Daily Sitka Sentinel

‘Change Your Latitude’ Open Ocean Swim Race Set

KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The good thing about Sunday’s annual Change Your Latitude open water swim race just outside Sitka’s scenic harbors is that it is in the beautiful open ocean.
    The bad thing, arguably, about the Change Your Latitude open ocean swim race is, well, it is in the OPEN OCEAN! JUST OUTSIDE SITKA!
    Wear a wetsuit. Wear two wetsuits. Have your significant other wearing a wetsuit watching from inside a warm vehicle with the engine running.

Robin and Ky Schull paddle in a canoe as they get ready to accompany their daughter, Aleah, during the 2016 ‘Change Your Latitude’ race. (Sentinel file photo by James Poulson)

    “The funny thing is a lot of people think our water here is really cold,” said race director and Baranof Barracudas Swim Club coach Kevin Knox. “And a lot of times in the year it is, but our August temperature might reach 60 degrees on some parts of the race course. I have raced in it multiple times and I love it. Now it has grown so much, though, that I need to concentrate more on making sure it runs smoothly.”
    Knox’ family moved to Sitka when he was two and he began swimming at age 11. He graduated from Sitka High School in 1989 and Western Washington University in 1994. He didn’t get hooked on open ocean swimming until moving back to town from Seattle in 2010 and seeing the race for the first time.
    The race originated in 2010 when California resident Claudia Rose came to Sitka and wanted to swim across the sound to Kruzof Island. She hooked up with a few locals of similar mindsets and they made it happen. One of them, Dave Nevins, was so inspired by the swim he started the race as an annual event and ran it for a few years before handing it off to Knox and the BBSC in 2012.
    At last count 60 swimmers are registered for this year’s race, 50 of whom are from habitats not bordered by Sitka waters, including Anchorage, Homer, Juneau, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and the first international participant from Canada.
    “One of the things we offer right now because a lot of people are coming from out of town for the race and they want to add to it and do more is we offer all the swimmers adventure swims,” Knox said. “The open water community is a small community and to get to know each other a little bit when everyone comes to town we go out and do some adventure swims or excursion swims.”
    The participant list also includes another first: the most “naked” swimmers entered in the race: 16.
    “These are people that swim without a wetsuit,” Knox said.
    Ocean water swims have two categories: wetsuit and non-wetsuit division.
    “There are two different camps on it I guess,” Knox said. “There are some people who are very dedicated to swimming without a wetsuit in all the waters they possibly can, and will never put on a wetsuit. Then there are others, like myself, I’ll jump in the ocean without a wetsuit, but I don’t really go for an ocean swim without one – that’s too much for me.”
    Swimmers seeking official race results must follow the Masters Open Water Swim Rules, which include no swim fins, gloves, booties, or neck coverings. Swim caps are allowed.
    Seaweed, jellyfish, and aqua critters will abound.
    “The main obstacle with our course is eel grass and just other stuff floating in the water,” Knox said. “That actually lends to it. Sometimes people find it exciting. It’s different from swimming in a pool, obviously, because you’ve got these others things that you are seeing and are swimming around. You are seeing the bottom a lot and get to enjoy that.”
    Pink salmon will be in touching distance at the start/finish line and at a turn buoy by the hatchery and Indian River.
    “Sometimes you can feel the propulsion of their fins as they swim away through the water,” Knox said.
    There are also the non-human mammals that might be disconcerting to observe in Speedo vicinity, whether possessing fin or flipper.
    “Others take enjoyment in swimming around and seeing mammals and sea life,” Knox said. “We have sea lions that hang out in that area a lot, and we have had them swim right by us, beneath us, and I have had a sea lion swim right underneath me and I can see their eyeballs looking back up at me. You know, in the moment it’s a little scary, it gets your heart rate up a little bit, but then afterwards when you are walking out of the water you think that was pretty cool.”
    Situated at 57 degrees north, the race name plays on the fact that it is the northernmost competitive open water swim race in the United States. (One exists in Norway at just a bit more latitude and involves fjords and glaciers, which is why I, being a smart Swede, DO NOT TRAVEL THERE!)
    The race start/finish line is adjacent to the Sitka Sound Science Center.
    Participants swim along the shoreline inside the channel markers in front of Sitka National Historic Park. The turnaround buoy is past the mouth of Indian River and near Cannon Island.
    The course is 3.3 kilometers. Athletes in the 10K (6.2 miles) will swim the course three times for a total of 6.2 miles. In the 6K, swimmers will round the course twice, and the 3K swimmers will do it once.
    There is also a 1K course for younger swimmers. It starts the same but turns at a buoy in front of Totem Park.
    The 10K swimmers are paired up with a support kayak because of the longer time they’re in the water.
    “Of course swimming in 56-58 degree water you have to be concerned about swimmer safety and health,” Knox said. “Somebody that has been in the water three hours, particularly those that don’t wear wetsuits, hypothermia can be a concern.”
    That much exertion in the water also requires the swimmers to be taking in calories and staying hydrated, and the kayakers will be supplying those needs.
    “They must fuel,” Knox said. “You don’t get through swimming for three hours in this temperature of water without getting something on board while you’re going.”
    A floating platform at the start/finish turn will support the 6K swimmers for nourishment and essentials. The 3K swimmers will probably not need to keep fueling.
    The race will begin with staggered starts. The 10K starts at 8 a.m., 6K at 8:45 a.m., 3K at 9:30 a.m., and 1K at 11 a.m.
    For open ocean swim fans the morning portions of the swim will be in fairly low tides and thus provide good viewing of the swimmers.
    “The racers will be right there,” Knox said. “You can walk along the beach and see them at any point along the course.”
    Later in the morning the tide will be coming in and most of the action will be best viewed at the finish line. The science center Mill Building will stage race officials and onshore safety crews.
    “We have had some exciting finishes,” Knox said. “We have had some pretty fast swimmers participate in years past, and it is kind of fun to see them come in and finish in record times or things like that. We have had races where it comes down to three or four different swimmers in the last few meters. That is fun to watch and hear people cheering them on.”
    The event features roughly one volunteer for each participant.
    Five powerboats will be in the water: the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Coast Guard ANT (Aids to Navigation Team) small boat response team, Sitka Fire Dive and Rescue ERV (Emergency Response Vessel) and 15-20 kayakers. Onshoe support will include emergency services, race doctor Julien Naylor, race directors and results coordinators.
    “In the end it is about safety and having fun,” Knox said. “Being the swim coach now I don’t spend as much time in the water and more time on the pool deck. But every so often I jump into the ocean. There are quite a few people that do it. It is the fun thing to do.”
    It is also fun to watch from the shore, with hot chocolate.