Now with spring in full swing we are swimming more and more. Weekly I have new freestylers signing up who  feeling the itch to go into the ocean.  A warm welcome to Charlotte, Nicolai, Sam, Richard, Tim, Ruby and Ayla.
The water temperature has gone up to 20 degrees and the air temperatures are balmy. It is such a privilege to see these freestylers rediscover there love for swimming. Some haven't swum for over 5 years. After a session we talk and they ask themselves why did I give this up and say "I need to make time for this on a regular bases". It feels great to put peoples focus back on something they clearly love to do.
On the other side freestylers come and tell me they experience swimming as a continuous struggle and they cannot focus on the fun element of it. Clearly they need help with their stroke & confidence. I always explain them once the technique and strength is enhanced the fun begins. Amazing  to see how swimmers improve once we put them on a training plan and correct or redevelop their stroke. Weeks later you hear a complete different story, how  they are so relaxed , more confident and have so much more enjoyment while swimming in the ocean.
Swimming in the ocean provokes a lot of different emotions, you get happy that you done a certain distance or are amazed what nature shows you or in absolute awe of its power when the swell and surf picks up.
Doing what you love is essential in life. If you like to find out if this sport is for you please contact me
for a trial/assessment lesson. I know for sure we are changing peoples view about  ocean swimming one by one.
Happy swimming everyone!
Mark

Swimming and specially ocean swimming breathing is an key component of a good and effective freestyle stroke. Breathing comes always up as the number one challenge swimmers face  transitioning from pool to the ocean. Feeling comfortable in your surroundings is the start to get your breathing under control. Taking deep breaths is essential. This calms down your heart rate and ensure your muscles stay relaxed. First time swimming in the ocean can cause an uncomfortable feeling. This can only be fixed by starting to concentrate on your breathing pattern. Close your eyes for a couple of second and slow down your stroke rate. Once heart rate settles down try to find a comfortable rhythm. Like all new things practicing makes perfect and before you know it you are totally adapted to the new surroundings. Practicing bi lateral breathing drills will benefit and help you calm down.

Unfortunately we did not have a camera on us when a medium size bat ray brushed past us.
A phenomenal creature. Spring has come nicely this week with temp in the mid 20's and water creeping back up to 19 degrees. We seen a big increase in swimming activity this week.

Allison who started this week had her first ocean experience and she absolutely loved it. So thrilled to see how she reacted when we got out of the water. If you have been thinking about leaning to swim in the ocean but need that little bit more convincing please contact me and we will be able to help you discover this great outdoor sport.
Happy swimming everyone.
Mark Bemer
Great shot from Tyson Wassermeyer who is mb-freestyles new ocean swim instructor.

Spring arrived this week with a bang giving us a full 2 degrees increase in water temperature ( from 16 to 18). The sunrises earlier and earlier which means we can start swimming now around 6.30 am. Ocean swimming is clearly on peoples mind now that we said goodbye to the winter.  A warm welcome to Nicholas, Allison and Chris who joined us at mb-freestyle. In the school holidays we will be starting our ocean kids swim program as well. We made some great progress with our members as they go further, faster and feeling more confidence in the ocean than ever before. Sunrise over Manly Beach...

I am also pleased to announce that Tyson Wassermeyer has joined mb-freestyle as a casual ocean swim instructor. Tyson has a wealth of experience and is a fulltime lifeguard  and a competitive open water swimmer.
The underwater landscape is amazing to explore photos by Jennifer Gwynne.

Kristin also completed her first Shelly beach to Manly crossing as she is preparing for the Coles classic in January.
Nicholas making great progress after his third lesson he is now at 1.2 km , up from 400 metres just 3 weeks ago.  Kim now frequently doing over 1km in her swim fit session.

Our social group "The skinny dippers" have started a new initiative. Every swimmer has to take 3 pieces of plastic out every day.  After some big swell comes rolling in we are reminded how bad we treat our ocean. We collected more then a kilo of plastic trash. Please pick up plastic as it is killing fish, turtles, dolphins and it shows how ignorant we are with our litter. Ocean trash collected by our group.

