III MAR SILVESTRE "ARENALES DEL SOL" - ELCHE (Alicante Spain)
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On December 31st, some brave men and women gathered on the beach at 10 a.m., to take part in the third edition of "Mar Silvestre", held the "Eventos Deportivos Arenales del Sol" organization. There were around 100 registered swimmers, but in the end only 80 met on the shore.
Although the water temperature was 15ºC, the air temperature was only around 4ºC, with a freezing north wind. It was sunny, but a very cold atmosphere.
Early in the morning, not yet 8:30 a.m., the first swimmers arrived at the check-in point, near the start point. This time, the crossing was along the beach, with the finish line at a different point from the start point. In the beginning, the official route was of 2,000 metres, but finally we did around 1,700 metres only, because the intense wind made it necessary to shorten the race.
The look of the sea was singular -a deep blue-, and with an intense off shore wind, which caused a lot of foamies. A beautiful setting to swim in! Oh my God!!
Some of us approached the shore testing the sea temperature and, bit by bit, getting used to the cold water, before the start of the race. Three swimmers were bravest, because they swam the race without wetsuits, and they got to finish it with a big smile on their face!
Finally, the race started, and we went into the sea, very calm, because the crossing wasn´t competitive. The water was cold, but less than we expected. In fact, the temperature was colder out of the sea than inside. But the water was terribly murky because the days before were very windy too, and the sea had been very choppy.
We had some kayaks along the crossing because, despite not being a competitive race, the safety is still very important when you are swimming in the sea. On the shore, we had an ambulance and some policemen too. The race was modest but had first level safety measures. Thank you very much from us all!!
The winner was Roberto Soria, and in the second place was Darío Sánchez, only 15 years old. The personal best of both is unknown because it wasn´t a professional race, and we didn´t have chip.
Afterwards, the rest of the swimmers went out, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups of friends that swam together. All of them with a lot of laughs because it was more a meeting of friends than a professional race. The goal was to enjoy swimming in the last day of the year.
Curiously, when we were out of the sea, the wind calmed down, and we spent some time on the shore, making jokes with friends and talking about some the events of the race. But, after the jokes, we quickly went to our cars to take off our wetsuits and put on dry clothes because, although the day was very sunny, it was very cold too!
Finally, we had an appetizer with a typical dish called "caldo con pelotas". And, of course, a lot of photos with friends.
Definitely, a enjoyable day and a fun race, that year by year gathers more and more swimmers and friends in the last day of the year. The organizers were Eduardo Davó and Javier López Fontán, and they do better year by year. Thank you both from us all!!
We will see each other next december 31st. On the shore, of course!!
I hope you enjoyed this chronicle!
See you soon!
José María Galera
OWS Alicante
IV CROSSING AT THE PEÑON DE IFACH - CALPE (Alicante - Spain)
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On December 31st, some brave men and women gathered on the beach at 10 a.m., to take part in the third edition of "Mar Silvestre", held the "Eventos Deportivos Arenales del Sol" organization. There were around 100 registered swimmers, but in the end only 80 met on the shore.
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| The look of the sea was spectacular, with a deep blue |
Although the water temperature was 15ºC, the air temperature was only around 4ºC, with a freezing north wind. It was sunny, but a very cold atmosphere.
Early in the morning, not yet 8:30 a.m., the first swimmers arrived at the check-in point, near the start point. This time, the crossing was along the beach, with the finish line at a different point from the start point. In the beginning, the official route was of 2,000 metres, but finally we did around 1,700 metres only, because the intense wind made it necessary to shorten the race.
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| José M. Galera with his friend José Andrades before the race. |
The look of the sea was singular -a deep blue-, and with an intense off shore wind, which caused a lot of foamies. A beautiful setting to swim in! Oh my God!!
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| The swimmers testing the cold water, before the race |
Some of us approached the shore testing the sea temperature and, bit by bit, getting used to the cold water, before the start of the race. Three swimmers were bravest, because they swam the race without wetsuits, and they got to finish it with a big smile on their face!
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| The race starts, with a intense off shore wind |
Finally, the race started, and we went into the sea, very calm, because the crossing wasn´t competitive. The water was cold, but less than we expected. In fact, the temperature was colder out of the sea than inside. But the water was terribly murky because the days before were very windy too, and the sea had been very choppy.
We had some kayaks along the crossing because, despite not being a competitive race, the safety is still very important when you are swimming in the sea. On the shore, we had an ambulance and some policemen too. The race was modest but had first level safety measures. Thank you very much from us all!!
