Looking, looking, looking!

Today the Ironman event takes place so we will be in uber spectator mode.Viv is number 0356 in case you want to view the live standings on the website during the day. Sounds like a bit of prime stock in the herd. Check Viv's progress/ results
Viv and Emma are staying at Aqua with their mate, multiple Ironman Cam Murray. It's a resort on the Bussel Highway just next to Abbey Beach Resort. It's just stunning. Their unit opens up at the front to a Peppermint Tree (Agonis flexuosa) shaded, lawned and landscaped area beyond which is the Georgrahpe Bay beach and promenade! Each unit has its own plunge pool and there is also a proper bigger resort pool and spa further away. Very modern beautiful contemporary design. I think they will enjoy it all the more on Monday recovering after the event!
Keith and Jan have once again very generously loaned us Jan's little Yaris affectionately known as the 'shopping trolley'. This will enable us to move around the Ironman course today to various strategic locations and tomorrow transport me to a dentist. Hideously, part of a molar broke off making worse what had presented itself a few days previously. Oggy's philosophy about plans being written in the sand at low tide is already in play. The Perth dental appointment made on Thursday for Monday afternoon is likely to be replaced with a local appointment ASAP in view of the probability of the dental appointment becoming 2 (or more). Oddly, I've so often heard of people going on trips and facing emergency dental treatment. What is it about teeth and travel? Jim is your Italian job still 'robusta'? we do hope so, since you maintain it cost you half your net worth. Fingers crossed all will resolve without too much trauma or the Bloke will be looking, looking, looking at the wife shop for a more reliable model... with good teeth!
At this stage we are jointly looking, looking, looking at the weather forecasts and not just for favorable conditions for the Ironman.  BTW it looks like we won't fry today which will make a nice change and make the day more comfortable for those in and out of Lycra.

The small lows that created the thunderstorms down the coast this week, until they were dispersed by the Capes have left a residual trough and the huge high we have being watching as our potential 'bus' to get round the Capes is not yet moving east. This at least will hopefully make space for dental work. We watched the Bunbury horizon being blasted by lightening over the course of 2 nights. Rain out to sea stayed there.

What do you call 2 boats traveling in the same direction?

Magic Quindalup

If you are thinking cruise, flotilla or even armada ... well, you' be wrong, it's called a race!
Two or more boats traveling in the same direction definitely constitutes a race. Since we are in a trio of boats it confirms it as a race and you may be wondering what the standings are at present.
Firstly, Zofia currently has line honours and is FIRST in division - Monohull. We were the first to arrive in Quindalup and the first and only yacht.

Easy Tiger is runner-up having replaced their ball-valve while on a mooring (a special mention for that) and arrived from Bunbury yesterday. They are leading their division - Catamarans but are likely to be subject to a protest from Urchin when we convene with a combined meeting of the race committee later today following their much anticipated arrival from Pt Geographe Marina. Urchin will allege that Easy Tiger took advantage of a 35kn Easterly and altered their trip plan to travel directly from Bunbury to Quindalup after leading Urchin to believe they would accompany them into Pt Geographe Marina. Urchin will maintain that Easy Tiger therefore failed to round the Fuel Jetty Buoy in the Marina. Serious stuff indeed.
A full meeting of the match committee will be possible with the inaugural muster of the 3 boats and not just the crews on one boat!
Urchin is expected to arrive mid morning after taking on fuel, water and clean laundry and their time will be adjusted and appropriate penalties applied for leaving 3 weeks after Easy Tiger! Leniency will be pleaded to compensate for pain, suffering and loneliness encountered while being the last boat left at the Marina/starting point.
Being serious for a moment, the beautiful Quindelup will really be the staging point for our grand adventure together. After this, the waters will be new to us and rounding The Capes is spoken about in hushed tones. We will probably fool around for a few days waiting for the right weather to present. We hope it will be ahead of the Xmas crush that will occur in this anchorage. Albany by Christmas has a nice ring to it.
Before we leave, the Bloke and I have some serious madness to enact when we observe the Busselton Ironman,  get a few more cuddles from Poppy in the bank and I will have to get that blasted cracked molar patched before it cuts my tongue! Will this mean a dash back to Perth..... Doh! ...Again!

Easy Tiger arrival at Quindalup may be subject to protest!!

Smile and wave boys, smile and wave! Easy Tiger crew.

Urchin arrives at Quindalup!

