rotto swim

the rottnest channel swim is a grueling 19.7km ocean swim, leaving cottesloe beach and heading due west to rottnest island, across large swells in shark-infested waters. not my idea of a fun time.

the rotto swim dates back to 1956, when some crazy dutchman decided that swimming the rottnest channel would be good times. he did it in 9h45m. there were a few other such races of similar nature after that, but it didn't become the race that perthites know and love until 1990. clearly, some people didn't think this race was the best idea.

this year, some 2300 swimmers took part in the event. approximately 230 of those were solo swimmers. yes, solo. as in, they swam across the ocean for 19.7km ON THEIR OWN! nuts. seriously. well, i suppose they do have their support crew, which all participants (solo or team) must have. this includes a boat and a kayaker, as well as any support crew the teams might need. there were approximately 200 people from out of state, and 50 of those were internationals.

the basic rules are as such: the first swimmer storms into the water off cottesloe beach and has a good 1.6km swim before they can meet up with their boat and kayaker. if they're part of a team, they can do whatever they want, as long as one person is always in the water and stays about 5m from the boat and 1-2m from the kayaker. if they're solo, well, then they never get to stop. including for food or water (they have to tread water, otherwise they get disqualified!) they're also not allowed to wear a wet-suit or anything else that might give them an ounce of boyancy. oh, and they have to dodge the hundreds of other competitors, boats and kayaks, all whilst trying to stay on course and not drift up the coast by accident!

i was at cott beach this year to watch the take-off. mostly because my friend julie was competing as part of a duo, but also because i've never seen it before and i heard it was cool. the beach was crowded with all sorts of people: swimmers, paddlers and fans. and the boats! from my vantage point, it looked like they formed a bridge all the way across the channel. i have never seen so many boats in one place!

the winner of the race, a solo male, finished in 4h31m. it makes me want to puke just thinking about it! any person who finishes the race as a solo swimmer can get a personalized license plate bragging about it. oh the thrill... the fastest competitors are inevitably a team of 4 boys, and this year the first place team finished in 4h18m (but i'm told that the swell came in quite strongly by the time the first team was able to take off from the beach, nearly 2 hours after the solo swimmers). i think the course record is something like 3h30m or something. foul.

needless to say, i can think of better things to be doing on my saturday mornings then swim through shark-infested waters, but it was pretty cool to watch. from land.
xo

http://www.rottnestchannelswim.com.au/