Daily Sitka Sentinel

Racers Swim with the Salmon in Sitka Sound

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    On Sunday, 37 swimmers either suited up or stripped down for the annual Change Your Latitude race in Sitka Sound. The race course has shifted over the past 12 years, but the one constant is that it’s always in the open waters of the sea around Sitka.
    For the second year Sunday’s course was just offshore of the Sitka National Historical Park beach.
    Race organizer Kevin Knox said that he was encouraged not only by swimmer turnout but by community response as well. He said that “lots of people stopped by to see these crazy people swimming a marathon in the ocean, but also to support them and cheer them on.”
    The event also included fundraising and a cookout on shore.

Winner of the 10 km marathon swim, Kris Calvin emerges from Sitka Sound on Sunday. Calvin, 57, finished in a remarkable time of 2:38:15. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

    Most of the swimmers in North America’s northernmost ocean race chose to wear wetsuits, but 12 swimmers did not. Luckily for the swimmers without wetsuits, the water was unseasonably warm in many areas, though the temperature varied in the course because of river inflows.
    This was the first year ever that the race was open to swimmers under 18, and as it turned out the young racers performed extremely well.
    Swimmers chose between 1 kilometer, 3.3 km, 6.6 km, and 10 km races. Though these are all challenging, only the 10 km race is known as the marathon of the swimming world.
    Coming in at an impressive 2:38:15, Kris Calvin won the men’s division of the 10 km race. At 57 years old, Calvin proved that age is not necessarily a limitation while swimming in the Sound. Jordan Iverson won the women’s 10 km race at 2:48:08, another impressive performance.
    In the 6.6 km race, Gabe Calvin was the first man to finish, with a time of 1:58:07.  Skylar Moore dominated the women’s race at 1:40:59.
    For the 3.3 km distance, 14-year-old Emma Gassman came in first with a time of 59:41. Mark Schaffeld won the men’s 3.3 km race at 1:27:53.
    In the popular 1 km race, 15-year-old Asa Dow took first place at 16:22 and Rachel Pilch won the women’s race at 18:17.
    Every swimmer was accompanied by a spotter in a safety kayak to offer help if a swimmer ran into trouble. Regular emergency services and Coast Guard volunteers were also standing by, but there were no injuries at the race, Knox said.
    The original concept for the race derives from the adventure swimming of Claudia Rose, who famously swam from Kruzov Island to Halibut Point in 2007. Adventure swim routes have shifted over time, and Knox said that he chose the current route near the Sitka Sound Science Center and the park because “safety and logistics-wise it’s a better spot, so they’re not swimming in the marine navigation area.”
    Knox said that he especially enjoys the “camaraderie that goes along with it – it’s almost like an extended family affair.”