Like thousands of other playful swimmers around the world, the die-hard ocean swimmers in Orange County, California put a special twist on their weekly swim this week due to Halloween.
Their colleagues in the State of Washington will be doing a social swim to Cutts Island in Gig Harbor: a Survivor/Adventurer Theme Party.
They will start off with an hour-long Fire-Making contest, using just wood and string, no matches or flints, ala Bear Grylls to see who can get their spindle smoldering the soonest.
In keeping with the Survival/Adventurer theme, the winner will get an autographed copy of Lynne Cox’s newest book “South With the Sun”, a historical account of Polar Exploration. They then swim out to Cutts Island.
After the swim, the participants are encouraged to run or walk immediately upon exiting the water to help ease the transition while vasoconstriction ends and vasodilation begins as the swimmers start on a short trail run course laid out through the woods nearby (a Run-Through-The-Woods-To-Stay-Warm). At various places there will be candy bars; collect all 6 different types and this qualifies you to enter to win a planter full of Tulip bulbs.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.