Episodes
Saturday Dec 01, 2018
Ocean swimming... in rips
Saturday Dec 01, 2018
Saturday Dec 01, 2018
Rips claim an order of magnitude more lives than shark attacks in Australia, and are arguably the most dangerous facet of going to the beach.
Associate Professor Rob Brander, also known as Dr Rip, is a coastal geomorphologist who studies morphodynamics (hydrodynamics, sediment transport, morphology) of coastal systems, with a particular interest in rips and the safety of beachgoers. He runs a beach education program called Science of the Surf, and one of the cool things he does is publish a Rip of the month. You might like to read his book, Dr. Rip's Essential Beach Book, or check out the National Geographic documentary, Rip Current Heroes.
Coming into the summer, listen in as Rob lets you know how to spot a rip and what to do if you're caught in one.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License:
Groove It - ZAYFALL
Somebody - ZAYFALL
Paraclet - Amaria
Breeze - MBB
Sapphire - Tobu
Saturday Jun 30, 2018
Ocean swimming... with shark nets
Saturday Jun 30, 2018
Saturday Jun 30, 2018
Shark nets are fairly common across popular Australian tourist beaches, but beyond giving swimmers a perception that they are being protected from sharks, do they actually work?
Jordan Sosnowski is the Advocacy Director for Action for Dolphins, a group that aims to stop cruelty to, and gain legal protection for, small cetaceans (dolphins and other small whales). We chatted about how shark nets probably don't work to keep sharks and swimmers apart, that shark nets have an incredible toll on marine life, that sharks don't hunt you down, that opinions on the use of shark nets are changing, and the non-lethal options that are out there.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License:
Epic Song by BoxCat Games
Earth Tones by Hpnotic718
Ave Marimba - Kevin MacLeod
Sapphire - Tobu
Image from Sea Gazing
Saturday May 26, 2018
Ocean swimming... in ice
Saturday May 26, 2018
Saturday May 26, 2018
Ram Barkai is the founder of the International Ice Swimming Association - they are all about swimming in water less than 5 degrees Celcius. Ram has swum many of the world's toughest swims, including in Antarctica, and holds multiple world records. The IISA introduced the Ice Mile as its signature achievement; the Ice Mile is one mile in water of 5C or less. The swim must be unassisted and only a pair of goggles, a cap and a standard swimming costume can be worn. In 2014, the IISA introduced the 1 km ice event, and Ram's ambition is to have the 1 km event introduced to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
I've left this episode long as I found it absolutely fascinating, and Ram very entertaining!
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License
Lullaby - Joakim Karud
Yukowla - Yuku
Discotheque - Bluehost
Sapphire - Tobu
don't leave me here alone - Artifical.Music
Real Bad Girl - Audionautix
Saturday Apr 28, 2018
Ocean swimming... the English Channel
Saturday Apr 28, 2018
Saturday Apr 28, 2018
Sally Catt is an ocean swimmer who this year is tackling the English Channel. She is raising money for Save The Box, a campaign to raise awareness and fundraising for gynaecological cancer research, as part of the Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG).
I chatted to Sally about her journey to this point and what it takes to swim that far (>30 km) including long distance training, cold water acclimatization, going to the toilet while you're swimming, diet, travel companies, qualifying swims and English Channel swim operators. Listen in for tips if this is something you want to do! It is not out of reach.
You can sponsor Sally's journey for charity here.
Songs in this episode are all licensed under a Creative Commons License and are by Bensound, who provides royalty free music. The songs are Funky Element, Jazzy French, Moose and Ukulele.
Tuesday Apr 03, 2018
Ocean swimming... training
Tuesday Apr 03, 2018
Tuesday Apr 03, 2018
Andre Slade runs OceanFit, which is an open water swim school run at Bondi Beach. Andre has been involved in ocean swimming for a long time, and knows a thing or two about ocean swimming training, tactics and skills. He's also started a surf life saving magazine and written surf life saving policy.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License
Beach Buggy Ride - SIRPRICE
Acoustic Breeze - Bensound
Hot Mustard - S Strong
Sapphire - Tobu
Tuesday Mar 13, 2018
Ocean swimming... in polluted rivers
Tuesday Mar 13, 2018
Tuesday Mar 13, 2018
The Cooks River in Sydney has been variously described as an open sewer, the River of Death, and one of Australia's most polluted rivers. Yet there are plans - possibly rather hopeful plans - to bring swimming back to the river. There are numerous such rivers in cities around the world, so how realistic is the idea that you could bring swimming back to polluted city rivers? Could ex-industrial rivers join the oceans (and dams) of Australia as recreational swimming spots?
