We don't take you just anywhere.

Ocean swimming tragic David Helsham visited Seal Rocks earlier this year. Here, seals jump from the rocks. (Image by David Helsham X/Twitter – @glistenrr, Instagram – davidhelsham).

Here's the proof

This is good for you

The story here did the rounds on Facebook a couple of weeks back, so same may have seen it. But many won't have, so we run it so you will. Michael Mosley is an enormously respected medico and broadcaster on a wide range of health issues. He's worth listening to, and it will make us all feel good about ourselves — and rather sanctimonious. This story ran originally on September 23 on BBC Radio's podcast series, Just One Thing.

Dr Michael Mosley dives in...

Swimming makes your blood vessels more elastic

'When you’re swimming vigorously, you are using lots of different muscle groups and, importantly, you are working against the weight of the water,' explains Michael.

Research suggests that even a 20-minute swim exercise can boost brain function.

One of the health benefits that testifies to the holistic power of swimming is what it does to our arteries. As blood vessels, our arteries are crucial. Heart disease, after all, is caused by artery blockage – it’s not a disease of the heart itself. Arteries not only carry blood from one part of the body to another, they also buffer the pulsations of that movement, expanding and recoiling as they do this. Playing this key role takes its toll and, over time, the arteries get stiff and can cause damage to the brain and the kidneys.

An experiment carried out by Prof. Hiro Tanaka, from the University of Texas, Austin, showed that just three months of a swimming exercise program was highly effective in reducing artery stiffness and reducing the stress transmitted into other organs.

Dr Michael Mosley enjoys a dip.

Swimming can help you live longer

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the impact on arteries, swimming can extend your life. Scientists at the University of South Carolina in the US followed over 40,000 men, age 20 to 90, for an average of 13 years and discovered that swimmers had a much lower death rate than non-exercisers.

Swimmers were also 50 per cent less likely to die from all causes than runners or walkers, with land-based exercise, for example, proving less effective in reducing artery stiffness.

Swimming is better for your brain than walking or running

Land-based exercise also has less impact on cognitive function than swimming.

'There are many research studies showing that water immersion actually increases brain blood overall,' says Prof Tanaka. Meanwhile, other research suggests that cognitive function is improved when you are in the water because you are usually in supine or prone positions. 'Because of that, the flow to the brain is actually facilitated compared to upright exercises like walking or cycling,' notes the professor.

One study showed that just seven days of swim training improved the memory of rats, with tests on humans returning similar results. In terms of how long you need to swim for, research suggests that even a 20-minute swim exercise can boost brain function and enable faster reaction times.

Nordic walking in a swimming pool is a highly effective exercise!

In line with the findings comparing swimming with land-based exercises, experiments have shown that it is more effective to cycle in water when it comes to reducing artery stiffness. If you think that cycling in water sounds slightly comical, Prof. Tanaka has staged an experiment where the participant goes Nordic walking (with specially designed poles) in water! This transposition of a land-based exercise into water had two benefits: the hand and arm movements impacted a greater area of the motor cortex in the brain, and the hydrostatic pressure pushing blood to the brain increased, and with it so did cognitive function. A three-month experiment of this water-based walking saw both cognitive and vascular function improve overall.

Our happy place: inside the curl at Forster, early morning swim with the Turtles.

Your daily stroll would be better done in the pool

Such are the benefits of exercising in water that even vigorous walking in the shallow end of the pool could provide a fitness boost – and that’s without any Nordic walking poles! 'Water provides a lot of resistance when you're exercising,' says Prof. Tanaka, 'so you tend to walk harder in the water compared to on land.'

Swim three times a week for half an hour each time

Prof. Tanaka recommends swimming three times a week and for 20-30 minutes each time. To get the best results, he says to 'keep moving in the water' during your time in the pool.

Swimming is gentle on the joints

If you need more convincing of the comprehensive benefits of swimming, one advantage of is that it is a very gentle exercise for people with injuries such as knee problems, sufferers of which will find it much harder to go running or go on long walks.

'So, there you are,' summarises Michael, 'take the plunge – you could get big benefits for your blood vessels, your brain and your heart.'

The Philippines... Just you and friends.

French Polynesia, Philippines, Tonga

2024 – Our oceanswimsafaris

We've had phenomenal demand for our oceanswimsafaris in 2024. Get in now, because you could miss out. Many oceanswimsafaris already are full.

We still have plenty of space available on our Philippines oceanswimsafari in early June 2024, and we are working on dates for Heron Island.

