Chris talks with Steven Munatones, of ‘The Water Is Open’ web site.

“The waters of northern Australia are home to the box jellyfish. They start to become prevalent in November, so I think I should be OK with a mid-October target date. I may use a swimsuit made of porous material, which covers the torso for a little extra protection just in case.” 

Click on the link to read the full story. We’ll bring you updates of both my (Penny’s) Kaieiewaho Hawaiian Channel swim and Chris’ Cairns swim as they come to hand.

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/09/danger-lurks-when-no-man-has-gone.html

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/09/gutsy-gnarley-guargantuan-another.html

Gutsy Gnarley Guargantuan – Another Kaieiewaho Attempt

Penny Palfrey announced on her website that she is going to have another go at the 72-mile Kaieiewaho Channel between Oahu to Kauai in the state of Hawaii.

The Kaieiewaho Channel has never been crossed before, although Jonathan Ezer in the 1970s and Penny earlier this year, gave it two extremely courageous attempts.

“I’m trying to put together another attempt…in early October. My pilot Captain Don has agreed to support my swim and I have the two Hawaiian lifeguards Bill Goding and Jeff Kozlovich who assisted me during my attempt in April back on deck.”

Success in this channel will require a world-class athlete in peak condition with an iron-willed mindset, giving a deeply felt courageous attempt and benefitting from a healthy dash of good fortune to avoid large, aggressive sharks and tiny, painful Portuguese Man-o-War and escorted by local experienced crew.

Penny has all that, although she’ll have to hope for the good fortune in October – after a long season in which she did the 19.7 Rottnest Channel Swim in February (5:41), did 58K in an unsuccessful Oahu-to-Kauai crossing in April (12:08), a two-way 38K Strait of Gibraltar in June (8:27), the 8K Magnetic Island to Townsville race in July (1:49) and a Catalina Channel crossing this September (10:36).

Stay tuned for one of the world’s greatest marathon swim attempts – Part Two.

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

To go from this, 

to this, in a few short weeks?

Penny’s Kaieiewaho Channel Swim 72 miles from Oahu to Kauai.

I’m trying to put together another attempt at swimming the Kaieiewaho Channel in early October. My pilot Captain Don has agreed to support my swim and I have the two Hawaiian life guards Bill Goding and Jeff Kozlovich who assisted me during my attempt in April back on deck, if I’m able to complete my support team I hope to reattempt this swim in early October.

….explains why the water alone the Californian coast was so cold this season.  http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/09/challenge-of-pacific-decadal.html

http://www.swimcatalina.org/Newsletters/September%202010.pdf

Penny Palfrey joined exclusive company with her Catalina crossing in 10 hours and 36 minutes. She’s one of fewer than 200 swimmers to accomplish this Channel. Plus, Penny became the first Australian woman to swim the “Triple Crown” (Catalina, English Channel and Manhattan Island Marathon Swim). In addition, Penny is the first woman to swim solo from 3 of the 8 Channel Islands of Southern California. Last year, she swam 40-miles from Santa Barbara Island and a year earlier she did a 26-mile crossing which started at San Miguel Island. The only other swimmer to have made 3 Channel Island solo crossings is David Yudovin, who in the 1980s made swims from Anacapa and Santa Cruz. Also, David’s crossed the Catalina Channel 4 times over 3 different decades.

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/09/getting-dumped-into-cold-up-north-from.html 

Getting Dumped Into The Cold Up North From Down Under

Chris Palfrey followed his wife, Penny Palfrey, into the Pacific Ocean last week in a Catalina Channel attempt.

After training in Australia in one of the warmest winters on record, the Palfreys took to the Catalina Channel in the coldest ocean temperatures in recent and distant memories. Cold, rough, warm, calm, they accept what Mother Nature offers them.

Renowned Catalina Channel escort pilot John Pittman who was out on the water when his father escorted Lynne Cox back in the early 1970s said he has never seen a summer like this.

