[Image: Chris Hitchcock via Big Bay Events]
Cape Town attracts attention in a million ways, so you’d think it can’t do any more.
Well, you would be sorely mistaken.
Now the Mother City is bringing in international tourists and thrilling locals with epic long-distance swims, particularly the False Bay crossing.
Derrick Frazer from Big Bay Events is the go-to guy when it comes to prepping open-water swimmers for the epic Robben Island and False Bay crossings. The man’s been at it for years, helping brave souls take on those chilly waters.
Frazer told IOL that they have had people from Ireland, the UK, Bali, Croatia, Brazil and the US – alongside the South Africans committed to swimming the long distances.
In 3 months I embark on the biggest swim of my career. I have been training for months, slowly making friends with the cold again. But in many ways, it has taken me 35 years to get to this point. pic.twitter.com/PPv2JqA7T3
— Lewis Pugh (@LewisPugh) May 15, 2021
“I support a lot of swimmers training for the English Channel, and False Bay is pretty much the same distance as an English Channel swim.”
The Robben Island crossing is between 7.4 and 11 kilometres, and the False Bay swim is approximately 34kms. The swim route across False Bay can be taken in two ways, from Rooi Els to Miller’s Point, or from Pringle Bay to Buffels Bay in the Western Cape.
Frazer admitted that pulling off these swims isn’t exactly a paddle in a pool, but his years of experience have earned him serious street cred with swimmers. It’s probably why more international swimmers are showing up now.
What started as a small operation took plenty of research, education, and Frazer’s personal know-how to get the False Bay swim to the level it’s at today.
“I studied a lot of the currents and I got a hold of marine biologists who work in the area and did as much work as I could to determine if we did a double, which way we should swim first.
“With all the work I did, I realised that they had actually been swimming the wrong way the whole time. We needed to swim in the opposite direction. And I asked the first swimmers, who were a relay team of girls, if they were happy to trust me on that.
“And we went that way, and it proved to be absolutely fantastic…”
When it comes to tackling a 30-odd kilometre swim, Frazer explained that they typically aim for a solid 12 months of prep. But if you’re not already into long-distance swimming, that’s a tall order as it’s not exactly a weekend hobby you can pick up on a whim.
“Someone who’s sitting on the couch thinking they could do it in a year, and that’s not going to happen… preparation doesn’t start from a base of not having swum at all. If somebody is currently a Robben Island swimmer, for instance, then we can have a look at a 12-month preparation. If somebody hasn’t swum for a while, you’re probably looking at an 18-month preparation.
Robben Island is never to be dismissed as an easy swim, he says, noting how many people have swum the English Channel at 33kms only to come back and say, ‘I’m just going to do a Robben Island’ only to feel the burn as it is not at all easy.
“It’s never an easy swim, and a lot of that has to do with the cold water as well.”
A representative for the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association (CLDSA), Tracey Steyn, is training to do the False Bay swim in March if all goes as planned. She says that to manage these kinds of swims, “You need to be very stupid or mad”.
“You are swimming in the Atlantic ocean, you’re dealing with ocean temperate, waves, and currents are a challenge. Weather temperatures can change. Companies like Big Bay Events and others will support you. You’re out there in the middle of the ocean, and you need to know anything can happen,” Steyn said.
Frazer said that while Robben Island is not easier, it is slightly cheaper—from a boating perspective. You’re looking at around R4,000 to R4,500, depending on the boat keeping an eye on you, he shared.
As for False Bay? Way easier on the wallet compared to the English Channel – and you don’t need to pack your passport.
[Source: IOL]
