A Century Swim is the 100th open water swim of the same venue, event, or crossing or a non-stop swim of 100 miles or kilometers in length. Those swimmers who accomplish that Century Swim are called Centurions.
Sandycove Island is a small island at the mouth of Ardkilly Creek on the south coast of Ireland, which forms the western side of the entrance to Kinsale Harbour in County Cork. It is a popular open water swimming location and site of the annual Cork Distance Week organized by Ned Denison.
The standard set this year by the father-and-son team of Steve and Brian Foster is redefining what is possible around Sandycove.
Sandycove Centurions (number of circumnavigations between January – November 2023)
- Brian Foster 511 circumnavigations (817.6 km in total to date)
- Steve Foster 503 circumnavigations (804.8 km)
- Rob Bohane 301 circumnavigations (481.6 km)
- Ned Denison 265 circumnavigations (424 km)
- Alex 262 circumnavigations (419.2 km)
- Rob H 259 circumnavigations (414.9 km)
- Colm Walsh 227 circumnavigations (363.2 km)
- Finbarr Hedderman 223 circumnavigations (356.8 km)
- David Conradie 220 circumnavigations (352 km)
- David Merriman 219 circumnavigations (350.4 km)
- Grainne 200 circumnavigations (320 km)
- Adrian Healy 132 circumnavigations (211.2 km)
- Daemo Dames 126 circumnavigations (km)
- Carol Cashell 122 circumnavigations (km)
- Matthias Kaßner 101 circumnavigations (161.6 km)
- Paul de Waard 100 circumnavigations (160 km)
- Paul Pio 96 circumnavigations (153.6 km)
These numbers of circumnavigation swims are might impressive totals, especially given the average water temperatures throughout the year:
- January 8.5°C
- February 7.6°C
- March 7.6°C
- April 8.7°C
- May 10.8°C
- June 12.9°C
- July 14.5°C
- August 15.1°C
- September 14.9°C
- October 13.7°C
- November 11.8°C
- December 9.8°C
Brian Foster has upped the existing Sandycove standard that many locals thought would never be beat: Ned Denison’s legendary record of 505 laps in a single year. By the end of 2023, his father Steve Foster will also break the Sandycove record – but looks to fall a wee bit short of his 15-year-old son’s new standard.
Denison – with 3,613 lifetime circumnavigations under his swim cap – explains how the record has been increased over the last two decades, “100 laps used to be a massive year, but then I did 200 laps in 2004 and, well, inflation hit. We used to swim only at high water in the light of day….and now whatever we believe is safe.”
The standard Sandycove Island circumnavigation swim is 1.6 km in distance. Denison explains, “At low water, you need to walk out and back – but the swim is longer due to exposed reefs. Two laps is 3 km because you can hug the island and not come back (to shore). The longest lap (I think) was 10 km, which was clockwise around the island, then out around the Old Head of Kinsale.
99.9% of the circumnavigations are done anti-clockwise for safety because (1) less like to head to head, (2) Corner 1 often has crashing surf – so it is safer to swim into it as you don’t get driven into reef and rocks, (3) Corner 2 is halfway. Then the second half as land is on both sides and the last 600m is inside the island.
I probably do more clockwise swims than anyone…at spring low water it is impossible to swim the first 200 meters without getting scraped. So I go the other way and buy 20 minutes of incoming tide and bleed less.
There is an outer reef…exposed or just under the water at low water. The waves break. That is not the problem. The three problems are (1) shallow and rocky so as wave approaches and passes – you can ground out, (2) The water moves really fast between reef and corner 1 – think frying pan with a little water when you more it back and forth, and (3) Corner 1 can be deadly if you are thrown into the rocks.”
Denison recognizes Century Swims and Millennium Swims around Sandycove Island with specialty swim caps after consulting with Gary Emich, the senior Centurion in San Francisco Bay in California, whose detailed swim logs between Alcatraz Island and the San Francisco coastline are archived in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Denison explains, “As Gary shows with his 1,000th Alcatraz Island tattoo [shown above], Cork swimmers can now proudly wear signature caps that honor their 100th, 500th, 1,000th, and 3,000th laps of Sandycove Island.”
Eoin O’Riordan earned his 1,000th lap cap [see photo above]. It was presented to him by Robert Bohane who has done more than 3,000 laps himself – one of the most prolific Centurions in history.
Denison explains the swimming the Gap near Corner 1.
© 2023 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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