Stroll the most graceful streets in France, eat well, drink better and then have the liveliest possible time in a city lately in touch with its Latin side. .
The centre had a grandiose 18th-century harmony unmatched in Europe. It seemed quite possible that the French Revolution never made it this far. Poor people looked rich and rich people didn’t look at all. But the city felt haughty and aloof. It had also grown shabby round the edges. No longer. Bordeaux has had the renovators in with a vengeance – restoring noble façades, installing trams and reclaiming from dereliction the vast swathe of riverbank. There are few more graceful urban sights in France than the miroir-d’eau reflecting the splendid Palais-de-la-Bourse.
Posts tagged pool
28
May 19
May 19
Bordeaux
Bordeaux, Gironde, France 44º50’29″N 0º34'08″W
06
Jun 13
Jun 13
Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France 43º17’30″N 5º21’15″E
The Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille is part of the French swimming history, one of the World’s best swimming team.
“The water is your friend…..you don’t have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move”.
Alexandr Popov
18
Oct 08
Oct 08
Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club
Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia 33º53’24″S 151º16’47″E
Photo assignment for Lexus magazine.
The Swimming Club’s origin dates back to 1929 and owes its origins to the desire of a band of dedicated local lifesavers who wished to maintain their fitness during the winter months. They formed the Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club and drew up a constitution and elected office bearers. Included in the constitution was a rule that to maintain membership it was mandatory that swimmers compete on three Sundays out of four for a period of five years. The Icebergs became licensed in 1960 and the members moved from a tin shed into comfortable premises with Bar and Poker Machines. A further update took place in the 1970s enabling the Club to operate on two floors. In 1994, female members were admitted and in 2002 the Club opened their new premises. 
03
Jun 08
Jun 08
Wot Rocket
Belmont, New South Wales, Australia 33º02’09″S 151º39’12″E
Australia’s attempt to reclaim the 500m world speed sailing record.
Pilot Sean Langman and co-pilot Joe Dekock testing the Wot Rocket for the world speed sailing record attempt at Belmont, Lake Macquarie.
The Wot Rocket is half sailboat/sail plane; a nine meter long canoe style hull with two tiny foils, each about a sixth of the size of a Moth foil and a nine meter rigid sail, then a traverse beam out of an aerodynamic twin pod crew compartment. It is built entirely from carbon fiber and weighs approximately 400 kilos.The difference between this sailboat/sail plane and any that have come before it is that it will be attempting to break through the water speed barrier using a technology as yet untried on any sailing craft – supercavitation – to reduce the drag which is around 1,000 times greater in the water than in air.
Supercavitation will in effect mean Wot Rocket flies in a gas bubble created by the outward deflection of water by a specially shaped nose cone and the expansion of gases from its fin and foil design. By keeping water from contacting the surface of the body of Wot Rocket, this will significantly reduce drag and allow extremely high speeds.
The concept behind the Wot Rocket approach is to induce supercavitation at lower speeds where control can still be maintained and from there push through to the top speeds.Supercavitation means Wot Rocket should only require a fraction of the 45-50 knot winds that Albeau needed to go 0.39 knots better than the previous record. A moderate 18-20 knots should do the trick believes Langman.
