She turned up one day out of nowhere. A slip of a lass, oozing anxiety from every hole in her wetsuit. A near-death experience had left her scared of the ocean, she said. But she was one of those people set on hunting down their fears. Could she swim with us, she asked.

Our swim group has more mental afflictions than a Trump rally. We didn’t need another. But my wife is a kind soul and said she’d chaperone the newcomer into the deep and back. Just stick with me, my wife assured her, and........

© The Sydney Morning Herald