Courtesy of Brenton Williams, Huntington Beach, California.

Sunny weather and a moderate westerly wind ensured warm but choppy conditions for the 2014 Marina Mile which was held over the weekend in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

The Double Mile kicked off the Marina Watersports Festival, presented by Nicholas Melck and Metsi Water Solutions, with swimmers having to negotiate two loops of the mile course in 23ºC (73ºF) water.

Robert Masterson won the Double Mile over his brother Andrew and third-place JC Van Wyk.

Winner of the Cold Water Classic, Rebecca Newman added another title to her impressive list of wins at Marina Martinique by taking the honours in the women’s division over Amy Mardon and Tracy Gous.

The 500m swim was up next with Henre Louw and Elza Cilliers winning the men and women’s categories respectively.

All the spectators gathered around the banks of the Marina Martinique for the premier event of the day – the Marina Mile. Expectations were high for Christopher Reid [shown above], the 2012 winner, who was the firm pre-race favourite. Reid did not disappoint and cruised to victory with Ian Venter coming second and Nicolas Adam third. “It was a great swim and I love racing in Marina Martinique. The wind caused quite a bit of surface chop but that added to the fun,” said Reid after his victory. Reid will be heading to America to train at the University of Alabama this year. Legendary South African swimmer Jonty Skinner is on the coaching staff at Alabama.

Jessica Cantor won her first Marina Mile with Tarryn Els and Amy Mardon coming second and third respectively.

The following day a new event was held – a dash for cash over 110m in the canals. Participants had to swim multiple heats until only three men and three women were left swimming. Tarryn Els eventually won the women’s race over Antonelle Supporta and Michelle Strydom.

Reid doubled up on his Marina Mile win to take the men’s elimination race from Daniel Jones and Brad Reen. “The Dash for Cash is a great format, which tested the swimmers speed and endurance, with swimmers having to be tactical in the heats as some participants were eliminated after every heat,” said event organiser Brenton Williams. “The Dash for Cash was well-received by the swimmers and was the most spectator friendly event we have held at Marina Martinique as the swimmers had to pass the jetty, which was filled with spectators.”

The 2014 Marina Mile was sponsored by Nicholas Melck Properties, Metsi Water Solutions, Steers Jeffreys Bay, Casio and Woodland Dairy. The next open water swim event in the venue is the Metsi Open Water Swim Series which takes place on January 11th 2015. Entries are open on www.swimmingplus.com for the bank-to-bank race, 500m, 1 km, 3 km, 5 km and 10 km events.



Photos courtesy of Dirk Erasmus.

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association