Sea Gals about to take the plunge at Towradgi Beach. Photo: Louise Purvis @seapeoplephotography.
Caitlyn Dorrian and Ella Kobal knew they had struck gold when a group of women, young and old, dived into the ocean off Wollongong for a dawn dip.
The pair came together to resurrect the Wollongong chapter of Sea Gals, a community of early morning female swimmers that started in Perth in 2022.
The founder, Tara Jeisman, posted on TikTok about her experience of doing a sunrise swim and invited other women to join her. By the end of the month, 100 others were running into the water alongside Tara for the Sea Gals dips.
The group aims to encourage friendships and build confidence and give women the chance to be unafraid to “come as you are”. It has since expanded into three other WA areas, the Gold Coast and Newcastle.
A Wollongong branch started soon after but eventually petered out.
Caitlyn, 21, an Illawarra disability support worker, said she had been following Sea Gals in Perth for a long time when she realised the Wollongong dips hadn’t been hosted since 2022.
In late 2024, determined to change that, she set out to restart the branch. To host the swim she needed a second person so she turned to Facebook and hooked up with Ella.
Caitlyn had been a competitive swimmer all her life and by 16 had decided to branch into ocean swimming.
Ella, a university student who recently moved from Melbourne, is a fellow ocean-lover and said being involved with a group like Sea Gals is important in making connections in her new home.
The pair is proud of how the group is continuing to grow.
“Every week whether it’s one or 10, we’ve got new people. Today was the most new people we’ve had,” Caitlin said.
“We may work different jobs or enjoy different hobbies but we’re all down in the ocean for a reason and that’s what we all have in common.”
Ella, 23, appreciates the swims as a mood boost. She said at times the idea of a 5 am wake-up was “the last thing” she wanted to do.
“But then as soon as I’m there, you feed off the energy, you get coffee and you feel so much better,” Ella said.
Before the swimmers dive in they take a moment on the shore. On their first morning, Caitlyn and Ella decided they would ask the group a question.
As the group of eight formed a circle they were each asked what superpower would they want to have.
The following week, the question was, What would you tell your younger self knowing what you know now?
It was then that Caitlyn and Ella realised how special these connection questions could be.
“It just clicked. I remember sitting in my car afterwards about to cry,” Caitlin said.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I get it now’. I will never forget that.”
Ella said that on that morning, strangers opened up about the tough experiences they’d had in their lives and shared how they had managed to get through.
“It was so lovely because every single person in the circle had one person at least with something in common. Literally everyone!”
As is now the tradition of Wollongong Sea Gals, after the connection question the group lines up and listens to pump-up music before a countdown signals their run into the morning waters.
Sea Gals dips are hosted by Caitlyn and Ella at various Wollongong beaches a few times a month. Make sure to get in while you can before the winter waters get too chilly. Follow them on Instagram for future swim dates and other events.