• French Polynesia, May 9-18... Click here – 3 spots left
• French Polynesia, May 19-28... Click here – 1 spot left
• The Philippines, June 3-11... Click here – Some spots left
• Heron Island, June 2-7... Click here
• Sulawesi, June 14-22, June 21-29... Click here – Both trips full
• Tonga, July 30-Aug 7... Click here – 3 spots left
• Tonga, Aug 6-14... Click here – Full
  
• San Sebastián Spain, Aug 21-27... Click here
• Costa Brava, Spain, August-September... Full
• Heron Island, October 14-19... Click here

The 'secret breathtaking island'

Heron Island at the best time of year

The 'secret breathtaking island'...

That's how the UK-based newspaper, the Daily Mail, described Heron Island in a report this week. 

'Forget Noosa this summer and head to this secret breathtaking island with crystal clear water instead', trilled the Mail.

They're late with the news... We've been raving about Heron isalnd for years. And with good reason. Apart from all the wildlife, and the crystal clear water — it's true on both counts — Heron Island is perfect for ocean swimmers with our exclusive reef swims, the kind of swims you cannot do unless you're with us on an oceanswimsafari. And it's one of the few places where you can swim on the actual Great Barrier Reef. Others claim exotic Queensland swimming, but only Heron Island is on the reef itself, with its near perfect reef water, its marine life, and its far-away feel from the hustle and bustle of mainland life. There are one or two other resorts on the reef, but all others are much closer in, inside the 'stinger zone', and often within the estuarine near-coastal water that is not always very pleasant, or clear.

June 2-7, October 14-19, 2024 – The best times of year to visit Heron Island — In June, it's Manta ray season. And in October, the turtles are laying on the beach. The weather is mild at both times, and the water is pleasantly warm. Our dates are at the end of the summer season, and at the start of the following summer. The lagoon is alive with sea life... rays, turtles, sharks, fish of myriad colours... This is emerging as our marquee experience... Click here

 

Advance deposits

You can reserve your place in any oceanswimsafari with an advance deposit of $500 per head. When we finalise the packages for each trip, we’ll give you the option of accepting or declining. If you don’t wish to proceed, we’ll refund your advance deposit in full. But in the meantime, you will have your space set aside.

See oceanswimsafaris.com for more.

Xmas deal!

Buy gogs for Xmas, get free delivery!!!

The silly season's coming up, and we're getting just as silly as anyone... So we have a special deal for you!

View Selene goggles

It's true that Views are 'the ocean swimmers' goggle', so View goggles make the best present for swimmers, especially ocean swimmers. We've been wearing Views since 1999 (or so), and we've yet to find a better gog, or a better value gog.

We're also just as capable of celebrating this joyous time of year as anyone else. So, this Xmas (until December 31), if you (inside Australia) buy three or more items from our Goggles Boutique, we'll refund your delivery charge. With Australia Post upping their shipping fees again during 2023, that'll be quite a saving. And a nice return present for you. 

Since View released their new Swipe models — with 10x normal anti-fog capacity — we've sold over 3,000 View Swipe goggles. So something must be right with them.

(Not that View have increased their prices a little in 2023, so we have had to follow suit.)

Some of our offers…

View Selene Swipes – $40
View Wide-eyes Swipes – $40
View Wide-eyes Swipe Mirrored – $46
View Xtreme masks – $44
Prescription – Swipe Optical – choose your lens strength in each eye – $77

Click this link now and we'll get them away to you quick and smart… Click here

Prescription gogs now in Swipes

Our very popular prescription goggles now also come with high-anti-fog Swipe technology.

Our Swipes, so far in both Selene and Wide-Eyes versions, have been a big hit, offering what View (the makers) describe as 10 times the anti-fog capacity of other gogs. We've been using them for almost four years now, and we know that it works. We've sold around 3,000 pairs of Swipe gogs since their release just prior to Xmas 2019, so many of you must agree, too.

Now the Platina prescription goggles come in Swipe versions, too. Lenses come in strengths ranging from -1.0 to -10.0, and +1.5 to +6.0, and you can have different strengths in each eye. Just select the strengths you want when you order your gogs online.

View's new Swipe prescription gogs are available at $A77 a full pair, which is cheap compared with how you will pay at a spectacles shop.

You can order your new Swipe Platina optical (prescription) gogs online now… Click here

Tonga... There are big things everywhere, just minding their own business.

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