How many swimmers have been attacked by sharks?

Posted on by JBryce

In Melbourne’s Port Phillip, there are thousands of swimmers taking to the water at dozens of beaches every day.

But how many shark attacks have there been in the bay?

Are open water swimmers in danger from shark attacks in Melbourne? In Victoria? How many serious shark attacks have there been in Port Phillip?

Good news is that there have been NO fatal shark attacks in Port Phillip since 1936, so that’s none in the last 90 years.

Historically, there have been seven FATAL shark attacks in or near Melbourne over the last 200 years. All seven fatal shark attacks in or near Melbourne happened in the 1800’s or early 1900’s.

There are fewer sharks today than in the last century, possibly because of baiting and culling activities carried out over 150 years that have led to a crash in the numbers of sharks.

The last confirmed sighting of a large Great White Shark in Port Phillip was 7km off Altona in July 2012.

The Herald Sun reported that Ray Theuma and Brian Bell spotted the 4.5m shark near their 4m boat whilst fishing off Altona.

Occasional shark sightings are reported from the south-eastern bay beaches, such as Portsea and Sorrento. These are sharks entering the bay from The Rip and often exiting a day or two later. There are very few large shark sighting at the top of the bay, near Melbourne.

According to this widely shared article from Melbourne Marvels some of the historical shark attacks in Melbourne were quite dramatic and public with many witnesses and obvious trauma for those close by.

For example, apprentice stonemason Peter Rooney was a strong swimmer who was attacked by a large shark at Port Melbourne in 1876. A horse rider named James Pritchard rode into the sea to attempt to drag him from the shark’s jaws. Imagine this scene:

“as Pritchard retreated, Peter dangling awkwardly from the horse with blood pumping from the wound to his left thigh, the shark seemed to get its bearings and swam aggressively towards them.

This time it bit at Peter’s left calf to the horror of his friends.  The scene was nightmarish with the colour of the water all around turning red due to being diluted with blood.”

Another horrific scene unfolded at Brighton Beach in 1930. 19 year old Norman Clark was attacked and killed by a Great White Shark just metres from the Brighton Pier in front of 100 horrified onlookers including his friends.

In the weeks following this attack, dozens of sharks were killed in the bay but the actual shark that killed Norman Clark was never found.

Is it safe to swim in the open water?

There have been 23 fatal shark attacks in Australia since 2020. according to the Australian Shark Incident Database. There’s been an increase in shark attacks on swimmers in New South Wales and Sydney in particular in recent years reports Channel Nine. Warmer water bringing Bull and Tiger Sharks further south is one reason for more attacks.

There have no fatal shark attacks in Melbourne or Victoria for many years.

This Four Corners program on ABC TV examines the issue and suggests there are more sharks (and more swimmers) in the ocean, leading to more close encounters.

Swimmers should be aware of the risks without being panicked.

Resources like Dorsal Shark App and other reporting services are invaluable.

Swimmers should not be swimming alone, far from shore or without good local knowledge of the area. Responsible swim group leaders check for reports and warnings and keep an eye on conditions around their swimmers.

Swimming near river mouths, in the midst of large schools of fish and spearfishing add to the risk of shark encounters.

There’s no need to panic about the sharks in the bay or when you’re swimming. The chances of a shark encounter are small.

But there’s no reason to laugh off the risks and make fun of people who have concerns. Be sensible, stay close to shore, be aware of reports and warnings and don’t be alone in the sea.

Better still, be part of an organised, licensed and insured swim group or club. Don’t get led astray by macho individuals saying ‘what are you scared of? hahaha.”

Williamstown Beach redevelopment needs to improve public facilities

Posted on by JBryce

The west end of Williamstown Beach, near the sheltered rock groyne (breakwater) is a busy access point for the public.

Traffic from the carpark, bus terminus and the shared pathway converge at this point. Currently public infrastructure does not support public use, access or safety.

Plans for the redevelopment remove benches from the pathway outside the fence and replace them with walls and ledges.

The public are squeezed by the fence onto the pathway and the busy traffic around the key access points to the beach. Many people don’t like getting changed on Esplanade, near crowds of people eating.

The poor state of the public facilities has led to many locals paying to join WSLSC to use the club changerooms, toilets, showers.

Under the plans currently proposed, the bench these women are using will be replaced with steps leading to a door and large rocks (see image below).

The beachfront pathway, outside the WSLSC fence is busy and currently features benches for people to meet, under trees. The plans seem to remove the benches and replace with ledges and raised garden beds. With the removal of the pool, an opportunity for public space could be realised. The proposed plans replace the pool with a large administration block, members-only gym and steam room.

