As the tough weeks of heavy training tick by and we put the big miles of swimming behind us, Chris and I find ourselves just a month away from our four week swimming holiday in Hawaii.

Our friends Val and Maddy are looking forward to their home away from home stay in the country, minding our house and dogs while we’re away, and Chris and I are very much looking forward our stay at the Waikiki Parc Hotel. http://www.waikikiparc.com/ 

Our plan is that Chris and I each choose a channel we’d like to swim then we do a fun little channel swim together.

I’ve set my sights on a Kaiwi Channel, more commonly known as the Molokai Channel, swimming between the Islands of Molokai to Oahu.

Chris’ choice is the Kaluakahi Channel, from Kauai to Niihau, and then Chris chose the Alalakeiki Channel from Maui to Kaho’olawe for our swim together.

I will be swimming the Kaiwi Channel alone, but I’m also interested in the Kauai to Niihau swim, Chris has agreed to let me tag along on his swim since I want to do as much ocean swimming as possible over the coming months, then we’ll set off to Maui to cross the Alalakeiki Channel also together.

We have our share of challenges living and training in tropical North Queensland, one of them is when we want to swim in the sea we must swim in a ‘stinger enclosure’ which is a large net that’s about 100m wide and about 50m out from the beach it’s buoyed by a large floating pontoon. The reason for this is that between the months of November and May Box Jellyfish inhabit our waters, the Box Jellyfish are said to be the deadliest creature one the planet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chironex_fleckeri

Another hazard is the tropical heat and sun, the UV rays are in the extreme range from around 9am, the authorities warn us that we’ll burn in 7 minutes. To try to avoid these problems during our long Saturday morning, ocean training swim in the stinger net which can take up to six hours, we set our alarm clock very early and commence our swim at 4.30am while it’s still dark. Just recently we noticed this article in our local newspaper The Townsville Bulletin, these crocs were spotted in the net where we swam for 6 hours just two days before!http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/01/10/32235_hpnews.html

And just to make sure it’s always interesting around here and we’re kept on our toes, summer is the cyclone season. Recently Queensland was rocked by the devastating floods, this weekend North Queenslanders battened down as cyclone Anthony crossed the coast between Townsville and Mackay on Sunday night, now we watch to see what cyclone Yasi a very large system off the Queensland coast is going to do. http://www.examiner.com/natural-disasters-in-national/flood-weary-australia-now-faces-threat-from-tropical-cyclones

by Penny Palfrey

 Diane Ako from the Waikiki Parc Hotel reports,

3 in 3?

Marathon swimmer attempts 3 Hawaiian Island channel crossings in 3 weeks

(Waikiki) January 25, 2011 – Australian marathon swimmer Penny Palfrey is back in Hawaii, this time with a different swimming goal. The former Olympic-hopeful and 48-year-old grandmother of three wants to swim the Kaiwi Channel (Molokai to Oahu- 26 miles), the Kaluakahi Channel (Kauai to Niihau- 17 miles), and the Alalakeiki Channel (Maui to Kaho’olawe- 7 miles).

Penny is doing one of the swims alone; the other two would be with her husband Chris Palfrey, also a marathon swimmer. She won’t completely commit to the other two swims, preferring to play that by ear depending on her physical condition after her Kaiwi Channel crossing.

“If I am feeling good after this swim, with no injuries, shoulder soreness, etcetera, I plan to swim the Kaluakahi Channel along with Chris. Then we plan to do the Alalakeiki Channel together later in our trip. So potentially I may swim three channels during the month of March. It’s looking like a very exciting trip for us. Depending on the weather, I may even be able to sneak in three channels in three weeks!” said Penny.

Open water swimmers are escorted by a safety boat with lifeguards to monitor her physical safety, and her swim advisor Steve Munatones. All swims will be completed without taking a rest break, so the swimmer has to swim through the night, only treading water to eat. Sharks, jellyfish, swells, and tidal flows are some of the hazards they’ll encounter.

