Congratulations to the Class of 2015

We finished the year with 12 successful swims out of 15 attempts. As a percentage, this was our best year for completed swims. We also had seven firsts and one speed record this season. Please join our past swimmers, lifetime members, families and friends as we honor the class of 2015 at the SBCSA awards banquet.

Solo Swims

• Samantha Allen – 58th swim around Anacapa Island 6/5/15
• Sarah Green – 59th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland 8/29/15
• Natalie Merrow – 1st swim around Santa Barbara Island 9/1/15. First
• Michelle Poole – 60th swim from Anacapa Island to mainland 9/12/15
• Peter Hayden – 2nd swim around Santa Barbara Island 9/17/15 First Male
• Peter Hayden – 1st swim from Santa Barbara Island to Catalina Island 9/17/15 First
• Alex Honor – 61st swim from Anacapa Island to mainland 9/19/15
• Robin Rose – 62nd swim from Anacapa Island to mainland 10/3/15

Relay Swims

• Irvine Novaquatics (Brandon Bass, Megan Merlihan, Karsten Johnson, Mo Bourdi, Jessica Moore, Chris Mykkanen ) 17th relay swim from Santa Cruz Island to mainland 8/10/15. Speed Record
• Arch Academy Zombie Patrol A (Cheryl Zak, Wesley Metcalfe, Matthew Gregory, Kaylee Kussman, John Allcock, Lauren Weinreb) 1st swim from Santa Barbara Island to Anacapa Island 9/24/15. First
• Arch Academy Zombie Patrol B (Diana Linney, Paul Lindberg, Zach Irvine, Faith Irvine, CJ Fotinos, Noah Rowan) 1st swim Santa Barbara Island to Anacapa Island 9/24/15. First
• The Deep Enders (Jim McConica, Thomas Ball, John Chung, Tamie Stewart, Stacey Warmuth, Zach Jirkovsky) 1st swim from San Nicolas Island to mainland 10/13/15. First

October Successes

There were two successful swims in October. On October 3rd, Robin Rose swam from Anacapa Island to mainland in a time of 9:39:30. Robin was greeted with flat, warm water with a slight current. Robin can lay claim to have completed the 62nd swim between Anacapa and the mainland.

On October 13th, The Deep Enders from Ventura, California consisting of Jim McConica, Thomas Ball, John Chung, Tamie Stewart, Stacey Warmuth and Zach Jirkovsky completed the first relay swim from San Nicolas Island to mainland in a time of 33:37:26. The water started out at 70 degrees and reached a record temperature of 79 degrees at one point during the swim. The water was flat and the team experienced excellent conditions throughout the swim.

The Deep Enders’ San Nicolas swim garnered national attention with articles in the New York Times before and after their successful swim!

From the mailbag…

The SBCSA strives to ensure all our swimmers have a positive experience. So it warms our heart when we receive a letter from a satisfied swimmer.

Dear Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association Board members,
 
I wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. From the moment that I received a response from my initial email to you, I felt that I was welcome with open arms.
 
The entire process felt like we were all in this together.  I appreciate the emails from Scott and Evan guiding me to the next step. I received phone calls from both Dave and Jane explaining the process and updating me on conditions. I was so happy and felt safe the whole swim with Jane as my observer. She is an awesome person!
 
I can't speak highly enough about your super informative website, to the personal contact and attention I received.
 
I am looking forward to the upcoming SBCSA banquet and hope to thank everyone in person.
 
Sincerely,
Robin Rose