Quim Siles i Borràs - Gulf of Roses
Roses to L'Escala
15.6 km (9.7 miles)
5 hours, 58 minutes on 20 July 2024
Observed and documented by Laia Martínez i Puigdomènech
Contents
Swimmer
- Name: Quim Siles i Borràs
- Gender: male
- Age on swim date: 53
- Nationality: Spain
- Resides: Albons (Girona), Catalonia, Spain
Support Personnel
- Marc Vinyes i Colomer - Kayaker, head of operations, was in charge of the ‘expedition’ and had the task of ‘feeding’ the swimmer. He also assisted the Observer all through the swim.
Observer
Laia Martínez i Puigdomènech
Qualified triathlon referee with the Catalan and Spanish Triathlon Federations. She has acted as referee in numerous triathlon official competitions in the area. Competitive swimmer up to University level at national level. She has also taken, and still takes, part in Open Water Swimming races of up to 10 k distances. She has also completed unassisted 10 k swims, however in group and without observers.
Escort Vessel
Double kayak paddled by observer and feeder.
Swim Parameters
- Category: Solo, nonstop, unassisted.
- Rules: MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming, without exception or modification.
- Equipment used: Textile swimsuit (Decathlon briefs), cap, goggles.
Route Definition
- Body of Water: Golf de Roses
- Route Type: one-way
- Start Location: One of the beaches of the town of Roses, just opposite to the citadelle (Ciutadella de Roses) (42.264722, 3.168611)
- Finish Location: Center of L’Escala, specifically in a small cove called \“El port d’en Perris"”. (42.1264757, 3.1353287)
- Minimum Route Distance: 15.6 km (9.7 miles) (map)
History
Openwaterpedia lists this route with the name "Roses-L’Escala" (15.5 km). Two swimmers have swum this stretch (Montserrat Tresserras i Dou in 1957 and Miquel Sunyer i Comalat in 2009). These two solo crossings took a slightly different swimming route from mine, as in both cases they departed from the Port of Roses and finished in the Port of L’Escala.
Swim Data
- Start: 20 July 2024, 07:14:00 (Europe/Madrid, UTC1).
- Finish: 20 July 2024, 13:12:57
- Elapsed: 5 hours, 58 minutes, 57 seconds.
Summary of Conditions
| Feature | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Water Temp (C) | 23 | 24 |
| Air Temp (C) | 24 | 33 |
| Wind (knots) | 0 | 11.2 E |
GPS Track
Trackpoint frequency: 15 minutes. Download raw data (CSV).
Speed Plot
Nutrition: See observer log.
Observer Log
Swimmer Statement
by Quim Siles i Borràs
The Gulf of Roses, located in the Northeast of the coast of Catalonia (Spain) (see Gulf of Roses - Wikipedia), has been swum by many swimmers over the years. In the first place, there is evidence of 2 solo ratified crossings by two well-known Catalan swimmers, Montserrat Tresseras in 1957 and Miquel Sunyer in 2009, as listed by Openwaterpedia (see Roses-L’Escala - Openwaterpedia). Secondly, and according to oral accounts and witnesses, the Gulf has been also swum by many other swimmers (me amongst them), mainly in groups of 2 or 3 swimmers at least, both with wetsuits and skins. However, and unfortunately, I have not been able to find any written accounts of any of these crossings and none of them has been ratified by any organisation. We do not know either if any of these crossings were made following any regulations. Also, over the last 10 years, two races have been organized. About 30 swimmers took part in the first race, most of whom arrived in L’Escala. The second race started in Roses but had to be cancelled half-way through, and swimmers had to be evacuated, due to strong winds and bad weather. There are also oral accounts of other swimmers crossing the Gulf in previous years, from the 1950s. Rumour has it too that at the beginning of the 20th Century, every month of August, coinciding with the local festival in the town of L’Escala, some young men were taken to Roses and swam to L’Escala. Again, there is no evidence whatsoever of this.
It is precisely this lack of concrete evidence that inspired me to swim the Gulf of Roses again, this time as a solo crossing and under MSF regulations. My aim was double. In the first place, I wanted to give all these ‘anonymous’ swimmers who along the years have crossed the Gulf, sometimes in dangerous conditions due to battering winds and huge swells, and most times with very little support or perhaps none at all, the recognition they deserve. To me, they are the real open Water Swimmers, real adventures and explorers of the sea. I would like to think that even though most of these swimmers’ names have vanished, or one day will vanish forever from any human memory, and unfortunately we will never get to hear or read their personal accounts and experiences, their strokes have been left imprinted in the waves and winds that brush and batter the Gulf of Roses every day. My swim is dedicated to all of them. My second motivation was to put the swimming route on the map to attract other swimmers to come and swim here too. Even though it is a relatively short route (between 15,5 and 17,5 km depending on the exact spot of departure and arrival), the wind (both the North wind and the southeast wind) play an important role at different times of the year, making the crossing sometimes pleasurable and other times impossible, but always interesting and exciting.
I had been planning this swim for a while. During the winter months I trained 5/6 days a week in the municipal 25 m swimming-pool of L’Escala, swimming between 20,000 and 30,000 meters every week. From Spring I started training in the sea, covering distances from 2,000 m to 11,000 m per training session.
The swim as such went well enough, even though I made some mistakes from which I’d like to learn for futures swims. Mainly, I set off 1 hour too late, and what was to be a 4:30-5:00 swim turned into a 6-hour swim, mainly due to the South-Easterly winds (in Catalan we call it ‘Xaloc’) that come into the Gulf around 11.00 am nearly every day in summer. With 2 or 3 km to go more or less, the winds coming in from SE direction stopped me first from being able to swim at my own pace and a bit later made it even difficult for me to move forward or see where I was heading. This made me lose concentration and think too much about arriving instead of about simply swimming. Also due to the fact that the kayak found it difficult to keep close to me, I didn´t feed for the last 90 minutes, which did not help either. At the end, what was supposed to be the last 30 or 40 minutes of the swim turned into an hour and a half. Despite all this, I enjoyed the swim very much, so much so that I would be prepared to do it again sooner rather than later. Finally, I’d like to make it clear that this swim was 100% a team effort, and that without the support from Laia Martínez and Marc Vinyes I would have not been able to do it.
