Butterfield Bank of the Cayman Islands hosted their 5th annual 800-meter sea swim this weekend on Seven Mile Beach. The islands sea swimming community were were abundant than expected with swimmers ranging in age from 4 to over 60. The conditions couldn’t have been any more perfect on the beautiful, white sand beach – no wind, no currents, and the incredibly clear water where mellow marine denizens shared the course with their human counterparts.

A growing number of new participants to open water swimming were introduced to the sport, including Charlie Kirkconnell who took second out of 20 swimmers in the men’s 40-44 age-group division.

“I am a generally active person, mainly playing soccer and tennis,” explained Charlie. “But in spite of this and of my having lived here my whole life, I had not participated in any sort of swimming event since grade school. Having signed up for June’s iconic Flowers Sea Swim, I decided I needed to get in the water as soon as possible to find out what it would take to complete such a swim in a time that I would be happy with.

My first few practice swims were a half-mile each and although I felt I was improving based on my times and the amount of sea water that I consumed. I wanted to experience a race before the big day; however, I was not convinced I was ready for one. But with a little encouragement from friends, I decided to go for it.

I can now say that I thoroughly enjoyed my race experience. I found the atmosphere to be competitive and congenial at the same time. As a bonus, I finished well ahead of my target time. I am looking forward to my next race and to continuing to improve as a swimmer.”

Copyright © 2011 by World Open Water Swimming Association