Cadiz (Robben Island) Freedom Swim 2009 - Video

Freedom Swim 2008

In South Africa the 27th April is a commemorative public holiday, Freedom Day. It's a day when we remember the miracle of our first democratic elections in 1994.
This day is also quickly becoming synonymous with the Freedom Swim. Billed as the extreme cold water swim in the world, there will be close to 110 solo swimmers and, at last count 19 teams making cold crossing from Robben Island to Blouberg beach.
Those making the crossing will be adhering to the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association and Channel rules, which means all swimmers (besides a few relay teams) are only permitted to wear a basic swimming costume, cap and goggles. With the current temperatures in the bay ranging between 10 and 13 degrees celsius, the challenge of the 7.5km distance pales into insignificance compared to the fight against the cold.
The organisers reserve the right to postpone the swim to Sunday should the conditions be too dangerous, however looking at the weather predictions, this seems unlikely this year. The swimmers are due to leave the island at 10am and will take between 90mins and 3 hours to make the crossing. This year spectators will be entertained on the beach with events taking place while waiting for the swimmers.

Once again the event's primary sponsor is Cadiz Financial Strategy Group, with all the proceeds in aid of the Vista Nova School for special needs children. The aim is to raise at least R75 000-00 and judging on the continual upward curve of the number of entries this target should be reached with ease.

Finally, it must be said that Eishman has been roped into swimming for Team Bouyancy! Eish!! what was I thinking?
Once thawed I will post on the experience.
You will also be able to follow the progress of some of the swimmers at SportsTrack.net

Related post : Freedom Swim 2007

Swimming with dolphins

The video below was taken on the 22nd December last year. Graham Grindley-Ferris was attempting a Robben Island double swim, and taking strain when a pod of dolphins accompanied him for around 1km, giving him the motivation to complete the gruelling 15km swim.



For the full story click here.

Freedom Swim Postponed till tomorrow

[Update : Well done to Tyron (big win) & Natalie (Just edging out Carina) on your wins. Click here for the full results]

High swells & general extreme weather conditions have forced the organisers of the Freedom Swim to postpone the race to tomorrow, 28th April, @ 10:15am. Let's hope the conditions clear and the water warms a bit.

Previous post : Freedom Swim 2007

If you are sitting in your warm home tomorrow and would still like to "watch" the race you can do so online. 6 GPS tracking devices are being placed on the boats of the top 5 swimmers and one other swimmer. Below is how & where to do this.

1. Login to www.sportstrack.net
2. Click on the login button at the top right corner of the home page
3. At the login screen – click on “Guest Login”
4. When entering the live site – you will see a menu of tacking devices on the left hand menu
5. You will see a map of Table bay and dots + names for each swimmer
6. The dots position will be refreshed every few seconds