Swimmers conquer The Rip

The Rip Swim held their 10th annual event last Saturday with 104 participants completing the open water challenge.

The water was about 17 degrees Celsius when swimmers took off from Point Nepean at around 9am and made their way across the bay to Point Lonsdale, with the first participants arriving in just under an hour.

Veronica Van Wyk completed her sixth rip swim this year, finishing the 3.5km stretch in one hour and three seconds.

She has completed the most crossings of the Rip Swim, participating in both the summer and winter events.

Ms Van Wyk set herself the goal of finishing the swim in 2019 and she completed her first summer crossing in 2020, where she fell in love with the camaraderie.

Ms Van Wyk said accomplishing the rip is a huge achievement and it wouldn’t have been possible without her swimming buddies.

“The friends that I have made through swimming the rip, the teams that I’ve swam with, they have been my family for the past six years.

“The highlight has to be the training; you spend so much time in the water and you’re always looking out for each other.”

Saturday was the first time she had completed the challenge as a solo participant.

“It’s not just a swim, it’s like you join a little rip community who care about you, look after you, support you and encourage you, that’s why I keep coming back,” Ms Van Wyk said.

Crowds of more than 150 people welcomed the swimmers onto the beach at Point Lonsdale.

Event organiser and founder Grant Siedle said it was a great atmosphere in the 10th year.

“We had some swell that picked up a little bit during the event, that made it a bit fun, a little bit interesting.”

Participants headed off from Point Nepean at around 9am on Saturday.