Around The Piers Across California: Fear No Pier 2.0
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
14 swimmers started the Fear No Pier stage swim in California. They began a 24-hour odyssey along the California shoreline to swim around 27 piers, but only Ray Meltvedt (far right in photo above) was left standing way back in 2013.
In 2021, Meltvedt will start another group of people trying to swim around the 38 Pacific Ocean-facing piers in California. “It’s as exciting as the first time I led the group of Laguna swimmers in 2013 around 27 piers up and down the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego in Southern California.”
“Ray was such an inspiration to all of us. He pushed me well beyond my mental and physical limits. Neither shark attack warnings, the pitch black of night, nor the cold water of Ventura could stop him,” said Julian Rusinek who nearly swam all the 27 piers himself. “We had fun the whole way. Through ‘No swimming’ signs, surfers, fishing lines, barnacle wounds, ‘Shark attack warning’ signs, sleep deprivation, and physical exhaustion, we prevailed.”
“It was the best road trip ever,” described Lynn Kubasek who passed away in 2019. “It was exhilarating to feel the texture and temperature of ocean water from Santa Barbara to San Clemente, and great to spend time with some of the best people ever!”
Fear No Pier indeed. Now in 2021, it is 2.0.
Photo taken underneath the Huntington Beach Pier with Lynn Kubasek, Julian Rusinek, Ray Meltvedt, Theo Schmeeckle, Natalie Merrow, Tanya MacLean, and Scott Zornig after finishing their 19th stage swim around 27 piers in total.
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