Courtesy of Juan Carlo of Star staff offshore from California. It seems there are more and more offshore swims being attempted and completed increasingly in the Pacific Ocean and around the world. An offshore swim is defined as a swim in an open body of water where the start and finish is not part of a continent or on a mainland. These offshore swims
The Deep Enders Heading Towards The California Coast Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The Deep Enders are a group of ocean-loving adults from Ventura, California [see below]. Six of them are currently swimming from San Nicholas Island to Point Vicente on the California mainland, in an unprecedented attempt at swimming 70.1 miles (112.8
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. When a group of open water swimmers get together - for a training session or for a channel crossing - they always seem to rise to the occasion. Not all relays are always successful as the Night Train Swimmers have tried proven during their attempts to cross the Sea of Cortez, but the teams always seem to
Photos courtesy of Cyprus Israel Swim members who included Udi Erell, Doron Amosi, Ben Enosh, Ori Sela, Oded Rahav, and Luc Chetboun who swam 123 hours 10 minutes non-stop from Cyprus to Israel over a 5-day period between October 5th-10th to set the record for the longest open water swimming relay for a 6-person team. The progression of this 6-person relay
"I was working for a chiropractor after college and being a lifeguard on the weekends," said 26-year-old Lexie Kelly of Long Beach, California. "At the time when the economy was not all that great, it was fine because I love being outdoors and meeting people from all walks of life," recalls the California native. "I was getting in some pool workouts in the
If it involves water - fresh or salt, chlorinated or cold - Jim McConica is at the top of his game. As the swimming community collectively nodded its head in agreement, Swimming World Magazine announced the 62-year-old McConica as one of its Top 12 World Masters Swimmers of the Year. A world-class swimmer for over 40 years, McConica has set his share of
Ventura Deep Six's record breaking 202-mile 6-man ocean relay, non-stop for over 4 days was something to behold. Along the California coast in September 2010, the Ventura Deep Six team of Mike Shaffer, Jim McConica, Kurt Baron, Tom Ball, John Chung, and Jim Neitz set out on a journey like no other. And its footage is gorgeous. VD6 from Jim Martin All
East vs. west. North vs. South. Upstart vs. veteran. Male vs. female. Rivalries run rampant in any sporting community. But rivalries in the open water swimming world have a way to push individuals to step up their game and enable even more formidable accomplishments. In California, two marathon swimming groups - the Ventura Deep Six in the south and the
When open water swimmers challenge themselves to swim from one island to another, or to swim across a channel or to traverse from point A to point B, they are exposing themselves to nature in ways that runners, cyclists, mountaineers or adventure racers can barely imagine. And sometimes, it hurts. Hurts badly. The swimmer wears no protective armor; their
Nominations are being accepted for the 2011 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year. Please send nominations to the Nomination Committee here. Nominations are received and judged by experienced open water swimming commentators from five continents.The award is meant to honor the individual(s) who (1) best embody the spirit of open water swimming,
