New Town Toyota Round 6: City to Scarbs

Along Perth's Sunset Coast, the ocean stretch between City Beach and Scarborough unfolds as a bright corridor bordered by continuous white sands. New Town Toyota Round 6: City to Scarbs is an open water swimming race in the Indian Ocean along the western shoreline of Perth, Western Australia. Organised by Swimming WA as part of the statewide Open Water Swimming Series, the event provides a classic open ocean challenge along this exposed coastal boundary. The main feature of the event is its point-to-point course connecting two of the city's most beloved stretches of sand. Starting from the soft sands of City Beach, swimmers strike out northward through open marine water toward Scarborough Beach.

In addition to the premier 5,000-metre point-to-point journey, the programme accommodates varied levels of stamina with distances of 500, 1,250, and 2,500 metres. Swimming parallel to the shore gives participants a direct encounter with the deep swells of the open sea. The Indian Ocean offers remarkable visibility, allowing swimmers to look down into clear water throughout the crossing. Rolling swells lift and lower the field as the shoreline drifts steadily by on the right shoulder. At the end of the long haul into Scarborough, the finish line comes alive with cheering spectators, event volunteers, and patrolling surf lifesavers welcoming competitors across the line.

City Beach and Floreat: groynes, sandbars, and the Indian Ocean swell

The Sunset Coast takes its character from miles of bright, pale sands fronting the open ocean. At City Beach, the shoreline is composed of fine white and yellow soft sand. Out in the open sea, the surf break along this coast can become hazardous, particularly under the influence of summer swells. However, the primary swimming and surfing zone at City Beach is sheltered by two solid groynes that temper the force of incoming waves. At the Floreat Beach groyne, a seasonal sandbar frequently forms beneath the surface, reshaping the local swell into a distinct left-breaking wave. From this rocky structure, the sand stretches smoothly northward toward the Hale Road dog beach, providing swimmers with a clean, unbroken visual line of white coastline. Beneath the surface between Floreat Beach and City Beach lies a piece of Perth's hidden coastal infrastructure. Undersea cables rest along the ocean floor across this corridor, traversing the seabed on their journey toward the open ocean.

Coastal dunes and the limestone reef of Marmion Marine Park

The delicate coastal dunes are undergoing active ecological rehabilitation and are strictly fenced off from human access. This protection preserves both the native habitat and the pristine natural backdrop. Marmion Marine Park is located between Trigg Island and Burns Beach. Trigg Island is a prominent natural landmark that punctuates the sand. This small, rugged outcrop consists of aeolianite limestone, a hardened remnant of ancient dunes dating back to the Pleistocene epoch. Depending on the shifting currents and tides, sandbars periodically accumulate between the limestone rock and the beach, physically connecting the island to the mainland and demonstrating the dynamic movement of the ocean bed along this coast.

From Cottesloe's early pavilions to Scarborough's seafront culture

Ocean swimming in this region is anchored by more than a century of coastal tradition. Local ocean enthusiasts established the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club in 1909, founding the first lifesaving club in Western Australia and establishing a proud volunteer culture that still protects ocean swimmers today. That deep coastal heritage shaped the beachfront architecture of the western suburbs throughout the twentieth century. At Cottesloe, the original Indiana Tea House catered to ocean bathers from 1913 until 1970, alongside the Centenary Bathing Pavilion, which stood on the sand between 1929 and 1982. The current landmark building at the site incorporates a bathing pavilion constructed in 1983 into its lower level, and both the structure and the beach were formally inscribed on the State Register of Heritage Places in 2021.

At the northern terminus of the race, Scarborough carries its own English connection, having taken its name from the historic seaside resort of Scarborough in North Yorkshire. During the warmer months, the broad beachfront becomes a vibrant sporting playground where steady ocean breezes attract kitesurfing and windsurfing across the outer swell. Once swimmers step out of the surf onto the sand, Scarborough's celebrated beachside atmosphere takes over. Participants wrap themselves in towels and settle into the lively collection of local cafes, sharing stories over morning coffee and recounting the rolling sets out at sea. Many finish the outing by easing back into the surf for relaxing recovery dips in the clear Indian Ocean.