Meet the Locals: Jenny Horn is Shelly Beach's temperature taker

Armed with a thermometer on a floatation device, the Port Macquarie resident enjoys her daily dip, which she says sparks joy.

Her temperature recordings also lead into daily conversations with the beachgoers who frequent the location.

While the Port News conducted the interview, three people came up to Jenny and were curious as to what the temperature would be.

Jenny started the hobby in January 2019.

"I was sick of second-guessing myself," she said.

Her daily recordings quickly evolved into a community service.

Jenny's husband created a whiteboard out of an old toilet seat, to prominently display her findings for the public.

The board also includes a message to sum up Jenny's observations about the daily beach swim, as 'food for thought' for people.

Jenny is now on her fifth thermometer, after the others succumbed to various mishaps, such as floating out in the lagoon's notorious rip.

The highest water temperature Jenny recorded was in February 2021, which was taken as 24 degrees.

The lowest temperature was recorded as 14.7 degrees in October, 2021.

Jenny said sometimes the ocean's water temperatures can be like a mosaic.

She's found the temperatures vary according to currents, king tides and the water depth.

Jenny jokes with her husband about who she chats to at the beach.

"I get to talk to all the surfers now, as they want to know what the temperature is like too," she said.

Jenny has made life-long friends by participating in her morning ritual.

There is a group of Shelly Beach regulars who carry out different tasks to ensure everyone can enjoy the location.

"We all care for the place," she said.

Jenny's husband will remove graffiti he finds along the coastal walk, while others clean the sand out of the shower and pick up rubbish from the grass.

The community spirit at Shelly Beach is fabulous, Jenny says.

Whenever Jenny has to travel for work, someone else in the beach community takes on her role to continue the temperature recordings.

"It's become the in-thing," she said.

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