Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Big, smooth displacements of water in the ocean - the rhythmic movement of ocean swells - can be used to your advantage while swimming in the coastal open water locations. Railroading is when a swimmer uses the power of large wind-generated waves or ocean swells to push them forward as they swim towards
Courtesy of Kane Kossew, Cape Town, South Africa. Theodore Yach swam his 99th Robben Island crossing on February 13th from Robben Island to Blouberg in 2 hours 40 minutes in 15ºC. "There were hectic currents," explains Yach. "My 100th crossing [Century Swim] will be the Robben Island to Three Anchor Bay route. As Peter Bales said to me in 1981, '3AB
It appears that Martin Goodman (shown on left), Roger Finch and Theodore Yach were railroading their way to Robben Island in Cape Town, South Africa with the use of some very decent-sized ocean swells at their backs. But as Finch describes, "The rollers were going in the opposite direction." Sometimes the open water is with you; sometimes it is against
Theodore Yach describes his latest rough water exploit in his 8 km swim around Cape Point. Watching the weather is a bit of a science – read obsession – for ocean swimmers in Cape Town so when I realised by Thursday evening that the weekend would be a great Robben Island to 3 Anchor Bay opportunity I tried to raise a crew. My plans came to nought when
Roger Finch, a member of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and the Half Century Club, lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. 1,263 miles from Cape Town and a large platoon of the South African extreme swimmers, ice swimmers, marathon swimmers and channel swimmers, Finch found it a tough task logistically to prepare for his channel swims in the
World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year nominee Brenton Williams completed another unprecedented butterfly ocean swim. He swam 11.5 km butterfly from 3 Anchor Bay to Robben Island in his native South Africa. The swim on one of the toughest butterfly courses in the world was ratified by the Cape Long Distance Swim Association. Freestyling through
"5-meter swells bashed the coast until Sunday night for the first time in April in living memory," explained Theodore Yach about last Sunday's postponed 5.3 km Atlantic Dash. "But we race this weekend." The first swim race from Clifton Fourth Beach to Three Anchor Bay will be limited to 20 elite swimmers on April 21st. The Atlantic Dash re-evaluated its
Theodore Yach announced that a limited group of 30 experienced swimmers will meet at 3 Anchor Bay tomorrow for a 5.4 km swim from Clifton back to 3 Anchor Bay in Cape Town, South Africa. "The route will follow the coast line and finish at slipway at 3 Anchor Bay," explains Yach. Sounds easy until he continues on. "Lifeguards will assist with water exit if
