Hooked and proud of it, Narooma's Mullets are going swimmingly after 20 years

Twenty years on, ocean-swimming group the Narooma Mullets is as fun, fit and friendly as ever.

At this time of the year, about 20 of them take to the water each day. Over the Christmas period when visitors to Narooma join them, there may be 45 or 50 swimmers. In their bright-pink swimming caps, it is quite a sight.

Three of their core members, Marilyn Heaney and Debbie and Werner Gross, warn that their daily swim with the tide is addictive as word spreads among ocean swimmers vacationing in Narooma.

“Once they have one swim with us, they keep coming back every holiday. They just get hooked,” Debbie says. “Werner and I have travelled a lot and we haven’t done anything like it anywhere else. It is unique.”

Werner says they probably had around 300 swimmers join them in any one year.

What’s not to love about swimming in the clear blue waters of Wagonga Inlet with occasional encounters with playful seal pups?

Group members swim year-round and the water temperature varies from 13 degrees Celsius to 22C. The pink caps protect them from “ice-cream headache” during the winter.

“We have swum in every condition known to man, hurricanes, thunder and tempest,” Werner says.

Only lightning and water discoloured by heavy rain stop the Narooma Mullets swimming the 1.8-kilometre channel between Mill Bay and Bar Beach.

The group came out of an adult swimming squad at Narooma Pool. Back then they all worked, so the 7 pm squad training fitted their lives.

“It was a fairly social group and it developed into swimming in the shark net area on Fridays to break the boredom of swimming lanes,” Debbie says.

Management changes at the swimming pool led them to start swimming near the shark net three times a week after work during the summer.

“We have been swimming in the inlet for a minimum of 10 years, every day,” Werner says.

Originally called the Montague Mullets, they begin with the 10-minute walk from the carpark along the boardwalk to their starting point as determined by the direction of the tide.

They have a handicap system, so that faster swimmers start later than slower ones. That way, they reach the end together, with everyone keeping an eye out for each other.

For safety, they only swim if there is someone with them.

“You don’t feel obligated to go but you don’t want to let anyone down, so you go,” Mrs Heaney says. “If I know they are there, I will be there.”

The group notifies Marine Rescue when they are swimming so that boaters are aware of their presence.

Another Mullet member, Rob Hawkins, buys 200 swimming caps at a time. They sell them at $15, with the $10 profit going to Marine Rescue. Mr Hawkins says they have donated more than $1000 to Marine Rescue Narooma.

Mrs Heaney says to swim with the Narooma Mullets, people must be able to swim a kilometre non-stop and be comfortable in the ocean.

“It is challenging. It isn’t for beginners,” she says. “It is hard, it is for fitness.”

The swim typically takes 20 minutes.

Recently some members have donned snorkels and flippers.

“We have had people swim breaststroke all the way,” Debbie says.

Wetsuits are permissible. The hardiest Mullets stick to simple swimsuits throughout the year.

The main concession to the winter is that non-swimmers take turns carrying the swimmers’ thongs to the end point because the boardwalk is so cold to walk on and doesn’t get any sun.

Werner is the ”Tide Master”, who consults the tide tables to determine what time and which direction they will swim.

“People have attempted to do their own timing, without great success,” he says.

Mrs Heaney says they swim for fun, fitness, and the social element.

“Water is very therapeutic, you forget everything. It is just fabulous,” she says.

Debbie says: “We do it for the camaraderie, mental health, keeping your body fit, and just plain happiness.”