Maui Channel Swim

Did it last year. I sort of wished I did it myself as relays seem a little hokey to me (each swimmer goes thirty minutes the first time through and then 10 minutes intervals--I went a total of 3 times. There are many fast swimmers there (Lars Jensen's Americans were crushed by the Australians). There are many different divisions and combinations for teams. They give a nice towel to all the top 3 teams which turns out to be a lot of towels. The Dallas Masters team I believe goes every year and if you are looking to hook up with a team that is where I would start. I just sent them some money and they put me on a team. Also, the monday after (Labor day) is the ?Aumakua swim which is an individual 2.4 mile swim. If you swim under a coral arch at about 2miles you get a minute off your time (and bleeding eardrums). Overall, fun to do and you can combine both the channel swim and the Aumakua swim and have more reason for making the trek.

I haven't done it but would love to sometime. Are you on a relay or solo? I have done a relay swim before & it was a blast (Trans-Tahoe). I would think the maui swim would be warm & beautiful.

Relay first,,,,,,I`m looking to get on a team. I have read that the water is 80 degrees.

Depends on what you term "high." The water temp in Maui is usually about 80 degrees F that time of year. Wearing a cap or wetsuit will definitely be overkill. Relays are hokey only if you do not like other people. It is a very fun experience, made moreso if you get a relay together early in the year and train toward the goal. It is possible to pick up a team on race day, but those are not usually competitive. Many of the relay and solo swimmers go to Waikiki for the 2.4 swim on Monday. Maui emptied out on Sunday after the race. I always liked to stay and relax after the relay swims for a couple of days before returning home.

Water is great. I don't think I would overheat in a jammer and cap, but others might. Michael may be right about me and other people, but I'm not sure that's why I think it's hokey. It just seems a little loose on the rules and it does not seem that there is any officiating (I think probably true of all open water relays). Frankly, I need to feel more abused (30 min, 10 min., and 10 min swim), to justify a trip to Maui. There are tons of people who do not feel that way and have a big 3-5 hour party on the boat mixed with some swimming. Determine which guy you are and go for it as the race is well organized and a lot of fun.:)

Kurt The reason I`m going to be in Maui is for the 2.4 mile race on Labor Day. Then I saw that the Maui Channel Relay is the Saturday before and I thought I shouldn`t waste this opportunity. I`m debating doing a solo swim,..but thus far I`ve only done a 5 mile Ocean swim and it was in 69 degree water. My fear is the high water temp. causing exhaustion.

The Maui Channel Relay is great! The relay is great fun with your teammates and there is a great post race award dinner. You can hop over to Waikiki for the Roughwater on Sunday then back to Maui for Monday's swim, but you'll miss the social event that night. If you're with a masters team, there is no better way to bond and have a great time than to plan and execute a Maui trip. Back around '03 or '04, we (the Rose Bowl) took 6 teams (36 swimmers). Absolute hoot.