Around Key West

Well, I may have a "ringer" relay put together. I've contacted my college swimming buddies....two who are now an Iron Man triathletes, one was a '96 Olympian in the mile. I'm definitely the slow man in this pack! We'll see who commits as the time gets closer, but I'm pretty sure I want to go be it relay or solo.

Hey Lumpy it's a fun and "relatively" cheap swim. Very laid back. Super hot water and current assist. You'll love it. The water's really shallow in a few places which is kinda weird.

Sydned. I did it in 2008. Didn't get any jellyfish or sealice at all. Was pretty sunburnt even with a coating of zinc though

I am planning on doing it too. Does anyone know where I can get mass quantities of Zinc Oxide? I am Irish, we burn easily! My wife might be the kayak assist, she will need to practice too. Is it easy to rent a kayak? Last question, are there sharks there? Not that I am scared, I was taught by Nuns!

I swam around Key West in 2009 solo and intend to do it again in 2010. The water will be warm, 88 degrees, and the shallow parts are very shallow, I scraped my chest on a coral branch! Zink oxide should be made without fish oil, an most places make it with fish oil. If you look for a pharmacy that hand blends prescriptions, they can make zink oxide for you in almost any quantity. I used Head Hunter sunscreen at: www.headhuntersurf.com/indexF.php, used by lots of open water leaders. Getting a kayak through the meet director is your best bet, it is the way I got mine for the race. The kayak club is great.

What's the difference between the race being held on the 12th of June, and the one being held on the 26th? Which one have people done?? The one on the 26th works better for me in terms of my son's school schedule, but I can't get their website to work in terms of registration info, and that always raises a red flag...

I am planning on doing it too. Does anyone know where I can get mass quantities of Zinc Oxide? I am Irish, we burn easily! My wife might be the kayak assist, she will need to practice too. Is it easy to rent a kayak? Last question, are there sharks there? Not that I am scared, I was taught by Nuns! If you read the site for the event there are lots of great tips in there and links for lodging, kayaks, etc. That being said I read that you can order cans of zinc oxide from your pharmasist and kayaks are pretty cheap, $30 or so. Any sharks are likely to be Nurse sharks that are more bottom dwellers and very docile.

What's the difference between the race being held on the 12th of June, and the one being held on the 26th? Which one have people done?? The one on the 26th works better for me in terms of my son's school schedule, but I can't get their website to work in terms of registration info, and that always raises a red flag... I did the FKCC one. Very well organised. Very laid back. Randy Nutt's a good person to ask about it. I saw 4 nurse sharks. 3 were small and one was quite a bit bigger than me! My kayaker was from Lazy Dog kayaks. Fabulous!!! he was smart enough to pack his drinks in ice and saved my butt towards the end of the swim when I was getting really distressed from the heat. Am really hoping to do that swim again one day. The Zinc!!! You can never have enough. I'm not too fair and got fried even with it on. Everyone did....

I HATE caps, never wore one as swimmer from age 14 on (when I focused on distance) and they tend to make a already HOT swim HOTTER. in japan, every swimmer is required to wear a cap in public pools (even bald people) they have snug fitting mesh caps that are quite comfortable when the water is warm.

I got the best swim caps ever in Korea. I wish I could get them in the States. They are amazing, and like Japan, everyone--even bald people--wear them in the water. I hope mine holds out until Key West...