Their collective shrieks pierce through the early morning stillness. Then comes the laughter as a curious seal comes to check them out.
It’s 7.30am when 16 intrepid figures wade into the icy shallows at a small Wellington bay – all in togs, no wetsuits here – ready for their twice-weekly ocean swim. Okay, it’s more of a “bob” they admit.
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning they gather, almost religiously. Even when the air temperature is 3° Celsius and ice has to be scraped off car windscreens to drive there, the only thing that ever stops them getting in for a dip is a drop in sea water quality.
Meet the Better Beach Babes. With an average age of 55, the group of like-minded women came together last year after a call was put out over social media for those who wanted the thrill and camaraderie of cold-water bathing.
Hands up if you’re having fun! The women usually stay submerged for 20 minutes.
Seatoun local Adrienne Linney says it began after she had repeat conversations with those who live close to the sea but never ventured in.
“We talked about how awesome it was to brave the cold water for physical and mental health,” she recalls. “So the idea for our group was hatched and we decided to start once the water temperature got up to 15 degrees.
“Many of us remembered a group of older ladies who used to bathe daily at our beach [locally known as Better Beach] for about 25 years during the warmer months, until they died in the early 2000s.
“They had several names, including the OBEs – Over Bloody Eighties – and the Belles of Better Beach. We wanted to follow in their footsteps.
“And those old chooks were on to something, which scientists are only now figuring out, that cold-water swimming boosts your immune system and increases the body’s metabolic rate, as it builds internal warmth in response to the cold.”
Three of the original OBE group, “bobbing” at Wellington’s Seatoun Beach in 1991.
As a longtime open-water swimmer, Adrienne, 56, found it a revelation that she could cope with ditching her thermal wetsuit. It’s now something the jewellery designer has become evangelical about.
“I knew a few people who swam in togs over winter and I’d been in awe, but couldn’t get my head around how they did it. Then last year, a family member wasn’t well and I was quite stressed. I thought, ‘Maybe if I just try, I can go in just in my togs.’
“So, over winter, I started swimming in 10 degrees-water and I couldn’t believe how alive I felt afterwards. It’s really empowering to overcome something you didn’t think you could do and that most people think is insane,” she smiles.
“There’s something about being in the cold, feeling your body adapting, that leaves no room left in your brain to worry about all the other things going on in life. You’re in the moment.
“In fact, we have a woman in the group who’s said she’s been able to halve her dosage of antidepressants since she’s been swimming with us.”
Adrienne believes the hardest part isn’t actually getting into the cold water, it’s leaving the house.
“Getting out of your warm bed in the dark, putting your togs on and getting out the front door is the biggest mental challenge. Because once you’re there, you just get in with everyone else.”
On their very first morning, there were only three women ready to brave the water. However, the group’s numbers have grown over winter to 20.
They stay in for around 20 minutes – “chatting in small groups about all sorts of nonsense!” – but are driven by how comfortable people are feeling.
One woman has become the official temperature-taker, bringing along a thermometer each outing.
“We make sure as soon as we get out of the water, we pull towels over and strip our togs off to put something warm and dry on. I do wonder if anyone driving past at that time sees us and goes, ‘Whoa!'” she laughs.
“We also didn’t call ourselves ‘bobbers’ to start with. I’d never heard of the term. But the first week that we were doing it, this woman came charging down the beach, calling out to us, ‘Wow, are you guys bobbers? Do you mind if I join you?’
“And she whipped her clothes off and waded in in her bra and undies. Ever since then, we say we bob. That woman then came back a couple of weeks later in a bikini she had just bought. She said, ‘If I can do it my bra and undies, then I can do it in a bikini!'”
For Adrienne, the best part is the feeling of community it gives and witnessing how one small group has touched each woman’s life in a special way.
“There’s a few who live alone and get joy from having that shared experience each week,” she says.
“I live close to the beach, so as I walk down my driveway, I can hear the group before I see them. It always puts a smile on my face.”
For more info, visit the Better Beach Babes Facebook page.
