Home

Freelance publicist Lucy Gibson loves nothing more than open water swimming around Perth

Lucy GibsonThe West Australian
Lucy Gibson
Camera IconLucy Gibson

I have been swimming since ... I was about seven years old. I grew up in a seaside town in the north-west of England but the tide didn’t come in very often (and the sea was pretty murky!), so I spent most of my youth chasing the black line in the local 33.3m pool and went to bed most nights smelling of chlorine.

I fell in love with open-water swimming when ... I first came to Perth in 2000. I’ll never forget that feeling of running into the Indian Ocean for the first time. I felt so vulnerable and, at the same time, exhilarated, being out there in the big blue.

The most challenging swim I have done is ... a solo crossing to Rottnest in the inaugural Port to Pub in 2016. Crossing the finish line with my support crew and mates cheering me on made all the early mornings and kilometres of training worthwhile.

When the pools closed because of COVID-19 ... a few of us started swimming in the river around East Fremantle. There were hardly any boats around, so we had the river all to ourselves. I look back and cherish that time when the world stopped for a short while and we were lucky enough to still have somewhere wonderful to swim.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

A lot of people think I’m mad ... getting up early to swim in the river now the pools are back open. But to me, it feels like a real adventure swimming under jetties and around moorings. It’s one big, natural swimming pool.

My favourite thing about open-water swimming is ... being so connected to nature. Watching the sunrise through your goggles is a magical experience and I love capturing those moments on my GoPro, which I always keep tucked in the back of my bathers.

The most remarkable marine life I have seen in the river has been ... dolphins. I got the shock of my life when I saw a flash of grey swim underneath me. It turned out to be a couple of them and they played around us for a couple of minutes before swimming off.

I am challenging myself to ... continue swimming in the river without a wetsuit. The water temperature is about 15 degrees at the moment, so it’s quite a shock to the system when you first get in but once your body acclimatises, the cold is truly invigorating. And the coffee tastes even better afterwards.

In the future ... I’d like to create a community for all us outdoor swimmers in WA, so we can share all the wild places we are swimming. I’ve set the ball rolling with my Instagram account, @swimwildwa and my private account @lucyrgibsoncan.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails