This event is held in November each year, making it one of the first ocean swims of the Summer Oceans Swim series. BSM has been the main sponsor of the event since 2010, which sees 2 swim races – the 2.4km (Dawny’s Cockatoo Challenge) and the 1.1km (Dawny to Cockatoo Swim).
The 2.4km course in Dawny to Cockatoo swim takes you from the Dawn Fraser Pool at Balmain, out to Cockatoo Island in a large anti-clockwise circuit that runs along the south side of the island.
Note: This year’s event will not see the 2.4km swim circumnavigate Cockatoo Island due to the ferry timetable.
The shorter 1.1km course takes you on a smaller journey out to the island and back.
The event is run by Balmain Water Polo club with all club athletes involved, whether on the registration tables pre-race, swimming, manning the support boats or recording the finishing order of the athletes. The program on the day is tight due to share use of the waterways in the area, with the 2.4km race generally heading off first around 9am, and then the 1.1km race shortly after.
Given it is a harbour swim, you can expect generally smooth conditions, as both courses sit upriver from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but the occasional currents do exist. Some people think this harbour water is not nice to swim in, but while it is not as clear as the ocean, it ain’t dirty!
Entries can be done online pre – race via the (https://oceanswims.com/event/dawny-to-cockatoo/) website, or on the day (7am – 8.15am). Entry fees are approximately $45 per person.
Post race, the boardwalk lends itself to all kinds of festivities, so once your swim is done grab some fruit from Harris Farm Markets (ocean swimming fruito David Harris is a Birchgrove local), head to the BBQ for a couple of snags, and then pop into our BSM marquee for a post race ‘massage!