Aside from the enormity of Penny’s own swim goals, swim advisor Munatones shedded light on the uniqueness of a husband-wife duo. “To have both a husband and a wife simultaneously perform marathon swimming at the level at which the Palfreys do is unprecedented. Usually one spouse does the swimming and the other does the supporting. To do marathon swimming at the same time has to be difficult – extremely difficult.  Their success can only be as a result of having a truly special, mutually respectful relationship and accommodating personalities.”

Penny was in Hawaii in November 2010, to try at a historic swim from Oahu to Kauai. Stinging Portuguese man ’o war aborted that attempt, but Penny leaves the door open for a third try at some point in the future.

Penny and Chris’ schedule:

March 2, 2011 (Wednesday) – check in at Waikiki Parc Hotel

March 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 – Penny to swim Kaiwi Channel, weather permitting

(Crew: Steven Munatones, Jeff Kozlovich, Chris Palfrey; Captain: Jim Dickson)

March 16 – Chris (& Penny?) to swim Kaluakahi Channel, weather permitting

March (TBD)  - Chris & Penny to swim Alalakeiki Channel, weather permitting

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http://www.flowersseaswim.com/BridgeSwim/tabid/204/Default.aspx

The organizers of the Flowers Sea Swim are bringing another amazing event to the Caribbean open water sports scene.

Bridging the Cayman Islands – an 80-mile historic attempt to swim between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman Islands – will take place in the days leading up to the Flowers Sea Swim. 

World renowned marathon swimmer Penny Palfrey will attempt to make history yet again, adding this inter-island event to her prestigious list of marathon swimming accomplishments. Inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, she is a world record holder and pioneer in long-distance swimming. Her experience and knowledge of the sport will be essential for this 30 – 40-hour swim. 

Read more about Penny and her daring solo swim http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/12/bridging-cayman-swim.html

http://www.flowersseaswim.com/

Chris Palfrey, Accomplished Member Of The Half Century Club – By Open Water Source

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2011/01/chris-palfrey-accomplished-member-of.html

Half a Century and a Little Bit!

http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2010/10/half-century-clubs-in-hawaiian-islands.html

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http://www.openwatersource.com/

Bridging the Cayman Islands-update 1 from Penny.

My Bridging the Cayman Islands Swim will coincide with the annual Flowers Sea Swim on June 18^th 2011 http://www.flowersseaswim.com/   

As with any ultra marathon swim planning and preparation starts many, many months before the actual swim date itself.

We’re putting an amazing support team together, studying the tides, currents and weather patterns to establish some indication of what to expect during our Bridging the Cayman Islands Channel Swim.

The big miles of training continue, with another full week last week both in the water and in the gym ending with a 6 hour, 20+ kilometre swim on Saturday morning.  

I’m fortunate here to be training in almost identical weather conditions that we’ll experience in the Caribbean Sea in June, with the water temperature hovering around 27-28C in the high 80’s F and the air temp around 30-32C / 90’s F. Whilst the water is warm it presents its own challenges, sunburn and heat stroke are a very real possibility, I usually spend my time worrying about handling cold water during many of my channel swims, this time I’ll have a home advantage.

After my painful and disappointing experiences in Hawaii recently, preparing myself for venomous encounters with Portuguese-Man-O-War is at the forefront of my mind. I’m trialling a variety of suits and masks to protect myself from these and other marine stingers.

The excitement of swimming in the beautiful Cayman Islands and the Caribbean Sea is not all mine, there’s a lot of excitement going on in that corner of the swimming world.

Just recently Steven Munatones’ Open Water Source website http://www.openwatersource.com/index.html announced the all new West Indies Bluewater Swim Series which is an exciting swim series made up of four swims at Grand Cayman Island, Turks & Caicos, Trinidad and a channel swim from the tropical island of Nevis to its sister island of St Kitts http://www.openwatersource.com/west-indies-bluewater-swim-series.html

So not only am I very excited about my Bridging the Cayman Islands swim, I’m excited to be sharing my challenge with hundreds of other swimmers with the love of open water swimming from around the world.

