October Newsletter

Greetings, swimmers and swimfans!

Tickets to our annual banquet are now available at santabarbarachannelswim.org/banquet. We’ll honor our 2017 swimmers over dinner at Ports O’Call Waterfront Dining in San Pedro on Saturday, November 4. Per tradition, this is the same day, same town as the CCSF banquet.

Discounted tickets are available for SBCSA Lifetime Members and anyone who attempted a SBCSA-sanctioned solo or relay swim in 2017. Prices go up October 25, so please RSVP by next Tuesday for the best deal!

See you November 4!

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September/October Swim Successes

From mid-September to mid-October, the SBCSA observed eight successful swims out of nine attempts - one of the better months in our organization’s history.

Four swimmers completed the 12.2-mile swim from Anacapa Island to Oxnard: Steven Dalke, Alice Ma, Karina Garcia, and Linda Simons. They became the 62nd, 63rd, 64th, and 65th individuals to cross this channel.

Karina’s swim was a new women’s record for fastest swim between Anacapa Island and the mainland - 5 hours, 28 minutes. Nicely done!

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On September 26-27, Dan Simonelli completed an unprecedented stage swim between each of the four northern Channel Islands:

• San Miguel Island to Santa Rosa Island: 3.6 miles in 2 hr 30 min.
• Santa Rosa Island to Santa Cruz Island: 5.8 miles in 4 hr 5 min (with 3 hr 39 min rest after the previous swim).
• Santa Cruz Island to Anacapa Island: 4.7 miles in 2 hr 15 min (with 5 hr 56 min rest after the previous swim). New course record.

Each of these “mini channels” had no more than 3 previous documented swims before Dan’s - so the swimmer, pilots, observers, and paddler all shared in the exciting feelings of exploring rarely swum waters and seeing remote parts of these beautiful islands.

(R-L) Evan Morrison, Capt. Dawn Brooks, Dan Simonelli, Guy Morgan, Dave Van Mouwerik, Capt. Todd Griswold, Mike Hopper.

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In another unprecedented feat, a relay team consisting of Claudia Rose, Carol-lynn Swol, Louise Darlington, Jeannie Zappe, Michelle Premeaux McConica, and Diana Corbin completed an epic circumnavigation of Santa Cruz Island. Team “Selkie & the Sirens” completed this scenically stunning 54-mile swim - past pristine coves, deserted beaches, and cavernous sea caves - in 39 hours, 58 minutes. Jane Cairns and Paula Selby observed the swim aboard the Peace dive boat (which had a jacuzzi! – see below).

New Lifetime Members

A warm welcome to the SBCSA’s newest Lifetime Members, Linda Simons of Temple City, California; and Louise Hyder-Darlington of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

Linda Simons

Linda began swimming at the age of 4 and soon after joined an age group swim team in the San Gabriel Valley. She swam on the club team through high school and also competed for Temple City High School and Cal State Los Angeles (Linda Mulkey). She continued to coach swimming and water polo for the next 30 years. In 2014, when her youngest children left for college she joined Cal Tech Masters and began swimming with them. She participated in the optional swim meets and in the summer of 2014 joined the team for some open water competitions. She was hooked and the area of open water swimming and marathon swimming has become her passion.

Louise Hyder-Darlington

Louise grew up jumping and dodging the waves of the southern New Jersey seashore. Now an academic librarian with two grown children, Louise’s first official open water event was the Statue of Liberty Swim in New York City in 2013. Since then she has continued developing her passion for open water swimming, participating in English Channel, Catalina, and Manhattan relays, and becoming a certified USMS coach and Adult Learn to Swim instructor.

“Open water swimming simply happened in my life. I was not looking for it, but it found me and I am eternally grateful for this gift.”

Thank you, Linda and Louise, for your generosity in supporting marathon swimming in the Channel Islands!