Six-Man Relay Team to Swim 202 Miles Along Southern California Coast

VENTURA, California, September 15. A team of 6 swimmers from the Ventura County Masters (VCM) swim club will attempt a world record open water relay swim starting on September 16, 2010 at 6:00am.

The "VCM Deep Six" team will attempt to swim continuously for a total of 202 statute miles. (Editor's note: All six members of the team talk about the swim on the Sept. 16 edition of "The Morning Swim Show," streaming on swimmingworld.com.) The event is being sanctioned by USMS organization (United States Masters Swimming) and will benefit the Buenaventura Swim Club.

The current world record for open water relay swimming is 78.2 statute miles, set at Lake Taupo, New Zealand in January 2009. A 6 person team completed a triple crossing of Lake Taupo in 33 hours 31 minutes. A San Francisco based team, Night Train Swimmers, attempted to set a new record in June of 2009 by swimming 157 miles across the Sea of Cortez but was stymied after 48 miles by unsafe weather conditions. In May 2010 a joint American and Mexican team again attempted a record in the Sea of Cortez but stopped after 64 miles due to severe jellyfish stings.

Steven Munatones, Editor-in-Chief, The Daily News of Open Water Swimming stated, "The global marathon swimming community is busting with a number of creative, courageous endurance solo swims and relays. The Ventura Deep Six Relay is one such risk-taking attempt to shatter the world record for a non-stop relay. Their venue of choice is not in a calm lake or warm tropical sea – but their marine backyard where sharks, jellyfish and blue whales have appeared by increasingly frightening frequency. They will attempt to set the bar at a time when the Pacific is at historically low (cold) temperatures, but they are very well-prepared to be battered by ocean swells, cross currents and punishing surface chop for over three straight days far from shore. These are six very gutsy men."

The official swim will start at the Ventura Harbor (Ventura, California) on Thursday September 16th, 6:00 AM, proceed 26 miles Northwest to Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara where a team member will "Flip-turn" off a pier piling, then turn Southeast for 176 miles to finish at La Jolla Cove in San Diego. Depending on currents and other conditions the swim is expected to take 3 ½ days, with an arrival in La Jolla Cove sometime in the afternoon or evening of Sunday September 19th.

The format follows the English Channel and Catalina Channel rules of open water relay swimming. Each of the 6 participants swims a 1 hour "leg" before tagging off to the next person, swimming continuously (24 hours per day) until the relay is complete. The swimmers must keep the same order throughout the event. Swimmers are allowed only a FINA approved swim suit (no wetsuits allowed), goggles, swim cap, ear and/or nose plugs. No other form of assistance is allowed, and the swimmer cannot be touched or supported. They will be tracked by GPS throughout their entire swim with latitude and longitude markings reported every five minutes from the Pacific Monarch's GPS. They will be guided by a mother ship, the Pacific Monarch, another separate escort boat, two Zodiacs and multiple kayaks manned by an around-the-clock 12-person boat crew, three observers and four additional support crew rotating shifts throughout the 3-day world record attempt. Additional crew members will consist of a 6-man film crew capturing the historic event for a feature length documentary.

The event is sponsored by and in support of Buenaventura Swim Club and Ventura County Masters program. All Team Members are residents of Ventura County. The "VCM Deep Six" team is comprised of Tom Ball (age 50), Kurtis Baron (46), John Chung (40), Jim McConica (59), Jim Neitz (42), and Mike Shaffer (45).

However romantic the journey appears, it will be difficult. They will face massive blue whales, sharks, large swells, oncoming currents, stiff whitecaps throughout the afternoon hours and cold water temperatures over the course of three days. But if any six can break the existing record, these six men can. About Ventura Deep Six Relay Team Members of the Ventura Deep Six Relay Team are all part of the Ventura County Masters (VCM) swim team, a United States Masters Swimming registered club. This is the adult team of the Buenaventura Swim Club. VCM finished second for men and seventh overall (combined men & women) in the nation at the 2010 USMS National Championships in Atlanta.

To learn more about Ventura Deep Six Relay Team, please visit the team website at Web www.Facebook.com/pages/Ventura-Deep-Six-Relay-Team.

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