The 14th Annual 24 Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim will be on April 23rd, 2011. Entry Forms are available at www.DistanceMatters.com and entries are currently being accepted. The deadline to enter is March 1st, but contestants are encouraged to enter early since there is a limited number of entries that may be accepted.
We have several slots available for individual and group Open Water Boot Camps November - March. Our water temperatures range from 58F - 65F during our winter, so you can get your cold water training and qualification swim here in the Tampa area of Florida. You can come swim with us 2 hours to 10 hours per day, 1-7+ consecutive days, with weekend and weekday slots available.
Please contact me via email at collins@tampabay.rr.com or call me at 727.531.7999 for questions on the Boot Camp or the Marathon Swim.
Thank you,
Ron Collins
Clearwater, FL
www.DistanceMatters.com
Parents
Former Member
My experience pretty much concurs with the data Ron posted. I did the 84-degree 10K in Noblesville last year and it wasn't anywhere near that. 81 sounds about right, and there were cooler upwellings over some of the shipping channels. The only spot where it seemed significantly warmer was in the last few hundred yards before the finish, in 3-5 feet of water.
A few comments. First, you finished 2 1/2 hours ahead of me. :-) That put you further up-course when I was experiencing the hottest water of the day. This was about the same time as when you referred to experiencing the hottest water. Second, while the time I passed the NOAA buoy may have been before it's highest temperature, the later temperatures taken at the buoy probably fairly represents (if not understates) the water temperatures of the upper parts of the bay. Third, for better or worse (obviously worse) I was further west than you when approaching the Gandy Bridge. This was shallower water and where the water temperature was the highest. Your GPS readings put you in the deeper channel at the bridge. Finally, I can't help but notice that 2 swimmers DNF due to sickness near the Gandy Bridge. I can attest to the fact that the heat of the water and the air combined in that location made me extremely lightheaded. It was so bad that at every one of my 15 minute feedings approaching the Gandy Bridge I was poring ice water over my head and neck to cool down.
As a side note, every swimmer I talked to (the later arriving swimmers) described the water as hot, and one experienced swimmer told me they wouldn't swim the event again because of the water temperature.
My experience pretty much concurs with the data Ron posted. I did the 84-degree 10K in Noblesville last year and it wasn't anywhere near that. 81 sounds about right, and there were cooler upwellings over some of the shipping channels. The only spot where it seemed significantly warmer was in the last few hundred yards before the finish, in 3-5 feet of water.
A few comments. First, you finished 2 1/2 hours ahead of me. :-) That put you further up-course when I was experiencing the hottest water of the day. This was about the same time as when you referred to experiencing the hottest water. Second, while the time I passed the NOAA buoy may have been before it's highest temperature, the later temperatures taken at the buoy probably fairly represents (if not understates) the water temperatures of the upper parts of the bay. Third, for better or worse (obviously worse) I was further west than you when approaching the Gandy Bridge. This was shallower water and where the water temperature was the highest. Your GPS readings put you in the deeper channel at the bridge. Finally, I can't help but notice that 2 swimmers DNF due to sickness near the Gandy Bridge. I can attest to the fact that the heat of the water and the air combined in that location made me extremely lightheaded. It was so bad that at every one of my 15 minute feedings approaching the Gandy Bridge I was poring ice water over my head and neck to cool down.
As a side note, every swimmer I talked to (the later arriving swimmers) described the water as hot, and one experienced swimmer told me they wouldn't swim the event again because of the water temperature.
