Locals fire in swim

HEALESVILLE was well represented in the annual Pier to Pub swim at Lorne on Saturday 8 January.
Sixteen local swimmers from juniors to super veterans took their place among the 4300 competitors diving in for the 1.2 kilometre swim.
Veteran of 19 Pub to Pier events, Frank Hayes said, the race started in hot weather and good swimming conditions and finished on a full tide leaving only a short run up the beach to the finish line. This resulted in times that were generally two to three minutes slower than last year.
The first group away were the junior boys – 12 to 17 years – with locals Travis Groves and Ryan Vaux both putting in commendable swims. The junior girls followed with Tamara Groves finishing 13th in 15 minutes and 49 seconds (15.49).
“Tamara’s was an excellent swim and seeing her crossing the finish line it was easy to see she had put everything into it,” Mr Hayes said.
Cindy Mills was in next in the junior girls claiming 54th place in what Mr Hayes rated “a brave swim” with Cindy and Georgia Murty opting to make a fashion statement, swimming without wetsuits.
Veteran Phil Vaux put in a good swim joining his two sons in the event.
Mike Thomas, another veteran, joined the 20th swim Shark Bait Club and Mr Hayes, just two weeks shy of his 62nd birthday, recorded his 19th swim in the Super Vets category.
Liz Kay and Lara Cann managed a dead heat crossing the finish line. “They’re good mates but knowing their competitive spirit they would have been trying to clear out on each other during the swim,” Mr Hayes said.
Masters female contender Heather Pitt follows the open water events over summer, sometimes doing two swims a weekend and managed to sneak under the 20 minutes in the 40-49 age group.
Official placings and times for the Healesville swimmers were:
Junior Boys 12-17 years: Travis Groves 50th/16.57; Ryan Vaux 68th/17.42. Junior Girls 12-17 years: Tamara Groves 13th/15.49; Cindy Mills 54th/20.28; Georgia Murty 60th/20.58. Open male 18-29 years: Ben Vaux 175th/19.18. Open female 18-29 years: Liz Kay 75th/19.45; Lara Cann 76th/19.45. Senior male 30-39 years: Andrew Moore 79th/17.28; Rien Low 184th/19.30. Masters female 40-49: Heather Pitt 31st/19.56. Veteran male 50-59: Mike Thomas 66th/18.28; Phil Vaux 360th 24.56. Veteran female 50-59: Christine Dettman 27th/21.37. Super veteran male 60-69: Frank Hayes 48th/20.45. Healesville swimming club members Frank Hayes, Lara Cann and Travis Groves also competed well at the Danger 1000 Ocean Swim at Torquay on Saturday, 15 January.