Smiles as wide as the Derwent
THE Derwent looks mighty broad when you’re standing on the shores of Montagu Bay — but South Hobart’s Grace and Oliver O’Brien were all smiles after a choppy 1.2km swim to the Regatta jetties yesterday.
Royal Hobart Regatta’s Trans Derwent Swim attracted 80 hardy souls, with winner Max Guiliani across in an astonishing 16 minutes.
THE 1.2km stretch of the Derwent River from Montagu Bay to the Regatta jetties was swum as fast as 16 minutes yesterday morning in the Royal Hobart Regatta’s Trans Derwent Swim.
Though they might not have caught up with this year’s fastest swimmer — 15-year-old Max Guiliani — South Hobart kids Oliver and Grace O’Brien braved the choppy waters alongside around 80 others for the first time, “for something new,” Oliver said.
Co-co-ordinator Sabina Lane said many swam the distance of 2km due to the current heading downstream pushing many off course, and Grace and Oliver would not disagree.
“At the start it was nice and calm but as you got further out it was more choppy and harder to swim,” Oliver said.
Ms Lane said the number of participants was fewer than usual this year due to the swimming championships this weekend in Launceston, but this meant there was a less competitive energy on the Derwent.
“More than half the competitors who entered were over 35,” Ms Lane said.
Dad Vincent O’Brien pulled up the rear of his group to supervise Grace and Oliver in their first real swim out of the pool, and said it was a “very different environment” to what they were used to, especially not being able to see the bottom of the water.
“We decided to register just for a bit of fun,” Mr O’Brien said.
“My goal was to beat the kids — but I didn’t!”