WATER BABES
A group of early morning swimmers, a freediving ocean conservationist and a midwife specialising in water births tell us how water runs through their lives.
A group of swimmers, a freediving conservationist and a midwife tell us why they’re women of water
While most of us are hitting the snooze button, this group of early morning swimmers have already braved the cold waves on Fish Hoek beach, done a few laps and seen the sun rise over False Bay. Nothing stops these women from their daily swim, says Lorraine Lemmon-Warde. ‘Come winter, summer or rain – we’re here every morning. The only time we don’t swim is when there’s hail (it stings!) or lightning.’
Just before sunrise, they start to gather on the benches just outside the restaurant on the boardwalk, all looking like they’ve been up for at least an hour or two. ‘I’ve been doing this since 2000, but some of the women have been here longer,’ says Lorraine. It’s not a formal group – it formed very organically – and anyone is welcome. ‘We started seeing one another having coffee at the restaurant after our swim. Nobody really sees each other outside of our morning swim, but if it’s someone’s birthday we’ll bring cake and celebrate,’ she says.
So why do they do it? ‘It’s become an obsession for some, like me,’ says Lorraine. ‘We can’t really start our day before we have a swim. For some women, it’s also helped them to deal with their grief.’
For their photoshoot that morning, the women donned their best and brightest swimsuits. As they were about to run into the waves they looked at one another and shared a laugh, before one remarked, ‘This might be the first time we’re wearing lipstick for our swim!’