Professor Stuart Khan from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNSW studies sustainable urban water management, and has studied chemical composition of the Cooks River, and how the pollutants got there. He thinks that, whilst it may be a long way off, there are precedents around the world for bringing back swimming to polluted rivers.
You can read more on efforts to remediate the Cooks River at the Cooks River Valley Association.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License
Funk City - Reatch
Up In My Jam - Kubbi
Cease - A Himitsu
Sapphire - Tobu
Tuesday Jan 16, 2018
Ocean swimming... with Beachwatch
Tuesday Jan 16, 2018
Tuesday Jan 16, 2018
Beachwatch test the water quality of Sydney beaches to see if they are suitable for swimming. The program also partners with councils and wastewater managers for swimming sites along the NSW coast. Water samples are collected and tested for bacteria, which may suggest faecal pollution, and influence whether the beach is safe for swimming. The program started in 1989 due to sewage pollution washing up on Sydney beaches - there was literally poo on the beach... These days, water quality has greatly improved, largely due to new deep ocean outfalls for coastal sewage treatment plants, as well as improvements in wastewater and stormwater management. The major reason why a beach may be unsafe to swim these days is because of recent rainfall, which can bring stormwater and wastewater overflow. Beachwatch also provides weekly star ratings for beaches, and the annual State of the Beaches report.
Dr. Meredith Campey is the Beachwatch Program Manager, and I spoke to her about what Beachwatch does, its history, how they test and what they test for, and the various reasons a beach may be unsuitable for swimming.
You can receive Beachwatch updates on Facebook and Twitter, subscribe to their RSS feeds, or subscribe to daily pollution forecasts.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License
Exit the Premises - Kevin MacLeod
Tonic and Energy - Elexive
Adventures - A Himitsu
A new beginning - Bensound
Sapphire - Tobu
Episode image - licensed under a Creative Commons License: Yellow Bioman
Tuesday Dec 12, 2017
Ocean swimming... in plastic pollution
Tuesday Dec 12, 2017
Tuesday Dec 12, 2017
It is estimated that ocean plastics will outweigh ocean fish by 2050, according to a study by the World Economic Forum. There are at least 5.25 trillion plastic pieces floating in the oceans right now.
Dr. Jennifer Lavers is a Research Scientist at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. She is a marine eco-toxicologist with expertise in tropical and temperate seabird ecology, plastic pollution (marine debris), invasive species management, and fisheries by-catch. Her research examines how marine apex predators, such as seabirds, act as sentinels of ocean health, and focuses on pollutants of aquatic ecosystems such as plastic, heavy metals, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and radionuclides. She is also very interested in science and conservation outreach.
Jennifer also has an Erdos-Bacon number, as a star of the stage and screen, as well as of academia!
I chatted to Jennifer about her work, starting with her article This South Pacific island of rubbish shows why we need to quit our plastic habit.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License
Happy Life - Fredji
Acoustic guitar arrangement for song - TRow
A new beginning - Bensound
Buddha - Kontekst
Sapphire - Tobu
Monday Nov 27, 2017
Ocean swimming... on other planets
Monday Nov 27, 2017
Monday Nov 27, 2017
Can you ocean swim on other planets? Perhaps! Water is far more common in the Universe than you might think, and there are many other oceans out there, even on our neighbours in our own solar system.
Associate Professor Jonti Horner is an astronomer and astrobiologist who works in the Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre at the University of Southern Queensland. We caught up at the Australian Space Research Conference.
It is currently thought that there are oceans deep beneath the surface of some of Jupiter's and Saturn's moons, as well as astonishingly, on asteroids and Pluto. The Saturnian moon Titan, as well as likely having a subsurface water ocean, may have standing hydrocarbon oceans on its surface. Mars and Venus may have had oceans in the past. And it's almost certain that outside the solar system, there are planets just like Earth with vast water oceans. Could these locations be the home of future extreme sports?
We also chatted about publically funded science, future space missions and the future of Earth.
Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License:
Moon - LEMMiNO
Free Your Soul - SIRPRICE
Tonic and Energy - Elexive
Sapphire - Tobu