? That’s more like it.
When you are turning 104, no ordinary birthday party will do.
Dorothy Yeomans decided to mark the epic milestone by swimming with sharks.
Dorothy donned a wetsuit on Tuesday and entered a tank at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium that houses five grey nurse sharks, 25 Port Jackson sharks, two smooth rays, one sting ray and some tropical fish.
“How fabulous was that,” the birthday girl said.
The birthday swim was organised by Uniting Springwood, where Dorothy has lived since she was 101, and the Shark Dive Xtreme team at the aquarium.
Dive supervisor Harry Masefield said he was “blown away by Dorothy’s amazing attitude”.
“It’s not everyday you hear that someone wants to celebrate their 104th birthday by swimming with sharks, so we knew we had to make it special,” he said.
Dorothy has a history of adventurous birthday celebrations; for her 90th birthday she travelled to the UK and Canada and last year she took a helicopter ride in Sydney.
At her 103rd birthday she flagged swimming with sharks as the next birthday activity, and a year later her wish came true.
Nic Langenberg from Uniting Springwood said it was “one of the most unusual” wishes from a resident but “so rewarding and it’s been such a privilege to help make it happen”.
Dorothy will celebrate her 104th birthday on May 24.
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