Swimming Sydney: A tale of 52 swims

by Chris Baker

Swimming Sydney is a tale of 52 swims in and around Sydney that take place over a calendar year. From Palm Beach to Cronulla, Mount Druitt to Bondi, Chris Baker swims at iconic beaches, municipal pools, harbour baths, tidal rock pools, bushland lakes and a backyard pool.
Taking his weekly plunges, Baker reflects on friendship, history and family, and how swimming can help us better understand ourselves.
Swimming Sydney is a valentine to the beautiful obsession of swimming in the world’s most beautiful city. It’s a book for everyone who loves swimming, who loves Sydney, and who understands that storytelling is the best way to navigate life’s emotional currents.
‘Part travel guide and part memoir, these 52 immersive essays – one a week – remind us how inextricably Australian culture is linked to water and our bodies. Immerse yourself and emerge invigorated, like the best swims leave you feeling.’ – Benjamin Law
‘A poetic ode to the water that will have you reaching for your goggles and leaping into the blue. Chris Baker may swim like a fish, but he also writes like a dream. Swimming Sydney is a beguiling portrait of love, loss, community and identity in the world’s most swimmable city.’ – Yves Rees
‘Chris Baker takes a deep dive into the watery history of Sydney, focusing by turns on its conflicted history, ravishing beauty and salty present. His eye for detail is sharper than a gull’s, and while his love of the liquid landscapes he traverses is palpable and at times nostalgic, it is never sentimental. Reading his 52 swims made me long to don my togs and to get away from my own daily comfort pool. I ached to rush to a dive-in, to slurp a Sunnyboy or chomp a pluto pup, and above all, to immerse in the “dignified consolation” that he offers in every chapter. This book is both a keeper and a giver, an invitation and a challenge, a guide and a gift; it’s a love song to the caress of watery wonder.’ – Ailsa Piper

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Australia, Memoir

272 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2024

About the author

Chris Baker is an independent scholar and long-term resident of Thailand.

Reviews

[Rachel McCrossin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually really enjoyed this. Awesome to read while in Sydney, I was like wow there are so many amazing spots to swim. Grateful. Liked his writing style, simple and made me wanna be in water

[f n · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was very relaxing and I am truly very thankful the author has ties to Sydney and not any other state lol. The descriptions were so vivid and the lexicon used was rather advanced which was refreshing. He clearly understands water very well!! Some of the chapters were very personal, and the descriptions and facts were deeply engrained in its time period, snapshots in time - which I somewhat believe was intentional as a preservation effort; and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

With the books’ charm also came some ‘ripples in the water’ that ‘diluted’ my enjoyment, leaving me to ‘wade’ towards 4 stars (get it, water puns haha). Some of the books ‘dampened’ my view and were a bit jarring. For example, the random chapters on being naked I disliked. Some other things too also bothered me - I did try to overlook it because it’s just written sooo beautifully but I decided to just make it 4 stars. Maybe I’ll change it in the future, idk. [future me: I made it 5 stars]

I’d love to live the romanticised view of life this book has though, and it’s fun to have almost an encyclopaedia of Sydney’s best swimming areas on my shelf! I recommend you read it, and as another reveiwer accurately stated, I feel very “zen”, and it makes me want to swim.

[Amanzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Swimming can be an initiation, a meditation, an act of liberation. The routines, physical ebbs and flows, and surprises of a swim parallel our individual journeys as life's emotional tides rise and fall. A swim can wash away past setbacks, irrigate hope and cleanse us emotionally. Swimming is living, and swimming Sydney connects us with Country, ourselves and each other.’

This was a beautiful read, a love letter to swimming in Sydney. I especially loved all of the Indigenous history and reflections the author brought. Highly recommend - now I’m off to explore some of these swimming spots over the summer!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book on various swimming spots around Sydney. Chris Baker's writing has fundamentally changed how I experience a swimming adventure now; it's more than just a dip, it's a mindful observation of everything around us whilst also looking internally as well.

[Rachael Dunstan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling very zen

[Natasha (jouljet) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lad spends a year documenting his quest to swim in a different pool or body of water around Sydney for a year. Exploring the ocean pool fascination and histories, and other spectacular places for a dip, he showcases the delight of discovery of new places and the immense good bodily feelings of well-being from having been in the water.

This is an ode to Sydney and its best bits, from a lad who has lived overseas for quite some time and has returned with a whole new appreciation, fondness and also critical eye on the Australian beach and pool scene, and Australian nostalgic past times and ways.

Sharing personal stories and memories, Chris also muses of the impacts of climate change, Australia's ongoing need for better understanding of First Nations' history with the land, and some other observations around minority groups. He also shares much of his own family story, connecting to certain swims, and brings his friends along for the occasional swim. Only a bloke can go for an ocean dip just before the service of a beachside wedding!

Lots of discoveries here, and new appreciations of the history of some of the ocean pools and their namesakes. I have noted quite a few locations for future visits, too.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, feeling grateful

[Erica Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, an immersive read about life, set in the context of 52 swims around Sydney. Its a journey to learn about locations I have been to many many times. but did not know the history of as well as a mediation on life and the continual growth that it brings when you are open to growth! Highly recommend.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Sydneysider turned accidental Far North Queenslander, the arrival of this book in the post from a southern friend was welcomed, though I was a little worried it might make me cry for missing Sydney. And while it did make me a bit wistful it more so evoked fond memories. That it's also just a bit Syndey-wankery took some of the edge off possible pain :-) If you love Sydney, or you love swimming, you will enjoy this book.

[Elliot Christmas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I 🩵 my city!!!! Learnt a lot from this book. He details the indigenous history and colonial present of all my fav swim spots in Sydney as well as detailing his (and my shared) adoration for their beauty. Perfect book to bring to the beach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but gets a liiiiittle bit repetitive in its format (-⭐️)

[Mark Hubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book, well written, with charming stories about well-known swimming places in Sydney. As a Sydney resident myself, I’ve really enjoyed reading about places that I have been to, and the author’s experiences and perceptions of those places. I now want to swim at every single place he has written about!

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book.
The author has a delightful way to narrate, akin to Bill Bryson in some parts.
It makes you appreciate how unique and amazing Sydney is. I also learned a lot about its history (and ended up in some bibliographic rabbit holes).

[Seana Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, beautifully written and fascinating too. If you are not already with Sydney and its swimming spots, you certainly will be by the end.

I so enjoyed the combination of nature writing, history, culture and memoir. The writer has done a marvellous job. One to re-read!

[Suzanne Toomey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fab book to dip into when exploring Sydney's wonderful ocean pools. Each chapter describes a different season in the water and has a background story pertaining to the water location! A well put together book.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me want to start swimming so that I can experience all these amazing coastal and harbour pools that I didn’t even know existed and I’ve lived here all my life???????

Could’ve done with another proofread though.

[Julie Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice selection of short stories

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love letter to water and the swimming places around Sydney. Also a reflection on friends, family and life. Made me want to swim - and I’m not a swimmer.

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lover of the ocean and ocean pools around Sydney, I loved this ode to our great swimming spots.
We are spoiled for choice!