The inaugural Ocean Challenge proved to be a great success with seven local teens swimming across Boundary Bay in under four hours.
The 12.1 kilometre trek on Sunday culminated five months of open water swimming for national and provincial level athletes with the Winskill Dolphins Swim Club.
Their training had come to an abrupt end when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of the Winskill Aquatic Centre back in March. Ocean swim sessions started a couple weeks later at Centennial Beach and the swimmers began to build up their endurance, leading up to the Ocean Challenge.
The high tide water conditions Sunday morning were idyllic which was not only good for the swimmers but the parent support team that were in boats and kayaks. The first group left from Crescent Beach’s Sullivan Point at 6:38 a.m. and was followed by the second at 7 a.m.
Early in the swim, the kids encountered large patches of seaweed which made swimming very difficult. There were also a number of seal sightings including one that came very close to three of the swimmers.
As the kids got closer to the Boundary Bay boat ramp, they were cheered on by kayakers and paddle boarders that learned of the swim from an Optimist article in the Sept. 3 edition.
On the shore were about 30 more people to welcome them to the “home.”
The finishing times ranged from just three hours and six minutes to four hours which was much faster than originally anticipated.
Completing the Boundary Bay trek were:Naomi Cole (17) Isabel Rapier (15), Yinan Zhu (15), Kelly Qi (12), Caitlyn Fowler (12), Calvin Slinn (17) and Jeremy Slinn (14).
