Open Water Experiences Abroad

Hi! No one replied! So I will! I had a fantastic weekend doing a race near Lerici this weekend. I live in Florence, so I picked up a friend from Rome at the train station at noon, and we headed out for Lerici (which is near La Spezia). This is the "Bay of the Poets" where the famous "Byron Crossing" is held every year. It only took us an hour and a half to drive there, and amazingly we didn't get lost. We drove straight into the little coast town of San Terenzo where we found our friends Dugo (our host for the weekend) Bokko (who writes sometimes in this forum) and many others. The 1.5KM race was at 5pm on Saturday, so we registered paying 10 euros, then went up some stairs on the rocky hill to Dugo's house under the local castle where we parked our bags and put on our suits. More swimmers arrived, and by 5 there were about 160 ready to go on a little beach cove right under the castle. The starter had a megaphone, and all the sudden I heard him saying "5, 4, 3, 2, ONE!" and it was time to start! Oooops! I was way in the back, and we were all crowded together! I didn't want to be kicked or hit, so I slowed down a bit. The course took us first around a boat, then turned south along the coast where we had to head for a bouy. On that length I was able to free myself from the crowd. The beautiful coast was on my left, which was a bummer since I breath to the right, but this way I saw the Bay of the Poets, and decided I will definitely do "The Byron" (7+KM) next year. I took the turn tight around the bouy, and that way passed a lot of swimmers, coming in for the final tract, heading for the finish sign. I came in 57th overall, and 1st in my age category (40-44) in 26 minutes. Bokko was waiting for me (and his girlfriend!) at the finish, as were my friends Maori (place 1st overall!) Dugo and Bussola! We relaxed in the warm (!) water and watched the rest come in... There was a buffet set up with sandwiches and drinks, so we imbibed as we waited for the awards ceremony. I won my first trophy ever, for my category! Other prizes were medals, bottles of wine and jars of the local pesto! So maybe it would have been better to come in 4th instead of 1st! That evening we had a bbq at Dugo's house: steaks, pork ribs and sausages, all served with fresh vegetable sauces he made. Then we conked out on his couches. Sunday morning we woke up to another beautiful day - had coffee and got ready for the 1 mile and 3KM races. I decided to rest on my laurels of the day before and watch the others swim - so I sat on the dock in my bkini, took in the sun and watched them come in. Another buffet, more awards, then Dugo made us pasta with fresh tomato sauce! Life is good when you're an open water swimmer! Fotos Lerici Swim 18/19 Sept 2004

Hi! No one replied! So I will! I had a fantastic weekend doing a race near Lerici this weekend. I live in Florence, so I picked up a friend from Rome at the train station at noon, and we headed out for Lerici (which is near La Spezia). This is the "Bay of the Poets" where the famous "Byron Crossing" is held every year. It only took us an hour and a half to drive there, and amazingly we didn't get lost. We drove straight into the little coast town of San Terenzo where we found our friends Dugo (our host for the weekend) Bokko (who writes sometimes in this forum) and many others. The 1.5KM race was at 5pm on Saturday, so we registered paying 10 euros, then went up some stairs on the rocky hill to Dugo's house under the local castle where we parked our bags and put on our suits. More swimmers arrived, and by 5 there were about 160 ready to go on a little beach cove right under the castle. The starter had a megaphone, and all the sudden I heard him saying "5, 4, 3, 2, ONE!" and it was time to start! Oooops! I was way in the back, and we were all crowded together! I didn't want to be kicked or hit, so I slowed down a bit. The course took us first around a boat, then turned south along the coast where we had to head for a bouy. On that length I was able to free myself from the crowd. The beautiful coast was on my left, which was a bummer since I breath to the right, but this way I saw the Bay of the Poets, and decided I will definitely do "The Byron" (7+KM) next year. I took the turn tight around the bouy, and that way passed a lot of swimmers, coming in for the final tract, heading for the finish sign. I came in 57th overall, and 1st in my age category (40-44) in 26 minutes. Bokko was waiting for me (and his girlfriend!) at the finish, as were my friends Maori (place 1st overall!) Dugo and Bussola! We relaxed in the warm (!) water and watched the rest come in... There was a buffet set up with sandwiches and drinks, so we imbibed as we waited for the awards ceremony. I won my first trophy ever, for my category! Other prizes were medals, bottles of wine and jars of the local pesto! So maybe it would have been better to come in 4th instead of 1st! That evening we had a bbq at Dugo's house: steaks, pork ribs and sausages, all served with fresh vegetable sauces he made. Then we conked out on his couches. Sunday morning we woke up to another beautiful day - had coffee and got ready for the 1 mile and 3KM races. I decided to rest on my laurels of the day before and watch the others swim - so I sat on the dock in my bkini, took in the sun and watched them come in. Another buffet, more awards, then Dugo made us pasta with fresh tomato sauce! Life is good when you're an open water swimmer! Fotos Lerici Swim 18/19 Sept 2004