September Successes!

September was a strong month with 10 successful solo swims and 2 successful relays. Jim McConica set a new time standard when he bettered former record holder, Evan Morrison’s year old Santa Cruz Island record. Jim waited to find the perfect day and his patience paid off. Jim has established a record which may stand the test of time. Julian Rusinek also had a notable swim when became the first person to swim from San Miguel Island to Santa Rosa Island. Congratulations to all our September swimmers.

• On 9/13, Tamie Stewart recorded the 37th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. She finished in 6:51:57
• On 9/13, Jim McConica recorded the 37th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. He finished in 6:51:57
• On 9/13, Tom Ball recorded the 39th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. He finished in 6:58:57
• On 9/14, Scott Tapley recorded the 40th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. He finished in 10:53:10
• On 9/19, Theo Schmeeckle recorded the 41st swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. He finished in 6:42:18

• On 9/19, Stacey Warmuth recorded the 41st swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. She finished in 6:42:18
• On 9/20, Jim McConica recorded the 11th swim from Santa Cruz Island to mainland. He finished in 8:59:58 and established a new time record.
• On 9/21. Julian Rusinek recorded the 1st swim from San Miguel Island to Santa Rose Island. Although the channel is only 3.5 nautical miles, it is a treacherous body of water. Julian’s time was 2:55:25
• On 9/24, Jim Neitz recorded the 43rd swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. He finished in 7:02:40.
• On 9/28, 2 relay teams called “Aged Chum” and “Live Bait” swam from Santa Cruz Island to mainland. Their time was 12:13:56. Relay members were: (Aged Chum) - Scott Zornig, Michael Sullivan, Lisa Nordholm, Kevin Seres, Rob Dumouchel and Lynn Kubasek. (Live Bait)- Julian Rusinek, Theo Schmeeckle, Peter Hayden, Natalie Merrow, Kelley Schall and Carol Hayden
• On 9/29, Tanya MacLean from Canada, recorded the 44th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland. She finished in 11:41:00

New Green Policy Adopted by SBCSA

The SBCSA has recently adopted a new policy to address potential littering and environmentally destructive behavior by our swimmers. While some will argue that marathon swimming in itself is not an eco-friendly sport (as with all sports), we can still do our part to keep our waterways clean and free of debris.

In The SBCSA’s efforts to be green, our new policy reads:

The swimmer and crew may not intentionally pollute the ocean with trash or debris (including but not limited to feed cups and gel packs) at any point during the swim.

Of course, we desire to keep our rules to a minimum, but believe this is a necessary policy which must be followed. We cannot put marathon swimming over the health of Mother Nature…and who wants to swim through a trash pile anyway? Let’s keep it clean so future generations of marathon swimmers can enjoy our sport.

SBCSA Awards Banquet is Saturday, November 2nd

Once again, the SBCSA will be holding our annual awards and recognition banquet on the same day and in the same city as the CCSF which allows marathon swimmers to attend both banquets. As in past years, the CCSF banquet will be in the morning while the SBCSA will have an evening dinner. There will be a fun, social swim between the two banquets. Here is the schedule for the day.

CCSF banquet - 10am to 2pm
Open Water Social Swim (Cabrillo Beach) – 3pm to 4pm
SBCSA banquet 5:30pm – 8pm

The SBCSA’s banquet will be held at Raffaello Ristorante in San Pedro, California. The cost is $25.00 per person (no host bar) or $18.75 for SBCSA lifetime members. If you plan to attend, please send a check made payable to the SBCSA by October 31st to:

Please mail checks to:

SBCSA % Scott Zornig
1 Rockrose Court
Coto de Caza, CA 92679

Restaurant address:

Raffaello Ristorante
400 S. Pacific Avenue
San Pedro, CA 90731

Please include the names of the guests in your party. We look forward to seeing you in November.

Interesting Facts About Santa Rosa Island

Santa Rosa is forty miles from Ventura; 26.5 miles from the nearest mainland; three miles east of San Miguel Island and six miles west of Santa Cruz Island.

Santa Rosa is the second largest island in California. Approximately 15 miles wide by 10 miles long; 84 square miles; 53,000 acres.

The average rainfall-15 inches.

The oldest human remains in North America, dating to 13,000 B.C., were discovered in 1959 on Santa Rosa Island

Soledad Peak is island’s tallest peak at 1,574 ft.

The United States Air Force maintained a radar base on the island during the Cold War

Six endemic plant species occur only on Santa Rosa Island.

Santa Rosa Island is home to only three native terrestrial mammals-the island fox, island spotted skunk, and island deer mouse. They are all endemic to the Channel Islands.

Reptiles and amphibians include the alligator lizard, Baja California tree frog, and three endemic species-the island gopher snake, island fence lizard, and Channel Islands slender salamander.