Thank you to The Cayman Island Government and The Flowers Group.

http://www.caymanislands.ky/

 http://www.flowersblock.ky/group.htm

See you in the water!

With the New Year upon us there’s already lots going on in the world of open water swimming and plenty to look forward to during 2011.

One of the things Chris and I enjoy the most about our sport are the friends and characters we meet along the way. In this link to The Daily News of Open Water Swimming Chris talks with Steven Munatones about the day we met  the then 68 year old, 12 time Rottnest Channel swimmer Dieter Loeliger. http://www.dailynewsofopenwaterswimming.com/2011/01/dieter-loeliger-going-strong-in-rotto.html 

2010 was a very busy year for us, both in and out of the water. And looking back, it was certainly a year of mixed fortunes for both of us.

The year kicked off with the Rottnest Channel Swim in Perth on the 3^rd Saturday in February. This was the 9^th Rottnest solo swim for both of us and whilst it was good to notch up another crossing, neither of us had a good swim.

Penny hurt her lower back in the garden a week before the swim and was advised by her physiotherapist not fly to Perth, let alone race. But she (and I) were using Rotto as a training swim for Hawaii in April, so it was important for us to compete.

For myself (Chris), Rotto was a shocker. I had a niggling shoulder problem and decided not to swim hard, as I didn’t want to damage it further. But my main problem was failing to find my support boat and treading water for what seemed like an eternity, before eventually linking up.

Then to top it off, Penny badly hurt her shin climbing into the boat after the race, which bordered on requiring medical treatment.

A big thanks to our friend Neil Vaughan who helped us find boats and crewed for us.

On April 19^th, amid volcanic ash concerns, we flew to Hawaii for our main challenge of 2010.

I was to tackle the Kaiwi (better known as the Molokai) channel, 26.4 miles/42.4 klm from Molokai to Oahu. And Penny was taking on the massive Kaieiewaho Channel between Oahu and Kauai, 72 miles/approx. 118 klms. Coincidentally, we both swam on April 24^th, the 40^th anniversary of Harry Huffaker’s historic swim from the Big Island to Maui.

My swim was uneventful apart from a few problems and some discomfort in the first 2 hours. Due to the absence of unfavourable currents and a lot of luck, I broke the 1974 record by 27 minutes, finishing in 12 hours 53 minutes.

Many thanks to Jim Dickson for his skills in piloting me across the channel and to Quinn Carver for doing a great job with handling.

As I was swimming west from Molokai to Oahu, Penny was 100 miles away leaving the treacherous Kaena Point on the western edge of Oahu. Her entry into the water was scary enough, jumping in off huge boulders between large swells.  She swam strongly until just after dark when she received extensive stings from Portuguese Man o War.

The toxins from the stings affected her almost immediately and although she continued for over an hour, eventually they took their toll. Penny ended her swim after 12 hours and 6 minutes in the water, covering 58 klms (almost half way).

It took five weeks for the swelling in her lymph glands to subside. And eight months later the scars on her arms are still visible.

Many thanks to pilot Don Jones, and crew Forrest Nelson, Bill Goding and Jeff Kozlovich.

After relaxing in Hawaii for a few days, it was off to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Penny received the huge honor of being inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. As well as the ceremony, it was great to catch up with some old friends from various parts of the world.

Only a month after returning home from this trip, we were again jetting over to the other side of the world, this time to Spain and Portugal. We were visiting Penny’s mum Jo who lives in the Algarve region of Portugal. And of course, we had to swim the Strait of Gibraltar, only a few hours drive away.

Our good friends Dan & Brooke from NYC met us at Tarifa. Dan was going to swim with us, but badly hurt his back a few months prior and didn’t feel fit enough to swim.

