I will be wearing black all day today and am in mourning.
On the positive side, though, I encourage everyone to come to Arizona over the last weekend in September for our 1st ever Arizona Open Water State Championships on Sunday, September 28th. We will have a 2K and 4K option available in Tempe Town Lake.
But, wait, there's more - we will also have a SCM pool meet in Mesa on the Saturday the 27th, so you can get in some pool and open water racing on the same weekend - www.facebook.com/.../.
Cancelled in 1959 --- This was an annual event for my family and we were driving south a couple days before the race when we heard on the radio that a diver got eaten by a shark in La Jolla Cove and the race was cancelled! I had a real good chance of winning my division (12 & under) so was extremely bummed. (It wasn't a total loss because my brother and I shifted our focus around the point to bodysurfing at Boomer, a passion that lasted for decades---). But years later when I was a State lifeguard, I was swapping yarns with a co-worker (long time San Diego water guy) and he said he knew the divers involved. Told me the "widow" got $250K and married the dive buddy (the only witness). The insurance co tracked down the shark food years later in Mexico! I never really verified this, and yarns told in the jeep to pass the time often were spiced up a bit, but --------
Sad to hear this premier event is cancelled. At the same time I am investigating on doing two inagural open water swims. Not sure if they can be done, but will investigate.
Drag! I have swum the La Jolla Rough Water every year since 2009, and enjoyed it so much I joined Masters. I truly hope the swim returns in 2015. Meanwhile, in San Diego there is still Coronado July 4 Rough Water swim, a much smaller event but a fun one-miler.
My team is planning an "Occupy the Cove" swim on the date the race was supposed to take place in protest. Some of us had already made hotel reservations, etc., as this is a yearly trek for us from Arizona.
