The Blue Room

The Weedy Seadragons swim at Kingston Beach, south of Hobart every Saturday. In summer, some members swim from Kingston Beach to Blackmans Bay and back - about five kilometres. Harold Gatenby is one of the founders of the group, and he sat down with the Blue Room's Sabra Lane for a chat about the group, and about the addiction that is ocean swimming.

Features:

Harold Gatenby, founder of the Weedy Seadragons.

Sabra Lane - the Blue Room host.

Themes:

ocean swimming, open water swimming, cold water swimming, swimming for...

This is family. Meet the Weedy Seadragons of Kingston Beach, where swimmers become buddies, form life-long friendships and many feel this tribe is family.

The Blue Room speaks with some of the Weedy Seadragons to find out how they got into swimming, how they discovered the Weedys - and what this group means. This Tasmanian tribe is special too for the Blue Room host Sabra Lane, as it's her regular Saturday morning swim group.

Interviews:

Weedy Seadragon members - Andy, Grainne, Anita, Rachel, Simon, Sandra, Kylie, Tamara, Rhona and a special guest appearance...

The Blue Room's Sabra Lane joins artist & swimmer Catherine Stringer in her studio for a chat about her art and swimming. An exhibition of Catherine's work is about to open - it's called Below and Beyond. Catherine is now 71 years old, she started swimming with tribes seven years ago - and started her working life as a doctor. Water is a big part of her art - we talk about that and being in the Blue Room.

Features:

Catherine Stringer - swimmer and artist

Sabra Lane - TheBlueRoom.au

Dr Vanessa Pirotta spends a lot of her time in The Blue Room, or what she calls our Blue Backyard. As a kid all she wanted to do was to become a dolphin trainer - she's now a whale scientist and become a regular contributor in the media, explaining science. Vanessa talks with the Blue Room's Sabra Lane about her fascination with the ocean, whales and science. We also discuss the approaching 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission - and what YOU can do to help protect whales.

Features:

Dr Vanessa Pirotta

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The Blue Room's Sabra Lane interviews marathon swimmer Joanne Norman on becoming the first Australian woman to complete the Oceans Seven Challenge. What makes Joanne's story truly remarkable is that she was bitten by a Cookiecutter shark on her first attempt at the Molokaʻi channel. She recovered and successfully swam it a year after the attack. What makes her tick, why did she start marathon swimming - and Jo reveals she swims with her eyes closed - all of the time.

Features:

Joanne Norman, Marathon Swimmer.

Sabra Lane, The Blue Room - t...

Pop divas and sisters Vika and Linda Bull have just been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, released a new album "Where do you come from", are currently on a national tour and have written a song for swimmers called "That's how I pray".

The Blue Room host Sabra Lane interviews them both to talk about how the song came about, what swimming means to them and about their careers, life, Tongan heritage and how strongly they feel about community harmony.

Features:

Linda and Vika Bull

Podcast host Sabra Lane<...

Dr Heather Massey is a marathon swimmer. She's also a researcher at the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments research group in the UK. She's just recruited people for a study comparing cold water swimming with medication in treating depression. Heather joined the Blue Room's Sabra Lane for a chat about her marathon swims, the science of cold water immersion, after drop and floating. Plus what do we know, and what don't we know when it comes to proven results from cold water swimming?

Features:

Dr Heather Massey/Researcher at the Extreme Environments Laboratory at th...

Australian author Tim Winton joins the Blue Room podcast host Sabra Lane for a long chat about his obsession with the ocean. Tim is admired the world-over for his salt water stories. Nearly all of his novels are love letters to the sea. As Tim says in his dedication in “Land's Edge" - For my family and for those who know that a bad day's fishing is always better than a good day's work.

Tim says swimming is family culture and ‘pretty precious' for his tribe. We talk about swimming, what it means, what it does for the...

Join The Blue Room for an inspiring chat with Tasmanian swimmer Brett Stephenson as he recounts his journey to complete South Africa's renowned Freedom Swim. Brett shares what motivated him to take on the challenge, the emotions of swimming through waters steeped in history, and the special moments that made the experience so meaningful.