This week we also got together again with our Bronze medallion group for a dry and wet session. We have a great group of locals who are learning all the ropes of surf life saving.  I was reminded how powerful the surf was when my rescue board got smashed out of my hands by a big dumping wave. If you would like to learn to open water swim please contact me.  We also have a great spring special where you receive $100 discount on a 10 private lesson package. Keep freestyling everyone and enjoy the spring weather. Mark Bemer
Nick and myself finishing our two hour Bronze medallion wet session on Saturday morning. Love the screaming colours!

More and more freestylers are joining us as the winter seems to be almost over and people start thinking about getting spring ready and want to get active again. A warm welcome to Chris who is training for the Coolangatta Gold a gruesome endurance competition with all the surf elements in it. I am also thrilled to have joined the Manly surf live saving club, one of the oldest in the country Est. 1907.

Last Saturday I started my bronze course with an ocean swim with my fellow Bronze candidates. Surf live saving is a huge corner stone in Australian communities with over 160.000 member divided over 311 clubs.

Also I am very pleased with the progress of some of my freestylers who have improved there skills and are now enjoying the rewards. Swimming and ocean swimming is a very technical sport and changing your technique takes time and lots of repetition. Our social swim group is now going for longer daily stints and again we are treated to some fabulous marine life.

Below some more pictures of the stunning marine life. If you  like to improve your swimming skills or you want to start ocean swimming feel free to contact me.

" The moment when you get out after an ocean swim is something you have to experience....pure bliss"

Mark

We had a cracker of a week here in Manly Australia, the conditions in hart of winter were superb. Very gentle oceans and water clarity at its best. In the beginning of the week we went twice over the Fairy bower break which was spectacular plenty of marine life including port Jackson, wobbegongs, huge rays and blue groupers.
Below  Peter Howard celebrating his birthday in style. Congrats mate!

The beaming sun made for excellent underwater photography moments.   A couple more to just show u what a stunning world it is out there.

I would also like to welcome Stefan and Dagmar to our team. They have set them a great challenge to do the Noosa Triathlon in November 2015. We will make sure they are ready at the start line. The other day Jamie mentioned that swimming in 16.5 degrees water without suit feels like peppermint. I agree you feel very much alive.

Gorgeous port Jackson sharks (harmless) they stay as still as possible to conserve energy. If you would like to join our growing group of ocean swimmers or you have a particular goal/event in mind, we can help you achieving these goals. Spring is around the corner and  the NSW ocean race series will start soon again.
Come on what are you waiting for?
Mark

I had a great 3 weeks holiday during the school holiday period. My body enjoyed no swimming for a couple of weeks. Now we are back in full swing and swimming multiple times a day again. A warm welcome for Chris who joined our team. At the moment there are no races during the winter months, but all of us are still swimming. Water temperature is now 17 degrees and getting a bit chilly I tried both with and without suits. Still prefer no suit for now.

In the  winter months the water is much more calm and the clarity is amazing. Daily we encounter lovely ocean creatures. I am playing with my go pro as well to capture some of our great encounters.

This beautiful cuttle fish is a local favourite we know where his house is so it is quite easy to find him. He is curious and very gentle and will come up to you. Our social swimming groups are also busy everyday. If you like to join our ocean swim community contact me. See details in Contact section.

Another Sunday morning, another ocean swim.  Today was the turn of Mona Vale SLSC to host the Winter Solstice Ocean Swim. It was chilly, a mix of grey skies and sunshine with some decent swells rolling in making the conditions fairly challenging.  A few of my regular swimming group were taking part today and we caught up before the race, all wrapped up to keep warm before getting in the water. The ocean temperature was certainly warmer than the air temperature today so the swimmers were pretty keen to get in the water after stripping down to their swim suits!  After a pre-race briefing it was 10am and we were off, bashing through the waves and heading to the first marker point.

The weather was threatening and with dark grey clouds on one side and the sun trying to make an appearance on the other we were treated to a beautiful rainbow - you might even spot the rainbow in one of the photos.

We got so lucky the last weeks with seeing great sea life. This week we found "Shelly the turtle" it was great to swim along her for a bit and spot her transmitter on her back. Hopefully she will find a partner soon. She was all alone out there.
Visibility was great again and the temp has now dropped under the 20 degrees. The cold water feels so good. It focus your body and mind totally. Great swim sessions with Kim and Greg improving there technique and increasing there swim strength.  Come on and join us.
Underwater photo's taken by Jennifer Gwynne