Barb and Helen completed the swim in 1hr and 1hr 10mins respectively, early Thursday morning.

In a straight line the distance between Fly Point and Barnes Rocks is 3.7km, however with the push of the tide and the zigzag route taken it was estimated a distance of approximately 4.5km was swum.

The journey was not an easy feat.

While the tide was at a standstill when they started it had begun turning before they finished the swim.

“There was one point where I felt like I was going nowhere,” Helen said.

The journey had been a goal of Barb’s for around 12 months while Helen was just along for the ride after she overheard Barb talking about it on the Monday morning before.

“I couldn’t not do it; I love journey swims and Barb had said she was doing it,” Helen said.

The open water challenge was one Barb had to do.

“I did it because it is do-able,” Barb said.

“Just knowing you came from one bay to another and you weren’t on the road is amazing,” Barb said.

However Barb has done the trip via the road. Just the weekend before, she decided to ride around the bay on her push bike. Barb has been training for the swim for a while completing other bay swims and many laps in the local pool.

Recently Barb also finished a 5km swim at the Olympic Rowing Regatta Centre in Penrith.

Helen says because she only heard about the swim the Monday earlier she was not able to do any special training, however she has been doing ocean swims for around 20 years.

Barb and Helen both agree more people should do the swim.

“We should make it an annual event,” Helen said.

Both Helen and Barb are members of the Myall Masters group and the Tea Gardens Hawks Nest Surf Lifesaving Club.

“I am extremely proud of the wonderful achievement,” Leon said.

Barb and Helen were supported by and would like to thank Leon and Myall Masters president Peter Brown who paddled across the bay with them in kayaks from Lazy Paddles Kayak tours in Tea Gardens, Myall Masters social organiser Rod Andrews who provided and drove the boat across the bay and everyone who met them at the finish.