Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Stephen del Monte, in consultation with Bruckner Chase, made the final decision was to cancel the 1-mile and 3-mile The 2016 Escape To Lewes Open Water Classic due to the conditions and safety reasons. “We will come back even stronger next year,” says Chase.

“While the wind was forecasted to diminish and change directions, the weather showed an 80% chance of rain. While most would think, ‘What’s a little rain once you are wet’, the problem is the negative impact rain has on the reduced visibility for lifeguards and safety.

We had no fewer than seven agencies involved in event safety and oversight with 40 scheduled ocean certified lifeguards.

Weather still trumps them all in this ship-to-shore event.”

The cancellation involved 600 swimmers jumping off a larger ferry in Delaware Bay and swimming a 3-mile course back to the Ferry Terminal. “This is the second year in a row we have had to cancel due to weather,” Chase. “Regardless of the financial cost, the race director and I stand by this as the right decision. We were looking at 40 kpm winds and an 80% chance of storms that would destroy visibility even without lightning. Rather than wait until tomorrow morning, we cancelled tonight so that athletes did not incur even more costs only to arrive and get turned away.”

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