Smile and wave boys, smile and wave! Urchin crew

Dinner with Ironmen

Last night we stepped ashore again to dine, not with caped crusaders but with IRONMEN. Ironman Cam, Ironman Andrew and Ironman Viv. Like Superman they will in a couple of days (Sun 8thDec) don some weird Lycra ensembles for a public outing to display their mettle...no pun intended! We'll blow their secret right now: our Superheroes are not powered by Kryptonite but by pasta, steely resolve and a shed load of 'crazy'!
We've sailed down to Busselton for 5 consecutive Busselton Ironman Triathlons already and this will make it #6 for Viv and come to that, for Zofia also. It's worked out nicely that we've been able to collect this special event at the front end of our itinerary. It is a lovely reminder of our First Ever Big Adventure where we set off for Bunbury (55km) en route to Busselton, having never even made it to the James Service Reef cardinal marker only 5km offshore until the return journey. The Busso Ironman now marks the start of even bigger adventure for us.

So just what are Ironmen (Ironwomen) about to do?  Actually you aren't one until you've actually completed one, them's the rules.....until you've achieved this you are merely a wannabe and not yet an Ironman/woman.
Be enlightened about this Xtreme sport. This is the Wikipedia entry:-

 An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. Most Ironman events have a strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the race. The Ironman race starts at 7:00 AM; the mandatory swim cut off for the 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim is 9:20 AM (2 hours 20 minutes), the mandatory bike cut off time is 5:30 PM (8 hours 10 minutes), and the mandatory marathon cut off is midnight (6 hours 30 minutes). Any participant that manages to complete the triathlon within these timings becomes a finisher.     

This is a comedic cartoon version that pretty much sums it up. Strong language warning. Enjoy:-
YouTube - I'm Training For an Ironman

I'm not sure what being a supporter qualifies us as other than doting parents but I'm putting it out there, this event requires extreme spectating too. The bloke and I have been mentally very tough hanging about for the 9-12 hrs at strategic locations to encourage our boy and many others to keep going to the very end, punching through walls of pain, cramping, vomiting, self doubt etc... From what we've witnessed they really do deserve their title. This event requires meticulous preparation, self discipline, determination, oh and of course, a dose of madness - why would you put yourself through it? And that's just the spectators! 

The iconic Busselton Jetty as depicted by the Busselton Ironman Site.Their website for more info

So we will not don Lycra on Sunday but put on our sombreros (gotta be sun smart don't you know) and have our tweeters in hand (a la Le Tour de France) and man the Layman Rd roundabout with Emma and Poppy; the shady spot under the Norfolk pines at Ford Rd and probably a section West of the Busso jetty among the Peppermint trees near the Yacht club where it's a bit lonely.

The Bloke and I find this event inspiring in other ways too. Not only are there hundreds of participating individuals and corporate teams in this event- now that you are aware of what it entails you'd find it hard to believe wouldn't you? there are also a number of supporters per "contestant" and then there are a probably a 1,000 or more volunteers that run the drink stations, transition zones, recovery areas, aide stations and so on. This event is enormous and couldn't occur without the generosity and support of the citizens of Busselton. A terrific effort and one of our clients is this year a '10 year volunteer' with her business (Busselton Land and Estates) and sometimes with the Volunteer Ambulance too The event organizers are giving special recognition to their long term supporters with a VIP tent etc! Congrats to all that qualify for entry - that is 10 X 17 hour days. Good on you all!!  And good on you Robyn :-)) It's even bigger than the Rottnest Island Channel Swim (BTW Viv's signed up to do that again in 2014 in a 4 man team - Oooooh did you hear someone groan? Must have been the Bloke). Anyway this event and the Half Ironman held annually in May (this is a half course and not a whimps version of the main event) is absolutely HUGE for this region. It showcases the iconic 1.8Km Busselton Jetty because they pretty much swim the length of it and back. The bike leg of around 180km takes in the Tuart Forrest scenic drive while the run (ahem! marathon)  is mostly along the scenic road along Geographe Bay. Accommodation in the district and ancillary hospitality is booked out. Participants arrive from up to 65 nations. You can bet the overseas contingent don't stay for just the week-end! The Margaret River wineries are sure to get a work out. The spin offs from a group of Lyrcra extremists doing crazy things to their minds and bodies are huge and lucrative.
Will all this fitness fanaticism make these athletes live longer? Maybe not, it'll just seem like an eternity while they are doing it!!

Photos to come.