Swimmer finishes first island-to-island trek

By Nan Kappeler, Correspondent, VENTURA COUNTY STAR
Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Ultra-marathon swimmer Scott Zornig, 48, of Coto de Caza became the first person to complete the six-mile swim between Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands on Sunday.

Zornig's arrival onto Smuggler's Beach at Santa Cruz Island at 10:28 a.m. surprised several beach campers when he emerged from the 59-degree water. Despite the powerful 6-8-foot swells and gusty 25-knot winds, he finished the swim in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 44 seconds.

"This is the most difficult swim I have completed," said Zornig, who also holds the course time record for the 12-mile swim between Anacapa Island and Ventura. "At times, the waves were coming over my head, making me feel like I was surfing. Other times, I felt like the Andrea Gail ship in the book, The Perfect Storm."

A four-member support crew included Orange County residents Lynn Kubasek, Kerry Freeman, John Kappeler and Arroyo Grande resident Erin Reed, and a paddling guide kayak to assist Zornig and supply nourishment.

The group left the Ventura Harbor on Sunday at 6 a.m. aboard the 42-foot support boat, the Tuna Thumper. Powerful wind gusts and strong currents immediately raised doubts about the swim.

After checking the predicted water and wind conditions for the day, boat captain Bob Andrieux suggested that because of the high winds blowing from Southeast to Northwest, reversing the swim to start at Anacapa.

"Going south to north, with the current, would be the only way to complete this swim," he said.

"My worry was that it would be hard to get a rhythm with the big waves coming over me," Zornig said.

Zornig's accomplishments include an 18-mile swim around Manhattan Island, N.Y., and a 21-mile swim from Santa Catalina Island to Long Beach.

Minutes after reaching the northern end of Anacapa Island, Zornig made the decision to go. He quickly applied generous amounts of Vaseline to his underarms and inner-thigh area before entering the water at 8:10 a.m, wearing just a nylon swim brief. Andrieux recorded the water temperature at 59 degrees and a 60-degree air temperature.

"The water was a few degrees colder than I expected, but I had the training in and was confident at the time that I could finish," Zornig said.

About one hour into the swim, Zornig shouted for food between arm strokes. But just minutes earlier, rough surf had rolled the support kayak and lost the food bags. As the crew scrambled to find more nourishment on the boat, Andrieux struggled to keep the boat idle in one position.

Support swimmer Erin Reed, a top-ranked triathlete, returned to the boat for more food.

Large waves pushed the from boat side to side, making it difficult and dangerous for Reed to reach the food.

"These are the roughest conditions I have ever swum in," said Reed, who swam alongside Zorning for several miles, outfitted in a full wetsuit and double bathing caps.

After reaching Smuggler's Beach, Zornig returned to the water and stroked another 400 yards back to the boat. Three people lifted his chilled body onto the boat. Warm blankets and hot tea were immediately given to him to restore his core body temperature.

The idea to swim from island to island is part of a "dream" Zornig had many years ago to complete a swim from each of the eight Channel Islands to the mainland. To date, he has completed three — Catalina, Anacapa and San Clemente in a relay-style team.

"I've encountered all the conditions today before, but never at the same time. But the conditions I thought were working against me, actually helped propel me across the channel," Zornig said.

"I would have never taken the boat out had I known the conditions," said Andrieux. "But fortunately, the current worked in his favor."