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| The three brave swimmers, ended the race without wetsuit |
The winner was Roberto Soria, and in the second place was Darío Sánchez, only 15 years old. The personal best of both is unknown because it wasn´t a professional race, and we didn´t have chip.
Afterwards, the rest of the swimmers went out, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups of friends that swam together. All of them with a lot of laughs because it was more a meeting of friends than a professional race. The goal was to enjoy swimming in the last day of the year.
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| I was very happy at the end of the race! |
Finally, we had an appetizer with a typical dish called "caldo con pelotas". And, of course, a lot of photos with friends.
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| José M. Galera and his friend Sergio Javier Larrosa enjoying the appetizer |
Definitely, a enjoyable day and a fun race, that year by year gathers more and more swimmers and friends in the last day of the year. The organizers were Eduardo Davó and Javier López Fontán, and they do better year by year. Thank you both from us all!!
We will see each other next december 31st. On the shore, of course!!
I hope you enjoyed this chronicle!
See you soon!
José María Galera
OWS Alicante
IV CROSSING AT THE PEÑON DE IFACH - CALPE (Alicante - Spain)
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On Sunday 7th september 2014, the Crossing at the Peñón de Ifach was held in Calpe, one of the most touristic places in the Costa Blanca.
That promised to be one of te "Star Crossings" of this summer season and, of course, it was. Its course, views, landscape and absolutely spectacular sea, made this one of the best Crossings of the 2014 season. The organization of "Sense Limits" was perfect too.
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| A spectacular view of The Peñón de Ifach. In the background the "Playa de la Fossa" |
The aerial view of the Crossing route was spectacular. It started in a little pebbled beach named "Cala Racó" -near de yacht basin-, to the left of the Peñón and, after that, around it to finish in "Playa la Fossa", a white sandy beach on the right of the rock. Oficially it was a 3,200-metre route, although finally most of the swimmers did 3,500 metres, due to the 14 indicator buoys situated around the Peñón, that prevented the swimmers from getting too near the rocks.
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| Some swimmers waiting for their accreditation |
Early in the morning, not yet 7 a.m., a lot of swimmers started to queue up in front of the check-in tables, where they gave us a very cool cap as well as writing our number on our shoulder. The registrations were limited to 450 swimmers -and they had ended a long time ago-, but the prestige of the race is so, that more than 400 swimmers were waiting for a miracle in the form of a last minute vacancy.
Near the start time, at 8:30 a.m., the Race Director called the swimmers. As the beach had thick pebbles, we found it terribly difficult to walk barefoot on it. The organization laid a thick carpet to the shore; they really thought about everything!
Finally the shore, finally the water...the first strokes and...the first jellyfish!. Bad start, and bad luck too!!.
The start was from inside the water, 50 metres from the shore, because from the beach it was impossible to start due to the above mentioned circunstances. We were surrounded by ships, motorboats, kayaks, that came along all the crossing. It was all very impressive, but the most imposing was the enormous shadow of the Peñón de Ifach over the sea.
And finally, the start whistle!. And 450 swimmers started to swim to the Peñón, which we must go round: a lot of arms splashing in the sea...an enormous wave of surf in the horizon...
Near the start time, at 8:30 a.m., the Race Director called the swimmers. As the beach had thick pebbles, we found it terribly difficult to walk barefoot on it. The organization laid a thick carpet to the shore; they really thought about everything!
Finally the shore, finally the water...the first strokes and...the first jellyfish!. Bad start, and bad luck too!!.
And finally, the start whistle!. And 450 swimmers started to swim to the Peñón, which we must go round: a lot of arms splashing in the sea...an enormous wave of surf in the horizon...
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| The start line, with the yacht basin in the background |
In the beginning it was not easy to establish my pace because there were too many arms, legs, feet, around me... but, finally, I managed, and I started to enjoy this marvelous crossing that I recommend to all of you.
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| The end of The Peñón de Ifach |
We were arriving to the end of the first part, where the Peñón ends. All the swimmers that had done the last crossings warned us that at this point, there were very strong currents, and even little swirls...and we were a bit worried by that.
The water was incredibly cristal clear, like in a film about the South Seas. Finally I found my swimming pace and I was really enjoying the experience...and the jellies, so far, weren´t there.
We rounded the Peñón and at that moment was when the sun, shinning over the sea, showed us the incredible beauty of the landscape. The bottom was impossible to be seen, because in that area the depth is 50 metres or more...and you feel like you are living an incredible experience.
