Coalcliff Ocean Swim Club features on the cover of the Illawarra Flame's first issue in 2025. To read or download the magazine layout, click here or find the text version below.
Coalcliff Ocean Swim Club is run by Coalcliff SLSC and proudly sponsored by Equilibrium Healthcare.
It aims to support community members to improve their ocean-swimming skills in a safe, inclusive and supportive environment.
As the club coordinator, I decided to ask two regulars, Mel Garrick and Bruce Taylor, a few questions about their ocean-swimming experience and how they got into it.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself, where you grew up, and what brought you to the Illawarra?
Melanie Garrick: I grew up in Balmain. I moved to the Illawarra a few years ago on a whim for affordability reasons and to be closer to nature and the beach.
Bruce Taylor: I was born at Canterbury Hospital in 1971. I had a condition called Hydrocephalus at birth, which is fluid on the brain. Over time and with the right care, I beat it and have gone on to live a normal life. I grew up in South West Sydney in a suburb called Padstow.
After I met my wife-to-be, we moved around a bit, but ultimately moved to Figtree in 2015 as my wife got a job in Sydney.
What sort of swimming did you do as a kid, any swim lessons, Nippers etc?
Mel: My local was the Dawn Fraser Pool. I probably spent more time lounging around there than swimming, but dodging jellyfish in the murky harbour pool may have set me up for ocean swimming later.
Bruce: As a young fella living in Padstow, it was close enough to the coast that my brother and I joined little nippers at Elouera Beach. I did that for a few years and in my mid-teens, I turned my hand to competition swimming with Padstow RSL swim club. I wasn’t the best, but wasn’t the worst and had a great time, meeting new people. I was pretty much self-taught and did a lot of swimming in my cousin’s pool on the weekends.
How did you start ocean swimming? What got you to try it out for the first time?
Mel: My mum is an obsessive ocean swimmer. She’s done many adventurous long-distance swims, even in places like the Galapagos Islands. I was mostly a pool swimmer until COVID-19. When the pools closed, I started doing longer swims in the ocean.
Bruce: My brother is an ocean swimmer down in Melbourne and after a few seasons of knowing he was doing it, I wanted to get in on the action. Being a swimmer, but not having done ocean swimming before, I thought it would be a great challenge. I’ve loved it from the start. So I went online to see who did weekend ocean swims and
I came across Coalcliff Ocean Swim Club, through the Coalcliff SLSC.
What sort of swimming do you do at the moment?
Mel: I swim for leisure in the ocean all the time. I’d do maybe 20 laps a week in the warmer months for stroke swimming, with the occasional longer ocean swim.
Bruce: I swim every Sunday with a small group of people I met through the Coalcliff swim club. We swim early on Sundays for about an hour each time. If I can’t get to swim with the group, I try to get to a local pool and do laps, usually around 11/2km.
What do you enjoy about ocean swimming?
Mel: It’s challenging, invigorating, refreshing. You are immersed in nature. It lifts your mood, brightens your day and helps you sleep well.
Bruce: I enjoy a few things about ocean swimming:
1. I like the comradeship of the group swimming. We look out for each other.
2. Although we swim in a group, you’re swimming by yourself and challenging yourself to be better than the last time.
3. I love the ocean.
What do you find challenging about ocean swimming?
Mel: I have all the rational and irrational fears – getting caught out, waves, cold water, stingers, sharks… The fitness aspect is challenging too, because I’m not super experienced with long distances.
Bruce: The conditions can make it challenging. You can’t just swim when it’s calm. I like to push myself to get out no matter the conditions.
How do you overcome any fears you have about getting into the ocean?
Mel: Finding a group to swim with is fantastic for building confidence. A wetsuit and short-blade flippers are a big boost, too.
Bruce: To be honest, I don’t have any fears of getting in the ocean. I know there’s dangers in the ocean, but I don’t think about them. If you allow yourself to think about what’s out there, you may never do it.
What was your best experience in the ocean?
Mel: Last year I swam in the middle of the Coral Sea during a boat trip to Vanuatu. The ocean was so deep, clear and blue. Also, surfing for the first time at Waikiki Beach was special.
Bruce: I’ve had a few really good swims over the past couple of years, but three stick out: The 1st was back in June when we swam from Stanwell Park to Coalcliff. It was the longest swim I had ever done. The water was clear and it was an awesome swim.
The 2nd was down in Huskisson when we joined a few swim groups for a swim from Murrays Beach in Booderee National Park over to Bowen Island and back. The 3rd and best was a smaller swim, but for a brief time, we swam with some dolphins. You don’t get to do that on dry land. It was a great experience.
How do you feel after an ocean swim?
Mel: Exhausted, hungry, satisfied, refreshed :)
Bruce: I feel great after an ocean swim. I feel accomplished. It’s a great way to start a Sunday.
If I miss a swim because I need to, that’s fine but when I miss a swim for no reason, I get annoyed with myself.
What do you enjoy the most about Coalcliff Ocean Swim Club?
Mel: It’s inclusive. It’s not cliquey or competitive. You can rock up by yourself, and it’s not awkward. You don’t need to have much experience in the ocean. It’s very safety-orientated, with the rubber duck and board-riders ready to rescue you at all times. It’s quite a dramatic and unusual beach and can be wild at times, which makes for challenging and varied swims throughout the season.
Bruce: I love the community spirit and the comradeship of the swim club, swimming with the group is sensational.
To find out more about Coalcliff Ocean Swim Club and how you can join, visit www.coalcliffslsc.com.au/oceanswimclub
