The 25th annual Cayman Islands CUC 800m Open Water Sea Swim took place on Saturday 12th October at 4pm from Public Beach on Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach.

The 25th Annual CUC Sea Swim took place in amazing open water conditions with sea like glass, a favourable current and world class competition to challenge the local favourites.

For the second year in a row CUC brought Cayman’s Olympic swimmer Brett Fraser home to compete. Brother Shaune was not here this year, but Brett was accompanied by two friends who also swim – Rex Tullus and Mike Vernoia – and the addition of the three international swimmers made for an exciting push to the finish line.

Brett narrowly crossed the finish line ahead of his friend Rex – his experience and longer reach gave him first place – and the two were closely followed by local open water favourites Iain McCallum and Cole Morgan. The difference between first and fourth places was just 0.04 seconds.

Always happy to swim at home, Brett commented that: “Rex has become very familiar with the island and our sea swims and was thrilled to be a part of the race. It was Mike’s (Mike swam at U. Minn) first visit to Cayman and his first open water race … he underestimated the water conditions, quickly realizing that it is a lot different than swimming in a pool but he has already vowed to be back stronger than ever next time!”

Richard Hew, CUC CEO took part in the swim, and although it was not in the cards for him to beat daughter Lauren (10.50) – a CARIFTA medalist – he was glad to have taken part, “we were pleased with the turn out for the 25th annual CUC sea swim. It was great to have Brett and his colleagues Rex and Michael join us who especially provided inspiration for the younger swimmers.”

With Cayman’s competitive age group swimmers accustomed to leading the pack in the open water swims, this event saw – for the first time in a long time – six of the top twelve finishers  over the age of 20 with Andrew Smilley, Chris Dart and Marius Acker  coming in fifth, sixth and tenth respectively.

The top 20 finishers included 13 swimmers under the age of 20 – the youngest, Alison Jackson (11:18),  turned 11 in July, finishing in 19th place; while the oldest top 20 finisher was Cayman’s “still seriously fast” Marius Acker (10:36) who swam in the 40-45 age group!

Technical Director, Bailey Weathers, on hand for his second Sea Swim commented that: “One of the things that I find both unique and exciting about the shorter Seas Swims CIASA runs is that all of the athletes race at the same time, men and women of all ages. For younger athletes this gives them a chance to race and build their confidence against older athletes and I think this is an important step in the development of young swimmers who may go on to represent the Cayman Islands in International Competition. This weekend I felt this was the case for a number of our athletes who showed they have a bright future like Iain McCallum who finished 4th overall in the 25th annual CUC 800 meter swim.”

Stingray’s Head Coach Andy Copley was pleased with his swimmers performance. “Swims of note were turned in by Iain McCallum (9:41) who at 15 is fast becoming the “man to beat” in Cayman Swimming; Catriona MacRae (10:24) who is swimming her way back from a broken leg; Katie Klein (10:44) whose penchant for longer distance open water swims appears to be growing with each swim and Alison Jackson who finished in the Top 20 for the first time.”

While CBAC’s Head Coach Brad Hutton, also on hand to watch his swimmers, commented that. “Danielle Boothe (10:15) – 7th overall and 1st woman finisher – had a great race, holding her own over the entire 800m distance. Many of our swimmers posted best times for the 800m sea swim, recording big drops in time from where they were at a month ago, I know sea swims have a few extra factors every race but the drops were significant.”

This was Coach Brad’s second Sea Swim and he also commented on his observations of the event as a whole: “I am very impressed at how organized and well run the swims are.  They are very efficient and I just can’t say enough about the volunteers.  It is always great to have swimmers of all ages and experiences racing together.  It displays how much swimming is a life-long sport and really shows the incredible community surrounding the sport. “

For CUC it was a family affair – starting with the Hews, with Mom, Sandy volunteering at the finish line and Richard and Lauren swimming and then partnering to hand out the trophies. Other CUC staff members swimming were:  Lauren Bush, Dwight Jefferson, Chad O.Bush, Ethan Hydes, son of an employee, and David and Monica Watler with daughters Isabelle and Sophia.

Swimmers were treated to a post-race feat, courtesy of Subway and to celebrate 25 years sponsoring the Sea Swim, CUC also had a cake on hand for the celebration.

Standard Event Details (subject to confirmation for 2014)

REGISTRATION: Offline only. Please download the form above, print, complete and bring it with you.

WHERE: Public Beach, Seven Mile Beach.

TIME: Race starts at 4pm (Check-in at Public Beach from 3 to 3:45pm)

COURSE: Public Beach to Governor’s Beach, Southern End

ENTRY FEES: CIASA members: CI$10.00 for children and CI$ 15.00 for adults Non-members: CI$15.00 for children and CI$ 20.00 for adults

RACE CAPS: Race caps will be provided upon registration and swimmers are required to wear them to ensure safety during the race.

AWARDS: Trophies for top 3 finishers in all age groups, plus t-shirts and refreshments for all participants

If weather or other conditions threaten the safety of the swimmers or organisers, the race may be abandoned at the discretion of the Race Director.