On Saturday, May 24 more than 300 people are expected to dive into the water at Maho Bay on St. John for the 11th annual Beach to Beach Power Swim hosted by Friends of V.I. National Park.
The swim kicks off around 8 a.m. with swimmers tackling one of three courses ranging from one mile to about three and a half miles. Swimmers can compete individually or as part of a three-person relay team, and each entrant also has the choice whether to swim with a mask and fins, in the “assisted” category, or without assistance.
The race’s accessibility is one of the main focuses of the swim, explained Friends of V.I. National Park Executive Director Joe Kessler who launched the race 11 years ago.
“I’ve been here about 13 years now and, when I first came, I helped out with the 8 Tuff Miles,” said Kessler. “I was very impressed with that and one of the things that impressed me was the accessibility of the race. It’s eight miles, up 1,000 feet and back. That can be daunting yet you have people of every ability doing it and it really encourages people.”
Inspiration for the Power Swim struck when Kessler was at Maho Bay one day, he explained.
“I saw people swimming and I thought, maybe we could do a long distance swim to celebrate two of the best features of the park: the beach and the water,” Kessler said. “After we kicked it off we had lot of support from the triathletes here who got involved with the planning. From the beginning, we devoted a lot of attention to making it good for them to compete while including as many people as we could.”
“Just like 8 Tuff Miles, you have people who are in it to win it,” Kessler said, “but people are largely there to do the best they can, to do better than last year or to try to keep up with their kids.”
Kessler said organizers are preparing for the largest field of swimmers yet this year, allowing 350 competitors to take to the waves at Maho Bay for the race. Since those swimmers can finish at Cinnamon Bay, a distance of about one mile, Trunk Bay, a distance of about two and a quarter miles, or Hawksnest Bay, a distance of about three and a half miles, race day logistics can be challenging, Kessler admitted.
“We’ll have 350 swimmers start on one beach and finish on one of three other beaches and then we have an awards party on a fifth beach,” he said. “The logistics are interesting and fun. And obviously there are challenges, but we have a lot of great community support and a lot of great sponsorship. The business community really comes out in a big way to support this.”
The day’s events run so smoothly in large part due to the 115 volunteers both on land and in the water, Kessler added.
Registration for the Beach to Beach Power Swim is $25 for youth under 17 and $50 for adults until May 22. The last day to register is May 23, when it will cost $50 for youth and $75 for adults. Registration will also close when 350 swimmers have signed up for the race. There will be no registration on race day.
All swimmers and especially first time racers are encouraged to attend a pre-race meeting at Cinnamon Bay Campground on May 23 at 3 p.m. On race day, swimmers must check in by 7:30 a.m. with the race expected to begin around 8.
Following the race, participants converge at Oppenheimer Beach for an Awards Party with food and drinks. And the fun doesn’t end there; Friends of VINP and Cruz Bay Watersports are teaming up to host a Power Swim Recovery Party boat trip to Jost Van Dyke on May 25.
The full-day trip costs $100 each and includes a morning snorkel stop, continental breakfast and beverages, and a full open bar after the snorkel aboard the Cruz Bay Watersports boats Island Spirit and Island Time. The boats will leave around 9 a.m. and return around 4:30 p.m. to the VINP Visitors Center.
Register for the Beach to Beach Power Swim at Friends of VINP Store and Connections on St. John, at Caribbean Surf Company on St. Thomas and SCUBA on St. Croix, online at www.friendsvinp.org/registration or by calling (340) 779-4940.
To register for the May 25 boat trip call Cruz Bay Watersports at (340) 776-6234 or email info@CruzBayWatersports.com.
