Ned Denison described first-hand his 20-mile False Bay Swim in December 2012: He was the fifth person in history to cross False Bay from Rooi Els to Miller's point in 11 hours 5 minutes under the guidance of escort pilot Arend Grondman. "I enjoy a blessing and a curse through my friendship with Kevin Murphy. The blessing includes an insight into his
Professional marathon swimmers travel the world to compete in a number of open water swimming competitions. With swimsuits and goggles always in their carry-on bags, and passports filled with visa stamps in different sizes, shapes, and colors, these swimmers fly hundreds of thousands of air miles to participate in open water swims on various
Samantha Cowen is not only an open water swimming newbie, but a true beginner to the world of aquatics. The popular Johannesburg DJ trains with Roger Finch who is helping her and her friend Caren Strydom train for Robben Island swim. "I swim with them at Wits University pool which is an outdoor 50 meter pool three times a week," describes Finch. "As the
> Every year there are close calls, emergencies, contingencies, accidents, heart-stopping escapes, near misses, unintended consequences, and deaths that occur in the open water community. These are illustrative opportunities for the open water swimming community to learn about and try to prevent at their own level and locale. Roger Finch tells of a scary
By all accounts, Kent Nicholas characteristically under-promised and spectacularly over-delivered at the 2nd annual S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge. While the first three days presented a variety of welcomed challenges to the international crew of swimmers amid ruggedly beautiful scenery, nothing could prepare the swimmers for the culmination of the event. The
As the international group of dozens of swimmers, kayakers, volunteers, and organizers hike their way to the Saguaro Lake in the desert oasis of Arizona, they have to deal with not only the desert footing, but also jet lag. Most of the field has either flown in not only from all around the world including Europe (Ned Denison) and Roger Finch (Africa), but
"Once I get going in the water, I am ready to go," explains Dave Barra who cracked a rib hiking down to the start of the first swim on Day One of last year's inaugural S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge. "I can withstand a lot. Besides the rib only hurt when I breathed." It is that kind of mentality that is pervasive - indeed almost mandatory - among the hardy
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. With so many individuals getting into open water swimming, especially members of the Baby Boom generation, certain designations like the Half Century Club and divisions over 50 years old are booming with new participants. From a downward perspective, the open water swimming community is improving is
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
While the Channel Swimming Association was honoring its heroes and heroines of the 2012 season in the Dover Town Hall, their Pacific Ocean colleagues of the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation were honoring its own champions at its annual banquet in San Pedro, California. The following swimmers and relays were officially ratified as members of the Catalina
