Thursday, August 27, 2015

VI Endurance hosts Nanaimo Ocean Swim

Ocean Swim Attracts 54 Entrants

A Nanaimo endurance race company is hosting the second Nanaimo Ocean Swim and SUP Race this weekend on Newcastle Island.

VI Endurance is the brainchild of Matthew Lamb who moved with his family to Nanaimo in 2012 after spending 14 years as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed in Winnipeg. It was there he worked with a friend who organized trail races and got a taste for race directing.

His company specializes in putting on small, high quality events which he believes will make Nanaimo an endurance race destination. 

The Nanaimo Ocean Swim is a 2km, 4km & 11km swim starting and ending on Newcastle Island, Nanaimo BC.

The 2km swim will be an out and back from the main beach in Newcastle Island. The 4km swim will be around Protection Island. The 11km swim will take swimmers around both Newcastle and Protection islands. 

The race courses have been designed around the way the tides work. For 80% of the 11km and 4km swims swimmers will get a push from the incoming tide; so they wind up having quite a fast race. That being said, it will be a tough race this year because the forecast is calling for rain and winds of 18kph and the water temperature is expected to be around 16C. 

The inaugural race saw 10 racers last year and this year has exploded to 54 entrants. There are 12 people doing the marathon swim with 4 of them following channel rules.  The 4km race has 25 entries and the 2km has 16. The combination of contestants, armada of kayaks, SUPers and power boats will mean at least 80 people on the water this Saturday.

The swimmers have come from all over Canada with the farthest coming all the way from Ottawa. A large contingent of Americans come from Washington State. A combination of a few first timers and many experienced open water swimmers gives this race a unique feel. 

This year there will be a 2km pre-swim on the Friday before the race and a post-race dinner at a local restaurant. 

To learn more about this and other events hosted by VI Endurance visit their website HERE.




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