Wearing ceremonial bathing caps in honour of Christine Armstrong, grieving husband Rob - supported by the Tathra swimming group - got back in the water Saturday morning.
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Two days after Mrs Armstrong, 63, was taken by a shark while on her regular morning swim, about 25 friends and family linked arms and walked into the water at Tathra Beach.
"The swim was organised by Rob as a show of respect," Far South Coast branch president Tony Rettke said.
"They went into the water until it was about chest deep and then broke up and caught a few waves for about 10 minutes.
"Rob and the girls wore the ceremonial caps they have for birthdays and things - they are rubber caps with flowers on them.
"There were about 25 people all together."
Mr Rettke said there would be some fear among swimmers at the beach but most were taking a practical approach, realising the chance of such a tragedy happening again was remote.
"The flags are back up, the patrols are on - we have about half a dozen people in the water," he said.
"We may be a few people down in numbers but really, at this time of year, on an overcast day, it's pretty normal."