While open water swimmers will welcome the addition of a tower and beachfront first-aid room for essential lifesaving services, the other buildings could be located elsewhere onsite or moved slightly back to accommodate more public areas.

The removal of the ‘Members Only’ fence enclosing the lawn in front of the WSLSC hall is a step forward. This is a publicly-funded facility for supporting lifesaving and safer swimming, not a private beach country club.

The public showers, change area and toilets are shared by patrons of The Kiosk. There are not enough toilets, showers and changerooms for a popular beach. The redevelopment plans don’t adequately address the need for significantly upgraded public facilities.

This picture is taken at 7am and already there is a 20 minute queue for a toilet at Williamstown Beach. Two overwhelmed public toilets at the western end of the beach is clearly not enough.

The active zones at the western end of Williamstown Beach are not adequately recognised in the redevelopment plans.

The three red circles at the bottom of this pic highlight where regular swimmers meet and access the water. The top red circle is the toilets and changerooms. The pool could be readily removed and the area opened up for meeting places, gathering spaces, shade, shelter for the public.

This image below is a suggested design by Embrace Designs at Newport:

The proposed buildings that will replace the pool have been moved slightly back 1 – 3 metres to provide more room around the busy pathway. The current fenced-off pool area divides and imposes on public access to the beach. The pool can not be adequately managed to modern health and safety standards by volunteers and is mostly unused.

In Embrace Design’s plan, green areas and seating sit between the pathway and the wall of the WSLSC buildings. The south west corner of the WSLSC site no longer creates a choke-point at the carpark, but an inviting, welcoming public space:

The project page is HERE: https://participate.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/williamstown/wslsc#survey

Most Melbourne beaches do a better job than Williamstown at providing public facilities for swimmers. A problem with one toilet or shower means remaining facilities are overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed public facilities means more people will potentially want to join the WSLSC and less space will potentially be available for improved public facilities.

This is a link to our petition calling for better public facilities: https://www.change.org/WilliamstownBeachRedevelopment

Williamstown Beach Redevelopment plans leave us with a 30-minute wait to use a dunny

Posted on by JBryce

Hobsons Bay City Council have released their Williamstown Swimming and Lifesaving Club redevelopment plans, in conjunction with the lifesaving club, for public consultation.

The proposed beach redevelopment plans do not increase the number of public toilets at Williamstown Beach, despite regular 30-minute queues in summer and a petition of more than 1,100 beach users. There is also no increase in the number of public showers.

This pic (below) of a long line to go to the toilet is not unusual. The proposed redevelopment plans contain the same number of toilets, no increase, so the thirty-minute wait will continue long into the future.

It looks like the existing line-up of two cold, open showers and two warm showers in changerooms will become four changerooms, no open showers. The area around the change rooms looks cramped and clearly very close to people eating at the outdoor dining area of The Kiosk.

The front lawn of the lifesaving club will be unfenced but is clearly still part of the club footprint. The club seem to be getting four hot showers for men and four for women inside bigger change rooms, so double the capacity that the public will squeeze into.

Williamstown SLSC redevelopment

The new plans show where public swimmers meet – swimmers are pictured meeting in the green circles below! – and show how they are exposed to the wind (represented by squiggly lines).

But the plans provide public facilities that are a long way from where the public swimmers meet and there are no additional facilities than the overcrowded existing two toilets and four showers.

You can clearly see swimmers meeting in the green circles in the site analysis aerial picture issued by Hobsons Bay City Council (above).

Green circles mark where swimmers are meeting and leaving their belongings. The new public facilities are circled in red. The swimmers get a wall, a windy exposed ledge and overcrowded toilets and showers a long walk from the water and, still, next to the diners at The Kiosk.

At the major bottleneck corner, in the bottom left of the above picture, the plans propose retaining the rubbish and recycling bins next to the lawn, (despite previous HBCC plans to move them), breaking the lawn into two ledges and replacing the pool fence with a gated ramp next to an administration block wall.

The area at the corner of the carpark and the existing pool, where swimmers walk down steps to the beach or around the shared path toward The Kiosk, is a busy pedestrian and vehicle bottleneck in summer.

Swimmers access the water here and exit back to the carpark. From here they must walk 150m to the overcrowded change rooms and toilets, where they can expect to wait up to 30-minutes in summer months. None of that will change.

Here at this place swimmers meet for swim groups. Kayak groups, scuba divers, families and community groups also meet here.

Opening up the area currently occupied by the WSLSC pool to the public for shade, shelter, meeting and gathering spaces would be a better outcome for this prime piece of Williamstown publicly-owned foreshore.

