Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Peter Bales, one of the founding members of the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association (CLDSA), is one of those legends of the sport whose personality, energy and dedication have been greatly appreciated by generations of swimmers. Bales is now 73 years old and is still swimming and piloting with gusto.
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Michael Oram (English Channel), Rafael Gutiérrez Mesa (Strait of Gibraltar), Quinten Nelson (North Channel), Greg Elliott (Catalina Channel), Captain Mizushima (Tsugaru Channel), Bob Andrieux (Santa Barbara Channel), and Charlie Gravett (Jersey) are well-known mariners of the world's most challenging open
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
Ned Denison completes swim across False Bay in South Africa
Ned Denison gave himself a Christmas present by flying to the shark's den of False Bay in South Africa. Instead of merely sight-seeing and vacationing as others do, Denison decided to plunge in the treacherously dangerous waters and swim 20 miles across False Bay. His start time was early Sunday morning. His swim is being covered live by Owen O'Keefe on
Smiling through the pain is what Cecilia Schutte does...and does very well. Her smile masks the pain brought upon by jellyfish stings and the discomfort of cold water doses in marathon amounts. The 33-year-old social worker who recently completed an unprecedented triple circumnavigation of Robben Island in 12 hours 23 minutes and earlier won the Gordon
Capetonian Cecilia Schutte, the first South African woman to swim an Ice Mile‚ successfully completed a triple 33 km circumnavigation around Robben Island in 12 hours 23 minutes, three times around the renowned heritage site. In 2011, she did her Ice Mile and a longer 23 km charity swim from Big Bay beach around Robben Island and back. In 2012, she decided
"The grail of long swims in South Africa is from Robben Island to the mainland - either Three Anchor Bay or Blouberg," claims Theodore Yach. "All I wanted was to get to that damn beach. I really didn't want to be out there. I didn't think it was fun," says Terry Griffin. "Not everyone may finish the race and not everyone can complete it solo (no wetsuit),
Varada Dharmadhikari started her week by swimming 10 km from Robben Island to Three Anchor Bay in South Africa in 13-14°C water in 3 hours 12 minutes. Four days later, she completed the 2.5 km Around The Rocks Extreme Swim and then completed an 18 km swim around Robben Island to Bloubergstrand. "I was amazed to witness her temperament," Peter Bales, the
