Thank God It’s Friday
With the average age of open water swimmers estimated to be 36 years old (based on an analysis of the results of 30 large mass participation open water swims on 5 continents), it is safe to assume that many of these adult swimmers enjoy all kinds of beverages at the appropriate times.
If open water swims were the equivalent of cocktail drinks, what would they be? Thinking imaginatively, this is what the global open water swimming community came up with on the first round (of drinks).
1. English Channel = Pimm’s No. 7
2. Catalina Channel = Luau Larry’s Hat Drink
3. North Channel = James Joyce Cocktail (Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, triple sec, fresh lime juice)
4. Straits of Florida = rum and coke
5. Strait of Gibraltar = Scotch on the Rock(s)
6. Molokai Channel = mojito (white rum, sugar cane juice, lime juice, sparkling water and mint
7. Tsugaru Channel = sake
8. Cook Strait = icy cold gin and tonic (cold, crisp, clean)
9. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim = Manhattan (top shelf, of course)
10. Maui Channel = Mai Tai (rum, Curaçao liqueur, lime juice)
11. Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean = Bloody Caesar (vodka, tomato juice, clam broth, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ice)
12. Farallon Islands = Fuzzy Shark (Blue Curacao, Peach Schnapps, orange juice, ice)
13. Lake Baikal = Dirty vodka martini (vodka, dry vermouth, olive brine)
14. Bering Strait = Ice Bomb (blue raspberry vodka, orange vodka, vodka, Sprite soda)
15. Rottnest Channel = The Darwin stubby
16. Alcatraz Island = Tommy’s Margarita (lime wedge, Kosher salt, ice, reposado tequila, lime juice, agave nectar)
Of course, some swimmers suggest that the community should make up its own drinks with ingredients relative to each open water swim. For example, a Molokai Express (created as a result of the decades of swimmers trying to cross the Molokai Channel) might be lemonade, Grey Goose 2x, 1x alize curacao, just to get the color of the channel in the drink. And cold water swims can lean more towards the hot drinks, warm cider, and coffee.
PLEASE NOTE: DRINKING AND SWIMMING SHOULD NEVER MIX. ALL CHANNEL CROSSINGS AND MARATHON SWIMS EXPRESSLY FORBID THE USE OF ALCOHOL BY SWIMMERS, CREW, AND PILOTS.
Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association 
If open water swims were the equivalent of cocktail drinks, what would they be? Thinking imaginatively, this is what the global open water swimming community came up with on the first round (of drinks).
1. English Channel = Pimm’s No. 7
2. Catalina Channel = Luau Larry’s Hat Drink
3. North Channel = James Joyce Cocktail (Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, triple sec, fresh lime juice)
4. Straits of Florida = rum and coke
5. Strait of Gibraltar = Scotch on the Rock(s)
6. Molokai Channel = mojito (white rum, sugar cane juice, lime juice, sparkling water and mint
7. Tsugaru Channel = sake
8. Cook Strait = icy cold gin and tonic (cold, crisp, clean)
9. Manhattan Island Marathon Swim = Manhattan (top shelf, of course)
10. Maui Channel = Mai Tai (rum, Curaçao liqueur, lime juice)
11. Traversée Internationale du lac St-Jean = Bloody Caesar (vodka, tomato juice, clam broth, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ice)
12. Farallon Islands = Fuzzy Shark (Blue Curacao, Peach Schnapps, orange juice, ice)
13. Lake Baikal = Dirty vodka martini (vodka, dry vermouth, olive brine)
14. Bering Strait = Ice Bomb (blue raspberry vodka, orange vodka, vodka, Sprite soda)
15. Rottnest Channel = The Darwin stubby
16. Alcatraz Island = Tommy’s Margarita (lime wedge, Kosher salt, ice, reposado tequila, lime juice, agave nectar)
Of course, some swimmers suggest that the community should make up its own drinks with ingredients relative to each open water swim. For example, a Molokai Express (created as a result of the decades of swimmers trying to cross the Molokai Channel) might be lemonade, Grey Goose 2x, 1x alize curacao, just to get the color of the channel in the drink. And cold water swims can lean more towards the hot drinks, warm cider, and coffee.
PLEASE NOTE: DRINKING AND SWIMMING SHOULD NEVER MIX. ALL CHANNEL CROSSINGS AND MARATHON SWIMS EXPRESSLY FORBID THE USE OF ALCOHOL BY SWIMMERS, CREW, AND PILOTS.
Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association
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.
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