A few nights ago I went for a swim in the Fairlight saltwater pool after I got home from work. I knew it was going to be cold as the sun had been down for a few hours already and night lows were hovering in the single digits. I chose the full wetsuit instead of the short-arms, short-legs spring suit, and I brought along the swim cap and goggles.
I hopped in as quick as I could and starting swimming. My hands and feet tingled as I kicked through the water. My face felt like I had gone and stuck it in a bucket of ice-water.
The pool itself was lit by a streetlight that hangs over one side of the water, illuminating half the pool lengthwise and leaving the other side, the nearer to the ocean side, in darkness. Despite that, I could see the bottom perfectly and the water was crystal clear. In the summer, or any time at high tide when the pool is battered by waves, the water is cloudy from sediment and turbulence. Last night it was calm and I could see shells and sand settled on the uneven rocky floor.
But, my hands and feet began to go numb and I started to imagine sharks lurking in the far dark corners, so I popped out. And today my suspicious were confirmed-no, not about the sharks-it looks like ocean temps have dropped another degree or so. Winter has truly hit Sydney.
(Pool stairs)
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