During the 1920s, the Isle of Caprice operated as a popular Prohibition-era resort and casino and was often referred to as the Monte Carlo of the South. Accessible by excursion boats from Biloxi in southern Mississippi, the Isle of Caprice was a low-lying sand bar – and site of a long-lost marathon swim.

The island no longer exists above water. Caprice completely eroded and submerged beneath the Gulf of Mexico (sitting roughly 1-2 meters underwater) in the early 1930s following hurricane damage, a fire, and the removal of stabilizing sea oats.

The Isle of Caprice Marathon Swim was first held in August 1927 as an annual marathon swim organized by the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce and sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union in the Mississippi Sound.

The race was also held in August 1928 and June 1930, but the island resort and the marathon swims disappeared when the Isle of Caprice eroded and sank below the sea surface.

Swimmers started from a pier in Biloxi, Mississippi near the Buena Vista Hotel dock and swam 19 km across the Mississippi Sound to the Isle of Caprice. While most of the swimmers swam without goggles, everyone was escorted by a skiff, an oarsman for support and water and supplies, media boats, a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat, and a medical aid boat.

Although his name is lost to history, a 19-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee won the inaugural 1927 race in 5 hours 56 minutes.

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