December 18, 2016 - January 7, 2017: Issue 294

Bilgola's Billy Swim: An Open Inspiration To Get Into The Summer Swim Of Things

The Pittwater Oceans Swims 2016-17 Series has opened with the Ocean Swims hosted by Bilgola SLSC. 

The Blackmores Bilgola Ocean Swim is the first in the Pittwater Ocean Swim Series and offered two distances this year - the main event, a 1.5km, following a polygonal course towards Billie's northern headland, then back south, then back into the middle of the beach. The new, 800m swim is also a circuit off the beach.

More HERE

Newport Surf Boat Crew Named Pathway Australian Team For Trans Tasman 2017

Newport's Pistol Shrimps! - photo courtesy Newport SLSC
Lots of excitement down at North Cronulla today (Dec. 17, 2016) as Newport's Pistol Shrimp U23 Boat Crew is named as the Pathway Australian Team who will compete against New Zealand in the Trans Tasman 2017!! 

Congratulations to Katherine Hulton, Zoe King, Celestine May, Piret May and Michael King.

The Trans Tasman National Team Trials for the Open Male and Female Australian representative crews will battle it out at Elouera on Sunday.
Manly, Queenscliff and South Curl Curl have teams contesting in the Open Womens. 
Bilgola, Newport and Queenscliff each have a crew in the Open Mens while Palm Beach SLSC has two Open Mens crews contetsing.

LIVE STREAM Sunday December 18 from 9am NSW time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNmcBqs44MQ

The 2017 Trans-Tasman Challenge will be held at Waihi Beach, a coastal town at the western end of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island, on Saturday February 4.

Surf Lifesaving New Zealand has already announced their teams in the Open Men and Womens and Development crews - both their women's crews coming from Muriwai SLSC, while their Open mens hail from North Beach and their men's Development crew from Whangamata.

Connecting Community Through Linked Coastal Walk And Cycleways + Inclusive Play

New shared pathway behind Mona Vale golf course - A J Guesdon photo, August 2016

Announced on Friday, December 16th, Connecting Northern Beaches encompasses two major programs. The first is a $22.3 million program focused on integrating active walking paths and cycleways that link to B-Line transport hubs and services.

A new Palm Beach Walkway from the Palm Beach Ferry to Beach Road and new shared pathways around Bilgola Bends and behind Mona Vale golf course are part of 14km of new off-road shared paths.  'Connecting Through Walking and Cycling' features 36km of continuous, all-weather coastal walkways from Palm Beach to Manly, and 36km of new cycleways and shared paths connecting north-south an east-west are part of the project. 

The second is a $10.3 million inclusive and active play program featuring the creation of two new major all-abilities playgrounds at Manly Dam and Lionel Watts Reserve, upgrades to 50 play areas across the Northern Beaches to make them more inclusive, and $4 million for sporting facilities and Surf Lifesaving Clubs to promote the Northern Beaches as an active, social and inclusive community - 'Connecting All Through Play'.

More HERE

2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championships: Annie And Tash Win GOLD

Local girls and RPAYC sailors Annie and Tash, currently placed well in the girls 29er after day 2 -  photo ©Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/World Sailing
The 2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championships has been declared open in a ceremony that focussed on tradition and youth in Auckland, New Zealand. 

With the theme of 'youth welcoming youth' running throughout, the 389 sailors from 65 nations were welcomed to New Zealand with energy and culture at the ANZ Viaduct Event Centre in downtown Auckland.  

Racing continues through to 20 December 2016 where nine Youth Sailing World Champions will be crowned.

Australian Youth Team members and RPAYC Sailors, Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot have won in the 29er fleet!

Reports by Richard Aspland - World Sailing, run HERE
                                          Annie Wilmot and Natasha Bryant take GOLD! - photo by Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Pittwater Camera Club's 2016 Images Of Year

Reg Angus Perpetual trophy May 2nd, 2016 - Winner - Godwit in Flight - John Taylor
A wonderful array of images and great lectures occurred this year as part of the Pittwater Camera Club's 50th year - some of the winning images run HERE to showcase what members have done this year.

Farr 40 Pittwater One Design Trophy 2016

Farr 40s downwind Pittwater One Design Trophy 2016, Day 1 - photo by Crosbie Lorimer
The Farr 40 Pittwater One Design Trophy, December 17-18, 2016 hosted by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club with racing on Pittwater & Broken Bay caps off a great year of estuary sailin events.

Pittwater's own all things sailing journo Lisa Ratcliff reports:

Pittwater, sometimes called ‘shift water’, exhibited its best and worst on day one of the Farr 40 One Design Trophy and still the race management team managed four races in breeze three to 15 knots between Taylor’s Point at Clareville and the offshore community of Morning Bay which fronts the Kur-ing-gai Chase National Park. 

More HERE

 Summer In Pittwater 2016 

Palm Beach Ferry wharf and National Park hills - misty after rain 
A wending through green track at Bilgola Beach

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