By Jena Carr
The Rip Swim is celebrating a decade of incredible water feats, with the event returning to Point Lonsdale this Saturday.
Swimmers will embark on a close to 3.5km stretch from Point Nepean to Point Lonsdale, accompanied by boats and kayakers on February 10.
Founder Grant Siedle said the public could watch the swimmers come into Point Lonsdale from the front beach at around 9.45am.
“We’ve got a few people who love doing it each year and it’ll be nice to celebrate that with a bit of a party afterwards,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some people who I know have been very nervous about it and have spent months gathering their team, training, and asking many questions.
“It’s a lovely atmosphere, particularly if it’s a nice day, seeing everyone come in. They’re pretty excited slash a little bit nervous about the day because it’s an amazing body of water to cross.”
Mr Siedle said the event would feature 107 swimmers during its 10th year, and he thanked the Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club and Borough of Queenscliffe for their support.
“We’ve taken about 800 people across over the years, and it’s a bit of a celebration to obviously keep it going for this long,” he said.
“We’ve got 18 teams where they stick together, and their teams are anywhere from 2 up to 6, and then we’ve got 25 people who are just swimming solo.
“They’re basically just making their way across, still guided by the boats and the kayakers, but essentially they don’t have to stick with the team.”