Brett talks with podcast host Sabra Lane and takes us beyond the swim, sharing stories from his travels including to Zanzibar, and the early childhood home of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

Honest, down-to-earth and quietly inspiring, Brett's story is a...

Mark Sowerby is The Blue Room's guest in this episode. Over a decade he swims the Ocean Seven, seven channels of water on five continents. The first channel (The English Channel) is achieved while he's at the helm of a successful start-up company. The rest of the channels become a form of therapy, recovering from the shock of a company going under which morph into the documentary 'Don't be Prey'. Mark attends a screening of the film in Hobart, and takes time out to speak with podcast host Sabra Lane.

Features:

Mark Sowerby, Don't be...

The Blue Room visits the 2026 Devil of a Swim, relocated this year from Bicheno to Coles Bay. Also visiting the tourist hotspot, the Coledale Oysters from NSW. The Oysters heard about the swim on the Blue Room in 2025 and made a pact to join this year's competition. Afterwards they joined podcast host and swimmer Sabra Lane for a special 'live' recording of the episode at Coles Bay to talk about the 5km swim, how they started ocean swimming, what they get out of being in the water - and importantly swimming with their buddies.

Features:

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The Blue Room's guest is Alison Orme and what has become 'a highlight of her life'. What started as a simple invite to friends to swim in some of Sydney's spectacular ocean pools became something much bigger. From discovering Harbour pools, to Sydney's ocean pools, pools along the NSW coastline, lidos in the UK and soon pools in France. Alison tells the Blue Room how this passion started, and how she thinks ocean pools are part of her DNA. It's a story of curiosity, friendship, fun and adventure.

Features:

Alison Orme, SOPS founder.

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It's a question pod host Sabra Lane is often asked; how to you become confident to swim in the open water? The Blue Room joins the Kingston Beach Surf Life Saving club in Tasmania, as the 'Dragons Swim Pod' graduates. The club has run a 10-week program aimed at getting swimmers confident to swim in the ocean. We join the pod on their final graduation swim, and talk with the trainers and trainees about the course and how they've progressed after 10 weeks of training.

Features:

Polly Marriott, pod member.

Peter...

Five years ago, a group of women waded into the cold waters of Tasmania and found something much bigger than a swim. Meet the Kingston Beach Sea Hags: a bold, joyful community bound by saltwater, courage, and connection. This podcast dives beneath the surface of “just a bobble” to explore the magic of cold water, the rhythm of “chat-stroke,” and the quiet power of showing up for one another—again and again.

Through choppy mornings, laughter-filled dips, and the kind of friendships that buoy you long after you’ve dried off, the Sea Hags have built something extraordinar...

At just 20 years old, Miu Tanaka is balancing university life in Sydney with record-breaking achievements in marathon swimming. The elite open water swimmer has already secured a series of remarkable firsts in Australia’s most challenging aquatic challenges.

Miu Tanaka is the first woman to complete the demanding swim from New Norfolk to Bruny Island in Tasmania. She also became the first woman to conquer Tasmania’s Great Lake on the Central Highlands Plateau—one of the region’s most challenging cold-water swims.

In an extraordinary milestone, Miu is also the first woman to complete the Aust...

Brendan Cullen works on an outback sheep farm near Broken Hill in NSW. In 2015 he sought help at the local hospital, not knowing what was wrong with himself. He was diagnosed with severe depression. Also that same year, he watched his brother compete in an open-water swim and he thought; "I want some of that". But how do you train for marathon swims, like the English Channel, when you live 600km from the nearest coast? Brendan's just published a book about his life, and how he trained to swim one of the world's most famous stretches of ocean. Brendan...

Save Phillip Pool is a Canberra community group that's just had a big win. The ACT government has backed down on plans to replace a 50m outdoor pool with a 25m one. Canberra woman Sarah Ransom got in touch with The Blue Room about the long-fight to save the pool. The story is one of grit, courage and determination by a group of everyday Australians who persuaded the territory government to do the right thing by its community.

Surf Life Saving Australia estimates 40 per cent of public pools will close by 2030. So the lessons learned by the...