And among the brightness of that colossal aquarium, you start to see the first jellies, a few odd ones, but present nevertheless. Fortunately, they were anecdotic, because some swimmers didn´t see them, at all.
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| The swimmers going to the finish line, at Playa de la Fossa |
And in the background, we could see the "Playa de la Fossa", our destination. We were enjoying a lot, because our two fears: currents and jellies, disappeared. In that moment an adrenaline rush went through all my body. It was a unique experience!
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| The Arch of finish line was at Playa de la Fossa |
The last buoys of the race are already visible, the finish line arch too!. We could even hear the music in the megaphone, far, but we could hear it, Oh my God! How exciting!
And I continued swimming, relaxed, but very quickly!
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| The author of this blog, José M. Galera, on the finish line |
And finally, I was arriving at the shore and I was treading the bottom. At that moment, I started walking slowly to the finish line arch. I finished!. I am in the finish line!. I took off my goggles and cap, and looked up to the sky: I couldn´t believe it!
At that moment we started looking at each other, to talk about the incidents of the race: All the people were laughing, all the people were happy!
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| The winners of the men´s group |
I took a lot of photos, including one with the winner of the race, José Luis Larrosa, that finished with a personal best of 40´32". In the women´s group, the winner was Soraya Pérez, with a personal best of 43´44".
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| My swimming team, Arena Alicante |
See you on the shore!
José M. Galera
OWS Alicante
EL ALBIR CROSSING 2014 (Alicante - Spain)
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El Albir beach is situated near Benidorm, the most important tourist point on the Alicante coast, and near to Altea too, another emblematic city on the Costa Blanca.
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| The Altea Bay, with its church on the top of the mountain |
On Sunday 3rd August, the IX Crossing of El Albir beach was held.
The event was organized by Club Deportivo Finisher and was made up of 169 participants, but in the end only 162 swimmers finished the crossing. The organizers have the goal to reach 200 swimmers in the next event, because it is usually held in August, in a very touristic area and usually with a fantastic temperature of the sea, about 26ºC.
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| The Start Line Arch at 8.a.m. |
The sunrise was fantastic, with a calm crystal-clear sea, and looked as you can see on the photograph of the start line, at 8 a.m.
The circuit was a triangle of 2,500 metres and was marked by buoys showing the participants when to turn or go straight. But in practice, the circuit was a bit confusing for the swimmers, because when you were swimming, sometimes you could´t remember which colour buoy meant turn right or go straight.
At the end, my GARMIN marked that I had swum 2,960 metres, near 20% more than the official distance, and consequently I needed extra time to finish the crossing. But it wasn´t a problem for me, because it allowed me to enjoy swimming further, in those incredible crystal-clear waters.
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| Fun Atmosphere before in the check-in point |
A lot of people, swimmers, family, friends and some volunteers of the organization were at the check-in point esplanade, one hour before the official start of the crossing.
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| The commentator, a real joker! |
There was a really enjoyable and very funny commentator, a real joker!
Some minutes before the official start, the Race Director asked us, by megaphone, to go to the shore for the last instructions about the crossing.
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| The Crossing starts |
The El Albir Beach is not a sandy beach, but a pebbled beach; consequently, the start was not from the shore, but inside the sea
Inmediatelly, the Pros formed a head group, and behind them, the rest of us, in little groups depending on each one´s level.
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| The swimmers, with the Peñón de Ifach silhouette in the background |
I took te Crossing with calm, enjoying the sea and enjoying the swimming too, taking advantage that the day and the sea were both fantastic.
I have never swum in this area, and I have to admit it´s a beautiful part of The Costa Blanca, with marvellous views both under the sea and on the shore too.
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| The men´s group winners |
The winner was César Hernández, from Alicante, with a personal best of 35´17"; but it was a very competitive finish, because the first four swimmers arrived with only 4" difference between them.
In the women´s group, the winner was Eliana Sotelo, with a personal best of 36'59".
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| Fun atmosphere in the Raffle |
At the end, there was a Raffle among the swimmers with sports material, and with some weekends in different hotels of that touristic zone. The Raffle part was, with difference, the most fun part of the day, because the speaker was a real joker and made that every prize was received by a lot of applause and laughs. You can see in the previous photograph the fun atmosphere of the prize giving.
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| Me, and my swimmer friends |
The organization of Club Finisher was flawless, with a lot of their members collaborating as volunteers, with a big sense of humour. A big thank you to them for their effort!.
