Awesome Looking Canadian Swim, 14 -15 km.

I haven't seen this mentioned before, but there is a charity/"tourist" swim of 14-15 km between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island that follows the Confederation Bridge across the Northumberland Strait. It's not a race and they don't enforce anything like MSF rules, but one could do it MSF-style, as that seems allowed. On top of that, the Northumberland Strait has some of the warmest ocean water temps in the Atlantic north of Virginia - typical is 65-70 degrees F and can get to 77 degrees F at times, so no cold water training needed. This year's swim is Sunday, 6 August. They limit it to 50, but I couldn't find anywhere that says if it's full or not. Judging by some of the pictures I saw, 50 seems wildly optimistic.

Link & more info: givetolive.ca/the-big-swim/register/

-LBJ

“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde

gregoctimsrootthelittlemerwookieswimrn62ViveBeneIronMikeAlicia110Jaimie

Comments

  • "Dangerous Website Blocked."

    Thanks, @Leonard_Jansen. I'll look around and see if there is more on the swim somewhere.

  • ViveBeneViveBene Member
    edited May 2017

    Googling yielded some info on past swims. From the Maritime Open Water Swims is this history of swims (and attempts) of the Northumberland Strait through 2015 (solo and the "Give to Live" swims Leonard notes):

    http://www.soloswims.com/MOWS.htm

    A pdf at the end of that screed describes a difficult one-armed swim by a diabetic swimmer:
    http://www.soloswims.com/alexander-2013.pdf

    The chart of her course gives one pause.
    Other tidbits I picked up:

    "The Northumberland Strait experiences predictable but irregular tides."

    "The frequency of jellyfish can be overwhelming."

    "Swimmer encountered unpredictable currents."

    Swimmers leave water because making no progress. Swimmers pushed off course.

    Apparently there are 5-mile and 15-mile swims in or near Halifax.

    Here is a cbc.ca story on the August 2016 swim (62 swimmers):
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/big-swim-proceeds-brigadoon-1.3720386

    It looks as though it is a charity swim, so perhaps the charity would have some info. Also, GivetoLive is on Facebook (per this article).

  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member
    Alicia110

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member

    Charity-mandatory swim. No thanks.

    evmothelittlemerwookiewendyv34ViveBenegregoc

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • Thanks, @dc_in_sf, for reminder that it was MSF's @JenA 's swim!
    (I thought I had read the account before, though it was still remarkable -- um, mind-boggling -- on a second read!)

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