Despite an incredible effort in wild conditions, the Old With Attitude swimmers were gutted last Saturday when they were forced to abandon their Rottnest Channel Swim attempt with the finish line in sight.
Old With Attitude, a team of swimmers from the Armadale Masters swimming club with a combined age of 279, hoped to break the record for the oldest team ever to compete in the historic, open-water swim last Saturday.
In the days prior to the race, the Perth Bureau of Meterology reported high wind warnings, but that didn’t stop the team from taking to the water.
And despite swimming an eye-watering 17km of the 19.7km race, fierce conditions, including two-metre-high waves, forced officials to halt their attempt.
“We didn’t make it but we did well, everyone has been congratulating us on getting to 17km,” said Old With Attitude team member, Fettes Falconer.
“We were disappointed, we could have made it, we thought, “There it is, we’re nearly there,”” he said.
“Some of the team were seasick but they carried on. A kayak in front of us tipped over, and that was it, that was the last straw,” said Mr Falconer.
“The wind was blowing one way and the current the other way, and the officials called a stop,” he said.
Old With Attitude teammate Liz Dunn said it was gutting to be forced to abandon their attempt so close to the finish line.
“We still had three hours before the 5pm cut off, we could have made it, but the conditions were horrendous,” said Liz.
“We were disappointed but lots of swimmers pulled out,” she said.
Despite the result, Liz said the team enjoyed the event and the opportunity to spend time with each other and the other competitors.
“We had accommodation on Rottnest so we stayed on Sunday and had a chance to catch up with lots of other swimmers, it was really good” she said.
And despite their age – or perhaps because of it – the team’s incredible effort may not be their last, record-breaking attempt.
“You never know,” said Liz. “Keep an eye out for us next year, because you never know.”