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| The volunteers of Club Finisher |
I want to thank the photographer José Antonio Herrero for his work too, some of his photos illustrate this chronicle. Thanks a lot José Antonio!!.
I hope you enjoyed this chronicle.
Will see on the shore!!
José María Galera
OWS Alicante
ALICANTE FIREMEN CROSSING 2014
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On the 1st August this year, the 2nd Firemen Crossing of Alicante was held. The event was a crossing from Albufereta Beach, following the buoy line and paralell to the coast, to Postiguet Beach, where the Finish Line was. All this in Alicante Bay, with an estimated total distance of 3,200 metres.
The Crossing was made up of 68 participants, all of them firemen o policemen, with some guest friends too, like myself. It was mainly a meeting of friends to swim, not an official competition. In consequence there wasn´t an official classification, nor trophies.
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| Before the Crossing starts |
But the organization, despite not being an official competition, was impeccable, with a lot of volunteers, firemen and other friends, who sacrificed their participation, to safeguard our safety.
And the supporting personal -kayacs, judges, check in, check out, supplies, etc.-, were manned by those volunteers, and from here I am grateful to their effort for all worked perfectly.
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| Postiguet Beach, at 8 a.m. |
The sunrise was spectacular, due to the
temperature and total absence of wind too; the sea looked as you can see on the next photograph of Postiguet Beach at 8 a.m.
temperature and total absence of wind too; the sea looked as you can see on the next photograph of Postiguet Beach at 8 a.m.
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| A cool cap for a fun crossing |
The check in point was situated in front of Marina Station, where they gave us a cool cap, as well as writing our number on our shoulder, both necessary steps for real accreditation of swimmers.
After that, we were transported by an organization bus -barefoot, only cap and goggles- to Albufereta Beach, where the oficial Start Line was. Before that, we had checked our belongings in.
We were explained the course of the Crossing by the Race Director, and he insisted persistently that we must keep swimming within the buoy line, situated 200 metres parallel to the shore line. When the buoy line ended, we should swim as parallel to the coast as possible.
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| The Race Director giving us instructions, before the start |
In the photograph you can see the finish line, situated in the background, at the horizon, in front of the row of low white buildings, approximately 3,200 metres from start.
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| The swimmers warming up, before the crossing started |
The Crossing started.
At the beginning, all was confusion, kicks, nudges....the typical beginning of all crossings, although we were only a few swimmers. But bit by bit, everyone started to find his place and pace. In my personal case, I was very calm and enjoying. It was a perfect day for that.
The first 1,200 metres we kept to the buoy line, parallel to the coast, but from this point, the buoys came to an end, and every one swam, towards the finish line, guided by the building on the shore.
The water was cristal clear and calm; our darling and feared jellies didn´t appear, only one or two loners were seen, fortunately by all of us.
During the crossing we were in good company with a lot of Kayacs, Motorboats, Paddle Surf, etc., and we felt very safe at all times.
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| My finish time |
The arrival at the shore of Postiguet Beach was very simple, because the race wasn´t too long, but enjoyable. As we didn´t have a chip, when we arrived at the shore, a volunteer shouted our finish time...ha,ha,ha.
At the end we had very generous suppliers and a raffle of sports material.
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| Me and some swimmers of my team, C.N.Arena Alicante. |
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| Final photograph with swimmers, volunteers and some friends |
I hope you enjoyed this chronicle. See you on the shore!!
José María Galera
OWS Alicante
CROSSING AT BREAKWATER - ALICANTE HARBOUR
(+You could see all the photos bigger, touching them)
On 17th August this year, the 85th Crossing at Breakwater of Alicante (Costa Blanca - Spain) was held. This emblematic event is the oldest sports event in the Valencian Community.
Starting inside the Alicante Harbour, the swimmers crossed the breakwater, where they took a 180º turn and proceeded towards Postiguet Beach, where the finish line was placed. An estimated total distance of 4,200 metres, but when we finished the crossing, my GARMIN said that finally they were 4,700 metres of hard swimming.
Despite de age of the event, its tradition, and prestige among the open water swimmers of this zone, the attendance was less than expected, only 84 swimmers entered the crossing. But the level of those swimmers was the highest ever, only the best were present. As a friend of mine said: "There are too many swimmers here who look like swimmers, for someone to try to stand up to them"...
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| The three winners in men´s category |
And, of course, the race was complicated, not only by the hardness of the event, but also because the condition of the sea.
