Chris Dahowski announced the very unique Swim22 Endurance Challenge that will start on October 4th.
The Swim22 Endurance Challenge is a four-person relay…across the Catalina Channel.
88 miles between Catalina Island and the mainland of California, 4 swimmers doing their leg one after another over a two-day period with the help of 50 crew members for a charitable cause, Jay Nolan Community Services (JNCS).
Jen Schumacher (shown above), Chris Dahowski, Mike Vovk and David Hartmire are the swimmers. They will attempt 4 contiguous crossings as 1 singular charity event – 4 swimmers each doing 22 miles. Each swimmer is entirely dependent on the other to complete, an estimated 48 hours and tremendous amounts of logistics are involved, especially in the transitions. More than 50 crew members on land and on the water will be involved in getting the 4 relay members across the channel day and night.
Chris explains, “We have taken on this huge challenge for JNCS that supports individuals with Autism, Down Syndrome and many other disabilities.”
“David will be the lead swimmer – starting us off from the California mainland to Catalina with a planned start time around 2 pm on October 4th. Then, he will be followed by Mike who will do the return leg to the mainland. Then Jen will do the third leg back to Catalina. I will do the final leg. There has been talk about bringing it home to Cabrillo Beach for press reasons, but that is still to be determined.”
When asked what athlete may face the toughest conditions, Chris gave an honest assessment, “I think that is open to debate. The day swimmers for sure will have a more physically challenging swim. The only leg we know for certain that has a start time is the first leg. From there, it is all [up in the air]. Night swimming will have its challenges too as the swimmers are aware.”
We will be following this unique challenge and its members as they truly depend on each other, especially as the water conditions, wind and currents will fluctuate over the two-day period. Without a doubt, the element of risk increases as each subsequent swimmer takes to the Catalina Channel in the Swim22 Endurance Challenge.
A unique challenge for a great cause.
Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones