CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2015 Relay of the Year

This discussion was created from comments split from: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2015 Yudovin Award for Most Adventurous Swim.

Comments

  • I am not sure if this is the right category for them but there was something magical about the relay The Old Men and the Sea - six octogenarians who crossed the Catalina Channel this summer. The photograph of them at the finish was wonderful - and somehow they all look to be in better shape than I am even given the 30 plus years difference in our ages. I figure when I am their age just getting out of bed will be an adventure.

    If nothing else, it was very inspirational and deserving of some kind of recognition.

    http://www.theoldmenandthesea.com

    evmoDanSimonelli[Deleted User]LynnkubScottZornigAnthonyMcCarleyJBirrrd
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    frnkdeb said:
    I am not sure if this is the right category for them but there was something magical about the relay The Old Men and the Sea

    Thanks @frnkdeb, and you are totally right, that was an incredible group of swimmers and very inspiring. We intended the Yudovin Award category to focus on solo swims, and your comment makes me realize we should have made that more explicit in the description. The call for nominations has been amended.

    We're not opposed to recognizing relays, but in contrast to WOWSA we want to avoid mixing solos & relays in the same category :) We could add a relay category if the community strongly favors it -- please comment here.

    JustSwim
  • If others agree I think a relay award would be a good addition. There were some amazing relay swims this year and it would be nice for them to get recognition.

    rosemarymintDanSimonelligregocemkhowleypavlicov
  • j9swimj9swim CharlestonSenior Member

    yes to a relay category!

    rosemarymintDanSimonelli
  • emkhowleyemkhowley Boston, MACharter Member

    I agree- a relay category would be a nice addition.

    Stop me if you've heard this one...
    A grasshopper walks into a bar...
    https://elainekhowley.com/

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited December 2015

    Looks like 7 votes so far in favor of a relay category, none against. So we'll add a relay category.

    Some simple guidelines - nominated relays should be observed and documented, and follow the generally accepted rules of marathon swimming.

    The Old Men & the Sea Relay obviously passes this test, as a CCSF-sanctioned swim.

    AnthonyMcCarley
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    To everyone who voted to add a Relay category: I assumed you had ideas for nominations?

    We will cancel the category if there are insufficient nominations.

  • I have a second nomination - Deep Enders relay - the first relay from San Nicolas Island to the mainland. Observed and documented by the SBCSA. Also got the attention of the NY Times.

    evmoDanSimonelliScottZornig[Deleted User]LynnkubAnthonyMcCarleyJBirrrd
  • SharkoSharko Tomales BayGuest

    The Monterey Bay Swimming Association round-trip Farallon relay was an impressive swim.

    evmoDanSimonelli

    "I never met a shark I didn't like"

  • emkhowleyemkhowley Boston, MACharter Member

    Sorry for the delay, needed to verify the time.

    I nominate the Mighty Mermaids for their 32.3-mile relay across Lake Pend Oreille in Northern Idaho, July 21-22. The swimmers were: Christie Ciraulo, 61, Los Angeles, CA; Jenny L. Cook, 57, Los Angeles, CA; Karen L. Einsidler, 59, Tenafly, NJ; Tracy Grilli, 58, Londonderry, NH; Veronica Hibben, 59, Huntington Beach, CA; and Nancy Steadman Martin, 61, Oceanport, NJ. The support crew included Eric Ridgway, Sunny Blende, Randy Hixon, Val and Jackie Kaspar, Doug and Lorraine Evans, Merman David Grilli, and Duke the Poodle. The Mermaids finished the swim in the wee hours of the morning after 14 hours, 19 minutes of swimming.

    What was especially remarkable about the swim was that moments before starting the swim, the propellor fell off the support boat. That led Eric to go diving in the lake trying to find it (which he somehow managed to do-- no small feat in a lake that drops off very quickly to a maximum depth of 1100 feet; I believe it's the 5th deepest lake in the U.S.) The swim starts from Buttonhook Bay at the southern end of the lake-- a remote wilderness area that had experienced a pretty bad wildfire in the week leading up to the swim. There were no suitable replacement parts in the immediate area, so one of the crew had to race to Coeur d'Alene to get the parts. In all, the team was grounded for about 8 hours until the parts could be procured and the repairs made. Undaunted, as soon as the prop was back on, they set off into the fading sunlight and completed most of the long swim in the dark.

    Congrats to these serial long distance relay swimmers. Can't see what their next adventure is!

    evmomjstaplesJustSwimrosemarymint

    Stop me if you've heard this one...
    A grasshopper walks into a bar...
    https://elainekhowley.com/

  • AnthonyMcCarleyAnthonyMcCarley Berwyn, PACharter Member

    Sorry for being late to the nomination party...

    I did not write this summary, but I believe all of it to be true.

    David Yudovin Memorial Catalina Channel Relays

    Before David passed away, he was taking the helm of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and making plans for having the IMSHOF sponsor swim events to generate public awareness and interest in marathon swimming while creating a revenue stream for the IMSHOF operations to continue.
    After he passed, David's wife, Beth, and Dan Simonelli took up the reins and moved his plan forward.
    In collaboration with Janel Jorgensen-McArdel, CEO-Swim Across America, the plan was set to pull together a Catalina Channel relay in memoriam to David and fundraise for City of Hope Cancer Research and Treatment Center, with which David had been personally and professionally involved for many years.

    As it turned out, the interest among swimmers to be a part of this grew quickly, and it ended up with 3 relays of 6 swimmers each swimming in sets of three together across the Catalina Channel on July 20-21 (incidentally, David's birthday!).
    The teams raised over $43,000 for City of Hope!
    Certainly, David would be proud.

    Some highlights:

    Beth kayaked, just as she'd done for David's many swims.

    One of the swimming triplets were greeted by a 8-10ft juvenile great white which circled them and swam underneath and then swam off.

    Rose pedals were sporadically tossed along the way across the Channel to honor David.

    Lynne Cox (a lifelong friend of David's) was part of the greeting party at the finish at Cabrillo Beach and gave the teams a few bags of David's favorite after swim treat, animal cookies!

    All in all, it was a very successful inaugural swim event for the IMSHOF and plans are moving forward to do more and continue David's legacy.

    malinakaDanSimonelligregocrosemarymint
  • DanSimonelliDanSimonelli San Diego CASenior Member
    edited December 2015

    I nominate Arch Academy Zombie Patrol.

    Arch Academy Zombie Patrol swim team has been on an open water swimming mission for the last few years which grew from swimming at La Jolla Cove monthly, then weekly, then 3x/wk.
    In 2014 they swam the Alcatraz Sharkfest event and then Catalina Channel relays.
    With their new found confidence, they asked, "what next?"

    So, in June 2015 they swam English Channel relays.
    Their biggest challenge was the significant difference in water temp going from San Diego's unusually warm winter water temps staying above 60F/16C all winter to EC in June! Water temps for their relays were around 54-57F. So, a great accomplishment in not giving in to the added challenge and discomfort and persevering through the swims to be successful.

    Again, they asked, "what next?"

    So, sights were set on doing a "First" within Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association.
    The swim course chosen couldn't have been more apropos:
    Santa Barbara Island Arch Point to Anacapa Island Arch Rock!
    41 miles of OPEN water (no land to be seen for most of the swim), and 27+ hours later they touched Anacapa Island to officially finish, and then both teams swam through Arch Rock together!

    It was a SBCSA "First" for relay or solo.
    (some photos HERE)

    And again, they asked, "what next?"
    Plans set for Molokai Channel 2016! :)

    rosemarymintpaulmchloemccardeldotcomevmoAnthonyMcCarleyJbetleySharko
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