The week before was a complicated week weatherwise, as a heavy storm from the east lashed Alicante coast for several days, and the night before the event, the wind hand´t abated.
When we arrived at the check in zone, at scarcely 8 a.m., the sea showed an extremely rough aspect, so much so that we asked each other if, finally, the event would be held.
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| Postiguet Beach, at 8 a.m., before starting the crossing |
But we couldn´t see the worst from the shore, because "the adventure" was beyond the breakwater which gave the name to the crossing. That was where the "real adventure" was waiting for us, but we didn´t know that yet!
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| The check in point at 8 a.m. Some swimmers were arriving |
We arrived at the check in point, and they gave us a very cool cap, as well as writing our number on our shoulder.
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| Cool cap for a hard adventure |
Perhaps we lacked some souvenirs of the event, such as a commemorative T-shirt, but the organization was a bit poor in that sense, because they didn´t have enough sponsors in this edition.
At 9.30 a.m., after having checked our belongings in, all the swimmers went -barefoot, carrying only cap and goggles- to the check point, in the middle of the Harbour Avenue.
The start was at 10 a.m. and from inside the sea. The kayacs and the motorboats that came along all the crossing were with us. They would be very important elements in our safety, afterwards.
A 10 a.m. we started to swim. Immediatelly, the Pros formed a head group, and behind them, the rest of us, in little groups, and depending on the level of everyone. In my group finally we were five swimmers, that kept together, more or less, throughout the crossing
We started to swim over the water of Alicante´s Harbour, which is bigger than it seems at the beginning. While we were swimming towards the lighthouse, which was the turning point to the finish line, the sea seemed a bit choppy, but nothing especially worrying.
Before the start, the organizers, persistently, announced that we were to keep 100 metres minimum from the breakwater, because waves were breaking very hard over the rocks... It was very handy advice!
When we crossed the lighthouse, suddenly, it turned into another world, or better said, another planet!. An spectacular ground swell received us, and to see the breakwater, in all its length, with the waves breaking violently over the rocks and flinging big waves of surf, was very imposing! Oh, my God!
At that moment, a girl from my little group, who was swimming beside me, suddenly, stopped and waved at one of the motorboats... "What´s wrong?", I asked her, "I´m going out, I can´t go on", she told me; that was the one thing that I didn´t want to hear at that moment!! Oh my God!!
We continued fighting against the sea, and fighting, and fighting. The finish line seemed to be farther and farther away all the time. I was looking at my GARMIN constantly, and it said that I was advancing, but at a very slow pace... Afterwards, at the finish line, all the people said that the worst was swimming against the current, because it obstructed our advance, and made finishing very heroic. The wind and the big waves came from the East, and we were swimming towards the East! Hard, very hard!!
Finally, after swimming the 2,000 metres of length, more or less, that the breakwater has, we turned at the end of it, and we set off to Postiguet Beach, where the finish line was. Only one thousand metres separating us from our goal. "A last effort", I thought.
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| The finish time |
We could see the Finish line Arch, coming closer and closer, every time. The five swimmers that had swum together for most part of the crossing, started to swim like crazy to get to the shore...FINISHER!!
I was a bit seasick, but I could hear clapping, shy, but clapping nevertheless; and it was very important for me, because it meant that I had finished in one piece!!
In the end, me and my little group of swimmers weren´t the last to arrive, because more of them arrived after us at different moments. My only goal in the more difficult moments of the crossing was not to arrive last at the finish line, and I achieved it, because the last swimmer, a woman, arrived at finish line 20' after me. Goal achieved!!
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| The absolute winners, José Luis Larrosa and Elizabeth Schlicher The absolute winners were, in men, José Luis Larrosa, with a personal best of 57'14", and in women, the North American, Elizabeth Schlicher, with a personal best 1h.04'. |
While we were waiting for the handing of trophies, we found out that out of the 84 swimmers who had registered, 7 didn´t even start the crossing, and another 7 had been pulled out of the water for different reasons. In the end, only 70 of the 84 swimmers registered finished. 70 Heros!!
The event ended with group photographs of the winners, and swimmers and friends too.
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| Me, and my swimmer friends, at the finish line |
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| With other friends, before the start shoot |
I want to highlight that, despite the difficulty of the crossing, at all times we were controlled by the kayacs and the motorboats supplied by the organization, which was impeccable in this aspect.
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| Sunrise on the Mediterranean Sea |
I hope you enjoyed this chronicle
See you on the shore!
José María Galera
OWS Alicante
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