Since it was just the two of us swimming and Penny wanted to salvage something from the disappointment of Hawaii, she managed to talk Rafael (ACNEG president) into letting her go for a two way. On June 2^nd, in very cool 15C water, we made very good progress until a thick fog descended reducing visibility to 250 meters, making it unsafe to continue. 24 hours later, a bit stiff from the previous effort and with rationed sport drinks we tried again.

Penny had a blinder on this swim. She reached Cires Point in 3 hours and 3 minutes (breaking the woman’s record by 18 minutes). Heading back to Spain she battled headwinds and building seas and currents to finish the two way in 8 hours and 27 minutes.

This was the second fastest ever two way and broke the woman’s record by 2 hours and 31 minutes.

I was also very happy with my 3 hours 59 minutes one way crossing. Many thanks to Dan & Brooke for crewing for us. Poor Dan spent 9 hours getting bounced around in the inflatable boat, with his bad back, whilst crewing for Penny. Swimming would have been much easier.

In mid September, we were back in the USA, this time in LA, to swim Catalina. Conditions were totally different to those we encountered in our successful 2009 swims.

Thanks to their coldest summer in 30 years and an unusual occurrence known as Pacific Decadel Oscillation (which bought cold water down from Canada), the waters just off Palos Verdes were hovering around 12 C. Penny had a great swim in rough conditions and a head current, finishing in 10 hours 36 minutes, to complete her “triple crown” of marathon swimming.

Starting from the mainland, I just couldn’t handle the 12 C water and leg cramps ended my swim after a disgustingly short 80 minutes.

A huge thanks once again to our good friend Forrest Nelson for helping us on both our swims. Also to Lyn Kubasek and Beth Barnes who both did a great job.

Thinking that the PMOW were a one off, and knowing she could complete the crossing, Penny flew to Hawaii in early November, for another crack at the Kaieiwaho Channel.

With Steve Munatones (IMSHOF board member and editor of the “Daily news of open water swimming”) as swim advisor, Don Jones as skipper, and Bill and Jeff kayaking, Penny started in slight seas and good conditions. It turned out the Man-o-War were not a one off. This time, she was getting stung repeatedly throughout her swim and after 8 hours of agony, she was forced to call it quits.

Many thanks to an excellent crew and also to Waikiki Parc Hotel for their generous sponsorship.

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Meantime I was back home in North Queensland. I was seeking a redemption swim after the disappointment of Catalina, and work commitments dictated that this would have to be close to home.

On November 13, I swam the 27.1 klms from Green Island (Great Barrier Reef) to Yorkey’s Knob (Cairns) in 7 hours 54 minutes. My time was 39 minutes quicker than the only other successful crossing back in 1977. Thanks to Wayne and Barbie for their boat and excellent piloting skills, and to Ted Bunt for kayaking and general support.

In addition to the invaluable support from skippers and crew, we would also like to give a big thanks to Shark Shield who have loaned us their protective units throughout the year. They have not only kept us safe, but have also given us great peace of mind whilst out in the open ocean. www.sharkshield.com/Content/Home/

Thanks also to “Aquasphere” whose goggles we love and swear by. The comfort and fit of these goggles is excellent, even after many hours of swimming. http://www.aquasphereswim.com/ 

And thanks to Endura for the endurance drinks and products you supplied. http://www.healthworld.com.au/  

Finally for 2010, Penny and I were honored to both be nominated as finalists for the title of “World Open Water Swimmer of the Year”. It was the third year in succession that Penny received this nomination. Many thanks to Steve Munatones and the “Open Water Source” website for the nomination and continued support and interest in our swims. http://www.openwatersource.com/index.html

2010 has been a big year for us, but 2011 is shaping up to be even bigger. Thank you to everyone who visits our website and we hope you get a few tips and some motivation for your upcoming challenges.

We wish you all the very best for 2011 – Chris and Penny Palfrey.