Chris, who earlier set the Molokai Channel record in 12:53 this year, made all the right moves. “We checked the water at Point Vicente for the currents, said waterman Forrest Nelson. “We discovered the currents were pretty nil, so went for a Palos Verdes start in 54°F (12°C) and aimed throughout the night for warmer water. Unfortunately, he cramped at the 90-minute mark. He chose a difficult week in a challenging summer. Chris and Penny never got to train in open water any colder than 75°F (24°C), so getting dumped into 12°C had to hurt.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8amDtzaL-BY

Penny Palfrey Sept. 13-14, 2010 Catalina Channel Swim

Tough conditions in the Catalina Channel for Penny Palfrey with the Outrider, Captains John Pittman, Jeff, Jesse and Manny and crew Forrest Nelson, John Yourk, Beth Barnes, Jesse Gros, Don Van Cleve, Lynn Kubasek, and kayaker-Tony and kayaker-Craig. 10hr 36min approximately and that earns her Trip…

Steven Munatones reports on my Catalina Channel swim in The Daily News of Open water swimming.

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/09/48-year-old-penny-palfrey-is-now-41.html

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

49-year-old Penny Palfrey Is Now 41

“She is amazing. I can’t imagine anyone finishing under those conditions,” said Lynn Kubasek, one of the support crew of Penny Palfrey’s Catalina Channel crossing yesterday. “It was a bumpy ride over to Catalina Island and it was a very bumpy swim back over [to the mainland]. We had things flying across the boat during the swim. Mother Nature was definitely not nice.”On the same day, International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee Nora Toledano of Mexico was also coaching her swimmer across the channel. “I could see the others most of the time at the sea until the fog came. My swimmer swam for 10 hours and 10 minutes. He was 1.9 miles from the shore, but he was so cold we decided not take the risk so we suspended the swim.”

Likewise, the Night Train Swimmers who were preparing for their Mexican American Unity Swim experienced the same tough conditions on their 10:23 relay crossing. Team captain Vito Bialla remarked, “That water kept getting colder and colder . It was down to 53.6°F (12°C) at the end. It was too cold for a solo swimmer.”

Which proves how amazing Penny’s Triple Crown crossing really was.

Photo shows Penny in her first marathon swim attempt this year across the 72-mile (115K) Kaieiewaho Channel between the islands of Oahu and Kauai in Hawaii that ended in indescribable pain and suffering due to massive Portuguese Man-o-War stings.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones

“The water temperature started at 66°F (18.8°C), then it dropped to 61°F (16.1°C) mid-channel and by the time she finished it was 53-54°F (12°C). It was so cold that I am so amazed at her success. Getting that one crossing done was tough. She had such a hard shiver afterwards, but she was in pretty good spirits considering that she is number 41 in the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.”

http://nadandolibrelosmejoresdelmundo.blogspot.com/2010/09/nadandolibre-penny-palfrey-my-home-is.html?spref=fb

Today is Sunday the 12^th of September, Chris arrived safely yesterday morning then we enjoyed dinner last night with Beth Barnes, one of our Catalina Channel kayakers and her friend Anne, now known as the lady of the jetty, since it’s Anne’s jetty that Beth launches her kayak from for her fabulous swim escorts around Naples Island.

In fact that’s where Chris and Beth are right now, I opted for a shorter swim this morning from Long Beach while Chris and Beth navigate their way around the Island of Naples.

It’s been an interesting yet relaxing week for me here at Long Beach. On Wednesday evening Beth was hosting Lynne Cox and her mother Estelle for dinner, I was delighted when Beth asked if would like to join them, Lynne is an absolute legend in the world of open water swimming and has written several wonderful books about her experiences. Lynne and I hit it off immediately; there was plenty of swimming talk and smiles at our all ladies table. I will look forward to the next time our paths cross again.

Thursday lunchtime saw me at a meeting with Captain John Pittman from the Outrider and Forrest Nelson the head of my swim crew. This was a very productive meeting where we discussed the finer crew and swim details. Forrest as always was very supportive and John was very open to my thoughts and agreed to everything I asked.

We hope to commence my swim from Catalina Island at approximately 4pm on Monday 13^th September.

Finally just in case you’re wondering what Golden Twilight has to do with all of this I’ll explain, it’s tradition for many female marathons swimmers to paint their nails prior to a swim. We try to find a colour that’s relevant to the swim ahead of us, perhaps something like ‘life guard red’, or ‘golden sands’….you get the picture. The Catalina Channel is usually swum during the night because that’s the calmest time of day when the wind generally drops off the most, Golden Twilight seems appropriate to me for this swim, I just wish I didn’t have the fine motor skills of a six month old, but not to worry only the fish will notice!