High concrete walls two metres from the sea with ledges and window sills for swimmers to huddle around while exposed to the wind. This is the current plan just released by Hobsons Bay City Council.

In the picture below, the intrusive pool fence will be replaced, not by open public gathering space, but by a locked gate, a ramp and a high administration block concrete wall.

You can view the plans and complete project outline plus have your say (in a limited way) here.

The council’s contact details for this project are:

Sport and Recreation Project Team

1300 179 944

customerservice@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au

Weekly pool training guide for swimmers

Posted on by JBryce

Breaking news: You have to train to improve.

You want to get better, fitter, stronger right? You want to swim further, more confidently and not lose your breath after a short distance right?

You need to take your coach with you to the pool, at least once per week …

Sure you can go to the pool and swim 100 laps, good onya – you have done some aerobic exercise – and you will feel great afterwards but you won’t be improving, getting stronger, fitter and more capable of amazing swim achievements.

Even if your goal is simply to be more confident and swim for a couple of easy relaxed kilometres in the open water, the training guide will help you and it is just $5.50/week, no contracts/commitments, no BS, no fine print.

I also cover some pretty D&M swimming issues in this email, so well worth the price of a Regular Soy Macchiato ($5.50). 

WOW Pool Sesh comes in Lane 1 or Lane 2 versions plus an email with the latest deep and meaningful swim issues for you to contemplate.

The real key is to improving and getting stronger in swimming is anaerobic training that uses sugar stored in your muscles because the aerobic system is overwhelmed.

You do that with High Intensity Interval Training only, there’s no other way to do it. You need time limited fast reps, like these WOW Pool sessions. 

Maybe you have seen people at your local pool with a printed training program in a plastic sleeve – and aren’t they just awesome swimmers?! They are probably one of the many smarty pants who subscribe to my weekly WOW Pool Sesh email which arrives in your inbox on Monday afternoon. 

Actually they might not be TOTALLY awesome – yet – because there are two WOW Pool training guides, a Lane 1 version and Lane 2 for developing swimmers.

So whatever level you are at, click on the blue button, send me an email, message me or grab me by the collar and talk to me about subscribing to the WOW Pool Sesh weekly training guide.

Get in touch with me to find out more and subscribe to the WOW Pool Sesh weekly email.

jason@williamstownopenwaterswimcoaching.com.au

Learn to swim easy, relaxed freestyle with coaching and stroke correction

Posted on by JBryce

Anyone can learn to swim, at any age and starting from any level of ability. You can’t do it by yourself however. plenty have tried and this is a sure-fire way to to fail and feel like you can’t do it. You need an experienced teacher or coach to guide you through the steps to easy, relaxed swimming.

Swimmers who can swim freestyle easily and in a relaxed way for many laps, even many kilometres in the ocean or pool, have not achieved this by themselves. They have been taught, probably from a young age, by coaches and teachers. They have trained to achieve a good feel for the water, an high body position and an efficient stroke.

Good swimmers are not necessarily the fittest people in the world, but swimming can make you very fit indeed. A person who has learnt how to swim properly can keep that knowledge and skill for life and swim easy, relaxed freestyle whenever they jump in the water.

Step One is learning to breathe like a swimmer. This is very different to how runners, cyclists or other athletes manage their intake of oxygen. A quick deep breath in, followed by a long slow exhale. You need to practice this skill and be shown how it is done and learnt. Many children learn this skill at children’s swim lessons without even knowing they are learning to breathe like a swimmer.

Step Two is learning how to manage your body position and keep afloat in the water. Not everyone can simply lie on top of the water without effort. It depends on your body, for example, most women find floating easier than most men. You need guidance how to do it and maintain your floating body near or at the top of the water.

Step Three is kicking. Your legs can be like anchors, weighing you down and slowing you down. Good kicking is not exhausting, but some kicking keeps your legs high and behind you as you travel through the water. If you are not doing it properly, you can sink and get tired very quickly.

Step Four is efficient strokes that catch the water and pull through in long straight lines that push you forward easily and allow you to breathe regularly and effectively.

If you are interested in learning to swim, improving your freestyle (and/or other strokes) and achieving an easy, relaxed technique, get in touch with Coach Jason or book in to swim lessons, squads or stroke improvement groups here.

Cold water swim group in Melbourne

Posted on by JBryce

From Saturday 1 May 2021, there is just one supported swim group at Williamstown Beach each week – the 9am Saturday Cool Water Winter Swim Group.