The Blue Room is on tour visiting Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula during Christmas 2025. And what better way to experience the coast here than swim with the famous Salty Bitches? This is a tribe of fun, inspiring and brave women (mainly) who love celebrating life by dipping daily in the sea off Indented Head. This tribe's joined up with the local Indented Head yachting fraternity and won a government grant to refurbish the ageing club. For the swimmers that means a great place to change, get warm with a hot shower, coffee and toast and importantly, chat post-swim. The teaming up...

The Blue Room is back for another season, to talk with swimmers and dippers about the joys of getting into the ocean. They're all inspiring stories, about overcoming challenges, setting personal goals to achieve, and finding awe in the sea. In this episode podcast co-founder Sabra Lane interviews Alyssa Seckinger-Crow who is a Tasmanian by choice. The 21 year old has just finished the Tasman Bridge to Ironpot swim - a great feat. But she's already achieved a number of big swims, including the English Channel. How does she do it, what does she think about when she swims, does...

Rob Brander is Dr Rip - he's a coastal scientist at the University of NSW in Sydney. He's been educating beachgoers and kids about the surf for more than 25 years. He's written "Dr Rip's Essential Beach Book" sharing his knowledge about beaches, sand, surf and rips.

He is Australia's best known beach scientist, he has an AM for it - and the Blue Room's Sabra Lane talks with him about safety, his favourite beach and what he would if he was PM for a day, to improve beach safety.

More information:

A special episode of the Blue Room, recorded days after the terror attack at Bondi Beach. Three days after that, Bondi swim clubs held a swim circle - to remember the dead, pay tribute to those who saved lives - and reclaim their space.

Swimmer Lulu Cooper from the Bondi Great White Swim club helped organise the event, and spoke with podcaster Sabra Lane about the day, and what the swim tribes mean.

The Great White Swim Club:

https://www.instagram.com/greatwhiteswimclub/?hl=en

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On Tasmania’s east coast, the Bluebottles of Spring Beach bring together courage, sass, fun, fitness, and a carefree spirit. Podcaster co-founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour join the gang for a swim and find an uplifting group who swim, travel and live life together and warmly welcome visitors. From the yowling on Sundays, to sharing stories and supporting one another this group is all about inclusion and community.

Features:

The Spring Beach Bluebottles

Jules Scarlett

Plans are underway to return Hobart to being a Swimmable City. For thousands of years the Derwent's been used by people for swimming, bathing and fishing. In the 1800s there were a string of public pools in the the river with convicts and the gentry encouraged to bathe regularly. What is the plan? Why do it? Blueroom host Sabra Lane interviews the two people leading the campaign to return Hobart into a Swimmable City.

Allison Anderson works in Tourism and swimming is a part of her life, from being a child swimming in the Derwent. Mat Hinds...

Tasmanian Rob Peart recently swam the English Channel. It is a remarkable feat. Rob started swimming as an adult and he admits, he struggled to swim 100 metres. But, this channel attempt almost failed right at the end, with Rob battling tides and time - though he was blissfully unaware, and curious about why everyone on his boat was screaming their lungs out for him to swim faster.

In this episode we discuss the swim, the preparation, how Rob started swimming, what he thought about during the swim, the family of dolphins that showed up mid-channel... and the...

Podcast creators Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour visit the Tasmanian north-west coastal town of Burnie and take a Sunday morning dip with the Burnie Sunrise ocean swim club. They're a creative, inspiring, courageous, brave and fun-loving ocean group who 'bobble' and swim.

This tribe formed in early 2025, but already it's drawn a big, local following. Local GP, Dr Anastasiia Nikitina (Messieh), set the group up and now swims most days, and on weekends brings her famous home-made ginger tea to share. Anastasiia also introduces us to the concept of "collective effervescence". Teeny Brumby talks about her introduction...

The Blue Room has traveled to Boat Harbour on the north-west coast of Tasmania for a weekend away.

Podcast co-founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour head out for an early morning swim, to find themselves unexpectedly joined by a pod of curious dolphins. A local woman watched them from the shore and unexpectedly joined us in a swim de-brief, to explain what she saw and what makes this little village so special.

We also discuss the swimming themed books, movies and documentaries that Sabra's consumed during the past year.

It's an exilerating and...

