Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ventura Deep Six Relay Team is Set to Break the World Record

A team of 6 swimmers from the Ventura County Masters (VCM) swim club will attempt a world record open water relay swim starting on September 16, 2010 at 6:00am. The “VCM Deep Six” team will attempt to swim continuously for a total of 202 statute miles. The event is being sanctioned by USMS organization (United States Masters Swimming) and will benefit the Buenaventura Swim Club.

The current world record for open water relay swimming is 78.2 statute miles, set at Lake Taupo, New Zealand in January 2009. A 6 person team completed a triple crossing of Lake Taupo in 33 hours 31 minutes. A San Francisco based team, Night Train Swimmers, attempted to set a new record in June of 2009 by swimming 157 miles across the Sea of Cortez but was stymied after 48 miles by unsafe weather conditions. In May 2010 a joint American and Mexican team again attempted a record in the Sea of Cortez but stopped after 64 miles due to severe jellyfish stings.

The official swim will start at the Ventura Harbor (Ventura, California)  on Thursday September 16th, 6:00 AM, proceed 26 miles Northwest to Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara where a team member will “Flip-turn” off a pier piling, then turn Southeast for 176 miles to finish at La Jolla Cove in San Diego. Depending on currents and other conditions the swim is expected to take 3 ½ days, with an arrival in La Jolla Cove sometime in the afternoon or evening of Sunday September 19th.