This is not a class or lesson, you set your own distance, pace and time in the water. I set up a 600-700m swim course in the no-boating zone and provide on-water support with a boardy or kayaker keeping an eye on you and the conditions around you.

The course will be a big square or triangle stretching from the shallows to the deep water around the yellow poles at Williamstown. You can swim the entire course any number of times or stick to the shallows.

Cold water winter swimming in Melbourne at Williamstown Beach

When you get out there will be hot tea and watermelon. Please BYO snacks for a picnic. You can’t leave and drive away straight after getting out of the cool water. There are warm showers nearby.

Why would anyone want to swim in the cool water?

Because this is an amazing experience that will make you healthier, happier and smarter! Seriously. The cold water improves your circulation, your immune system, gets blood flowing through your brain and boosts your endorphin production and mood. This thing is addictive.

And it’s particularly good for you if you are at an age where you are saying things like “age doesn’t matter, it’s just a number” and “I’m young at heart.” 

Here is my guide to cold water swimming from last year. There’s plenty of science about cold water swimming and articles to read about how good it is for you but yes there’s risk and you should not try it by yourself.

Also you nbeed to start early – in Autumn before the temperature gets too low and keep it up at least once per week in order to get acclimatised to the cold. Your body will change, your white fat will change to brown fat, you will possibly lose weight and you won’t need a jumper quite so often. You won’t be turning the heater on quite as much.

So this is the need-to-know information for our cold water swimming group:

1) Meet near carpark behind WSLSC by 8.45am
2) You can hire a wetsuit from me for $20 if you need one.
3) I also have booties, swim gloves and thermal caps.
4) Maximum swim time is 60 minutes at the moment because the water is 16 -17C and this time will be reduced to 45 minutes when the water is 12 -13 C.
5) For people not wearing a wetsuit, the maximum swim time is 45 minutes.
6) You can’t leave straight after swimming. You definitely can’t drive a car straight after swimming in cold water.
7) You can share my tea (BYO cup) and watermelon and/or bring some snacks for yourself or our picnic table.
8) Bring a warm towel (or two) or even a blanket, maybe a chair, but standing in the sun, or going for a run is the best way to get your body temp back towards normal.
9) I have thermal blankets if necessary, there are warm council showers if you feel like it.
10) You can tell your friends and family you have found a new healthy drug called cool water swimming, you’re getting addicted and you don’t need rehab…. 

Mid week reset – sunrise swimming

Posted on by JBryce

Paul Benson’s beautiful photo (above) makes me want to run and jump in the water, so I’m starting a Wednesday mid-week reset swim at Williamstown Beach. I’ve been inspired by these oddballs (their description) from Perth who have found something awesome to recharge their personal batteries every Wednesday:

This is NOT a CLASS or a SQUAD.

This is just a simple ‘meet-up’ of like minded oddballs.

There’s no booking or money. People can swim 10 metres or 10,000 metres, it’s all up to you. I’m not providing coaching, a safety team, wetsuits, caps or anything. I’m having a go myself and inviting you to try this midweek reset thing with me.

Cool water is well known to improve your mood, once you get in and out again, and being a in a group makes it all better.

MEET: In carpark behind WSLSC at western end of Williamstown Beach.

TIME: 6.30AM

Invasion Day Swim and Bush Tucker Breakfast 26 January 2021

Posted on by JBryce

What better way to mark the Australia Day holiday (26 January 2021) than an Invasion Day swim and bush tucker breakfast, featuring johnny cakes, pancakes and vegan burgers.

We paid respect to the traditional owners and recognised the elders of country. We held a traditional smoking ceremony and then we jumped in the ocean! This was a great day out for everyone involved.

Summer Solstice Sunset Swim is Magic

Posted on by JBryce

Saturday evening 19 December 2020

Summer sunset swimming with up to 40 friends. This is renewing, refreshing, romantic and magical – everyone who does it says stuff like that.

So bring a friend (or not), swim with all of us, and have the best summer solstice swim you have EVER HAD. This is a LARGE group or we split into smaller groups.

We leave, not from the beach, but from the Crystal Point Steps. then we swim 400 – 500m across to the eastern Red Fishing Club marker and back around the rocks and beach. 1km relaxed swimming at your own pace.

You get a glowing safety marker for your cap, a lighted course with buoys, markers and a team keeping us company.

You also get to swim at sunset on the solstice! This is amazing and you have to do it at least once. Why on earth (sea, tides, sun and moon) haven’t you already done it?

Wear any swimwear you like, get a cap with safety marker, follow the bright flashing markers, and go for it. xxx

BOOK HERE for limited places in the 2020 Summer Solstice Sunset Swim at Williamstown Beach.