The Blue Room podcast founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour talk about how to prepare for swimming in cold water. They offer their tips, tricks and advice. For some, swimming in cold water is not just a winter pastime, it's something they do year-round. How to prepare, what to bring with you before and after you swim. Note: cold water swimming is not for everyone, as with other activities, there's a risk of injury and it's not suitable for everyone.

The book referenced in this episode is Winter Swimming; The Nordic Way Towards a...

Tasmanian Ivan Cunningham celebrates 1000 consecutive days of ocean swimming by holding a fundraiser for Pankind, Pancreatic Cancer Australia.

Ivan's chosen that charity as his old coach and now dear friend, Chris Wedd, has pancreatic cancer. But it is a special occasion for Chris, he's also marking five years living with stage four pancreatic cancer, a rare feat.

Features:

Ivan Cunningham - counsellor and ocean swimmer.

Chris Wedd - former swimming coach.

For more information about Pankind:

https://fundraise.pankind.org.au/home

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Ranya Alkadamani is a WOW and a member of the Bold and Beautiful Swim Squad at Manly, in Sydney.

Ranya started swimming in 2019 and tells us how she got into the water and why she can't do without it or the WOWs - the Women of the Wall. These women were crucial in helping Ranya through some tough times after the birth of her first son.

Ranya founded her own business, Impact Group International, she's a communications strategist with experience in corporate Australia and also federal politics. She worked with former PM and Foreign Minister...

Rob Woodhouse is an Olympic champion winning bronze in the 400m Men's Individual Medley at the 1984 games. But he's also just conquered what he says was the 'hardest swim of his life'. Rob is Swimming Australia's CEO.

He talks with the Blue Room about the Oceans Seven and discusses the very serious challenge of turning around the rate of drownings in Ausrtralia, what can be done?

This episode features:

Rob Woodhouse, chief executive officer of Swimming Australia.

National Drowning Report 2025 (pdf)

https://www.royallifesaving.com.au...

This episode is about three Melbourne mates and one of the world’s toughest open-water swims. 36 kilometres of salt, sweat, and setbacks. Join us as we dive into the training, the incredible 'butterflies' and unexpected chaos—like the support boat that kept breaking down. This story is more than a marathon swim, it’s a tale of mateship, endurance, and the chase for a shared dream.

Features:

Professor Andrew Steer

Dr Adam Deacon and

Professor Alex Thompson.

The Capri to Napoli website:

https://web.caprinapoli.com/

Podcast co-founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour record this episode on a Turkish Gulet. Swim Guide Noah Canby takes the team on a special swim. We also hear from a fellow swimmer Cerian Mellor - who sometimes commutes by swimming on the Thames.

In this episode:

Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour.

SwimTrek guide Noah Canby.

Cerian Mellor

The tow device Cerian uses while commuting on the Thames is the RuckRaft.

The Blue Room is on tour in Southern Turkey with podcast co-founders Sabra Lane and Julia Mansour sharing their holiday and thoughts on what they see, the swims and the culture.

They embark on a 5-day swimming holiday based around Kas, in the country's south (a trip booked and paid for well before they started making this podcast).

The Blue Room is taking a trip through Ireland and we visit the famous Blackrock Dive Tower at Salt Hill, Galway.

Local Laura Browne coaxes Julia into jumping into the Atlantic from the famous tower, we also meet the "King of Blackrock" Paddy McNamara as he prepares for an evening of yowling, while dishing up strawberries and cream.

The movie referenced in this chat is "The Young woman and the Sea" (2024) - about long-distance swimmer Trudy Elderle.

The Devil of a Swim on the east coast of Tasmania. Features Olympic gold medallist Shane Gould, and swimmers in the 2025 event.

In this episode I talk with Olympic Gold Medallist, Dr Shane Gould. Why does she still love swimming, how did she gain her doctorate, 'floating' to survive and what would she do if she was Prime Minister for a day?

In this episode we join the annual TOSSA cup, in the Hobart beachside suburb of Taroona. Why do people swim, what do they think about are they part of a swimming pod or tribe?

Includes;

Stuart Tanner

Julia Mansour

Cate Andrews

Joe Askey Doran