Pensacola bridge swim / first 10K

I swam the 10k here last year, was my first 10k, and first organized open water swim in a long time. It was the weekend before memorial day last year, same as this year. Since I had never swam the swim before, I presume that this is the norm. The 10k is an out and back course, parallel to the 3 mile long US 98 bridge between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. Whereas the 5k starts in Pensacola and finishes in Gulf Breeze, the 10k starts in Gulf Breeze, swims to Pensacola, turns around and swims back. Both races finish at the same time on the same beach behind the Bay Breeze Resort in Gulf Breeze. There were sufficient buoys to sight off of, and the buoys must be kept on the right. This puts you maybe 150 yards west of the bridge on the way out. You can swim closer to the bridge coming home, but I don't think that's the faster line. The turnaround point is a strange concrete structure near Pensacola, in the bay, that I've never found an answer what it actually is. Last year, conditions were, in my mind, pretty close to ideal. The air at the start was around 75, and the water was about the same temperature. The water was glassy, and the only waves were wake off the support craft for the race. Because they were with the race, they were very polite and the wake was extremely minimal. I had heard that in 2010 there was some tide that pulled some people off course, but last year, if there was any, it was very minimal, as I didn't notice any. If there is a tidal current, it would be going across you, east if rising, west if falling, entering or exiting the bay. There is a cutoff time, I think it's about 4 hours. If you have made it past the channel in the middle of the bridge before the cutoff time, I think they are more flexible, as there was a finisher listed at a 4:14 and another at 4:18. They have to be out of the way before the Coast Guard stops issuing the advisory about swimmers in the main channel. Last year, there were 13 finishers for the 10k, so on the way out, there's a good chance you will be swimming by yourself. There were all skill levels, ranging from a winning time of 2:13 (Sean Ryan, national 5k champ), to the 4:18. I was fortunate enough to have someone off my hip up to the turnaround. On the way back, I started catching people swimming the 5k (the 5k started 30 minutes or so after we started), so it wasn't as lonely. As for wildlife, I didn't see any. I learned after the race that the strange clicking noise I heard was dolphins, and apparently some of the SUP marshals saw them. I know that there are sharks in the gulf, I would imagine there are some in the Bay, but there weren't any problems with them last year. I do agree that the race website isn't all that informative. I've had a lot of trouble getting information out of the race organization. However, I was very pleased with how the race came together last year, and I do know that they have started answering emails regarding the 25k swim that they are staging the 18th. I think I answered all your questions, and may have rambled a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I swam the 10k here last year, was my first 10k, and first organized open water swim in a long time. It was the weekend before memorial day last year, same as this year. Since I had never swam the swim before, I presume that this is the norm. The 10k is an out and back course, parallel to the 3 mile long US 98 bridge between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. Whereas the 5k starts in Pensacola and finishes in Gulf Breeze, the 10k starts in Gulf Breeze, swims to Pensacola, turns around and swims back. Both races finish at the same time on the same beach behind the Bay Breeze Resort in Gulf Breeze. There were sufficient buoys to sight off of, and the buoys must be kept on the right. This puts you maybe 150 yards west of the bridge on the way out. You can swim closer to the bridge coming home, but I don't think that's the faster line. The turnaround point is a strange concrete structure near Pensacola, in the bay, that I've never found an answer what it actually is. Last year, conditions were, in my mind, pretty close to ideal. The air at the start was around 75, and the water was about the same temperature. The water was glassy, and the only waves were wake off the support craft for the race. Because they were with the race, they were very polite and the wake was extremely minimal. I had heard that in 2010 there was some tide that pulled some people off course, but last year, if there was any, it was very minimal, as I didn't notice any. If there is a tidal current, it would be going across you, east if rising, west if falling, entering or exiting the bay. There is a cutoff time, I think it's about 4 hours. If you have made it past the channel in the middle of the bridge before the cutoff time, I think they are more flexible, as there was a finisher listed at a 4:14 and another at 4:18. They have to be out of the way before the Coast Guard stops issuing the advisory about swimmers in the main channel. Last year, there were 13 finishers for the 10k, so on the way out, there's a good chance you will be swimming by yourself. There were all skill levels, ranging from a winning time of 2:13 (Sean Ryan, national 5k champ), to the 4:18. I was fortunate enough to have someone off my hip up to the turnaround. On the way back, I started catching people swimming the 5k (the 5k started 30 minutes or so after we started), so it wasn't as lonely. As for wildlife, I didn't see any. I learned after the race that the strange clicking noise I heard was dolphins, and apparently some of the SUP marshals saw them. I know that there are sharks in the gulf, I would imagine there are some in the Bay, but there weren't any problems with them last year. I do agree that the race website isn't all that informative. I've had a lot of trouble getting information out of the race organization. However, I was very pleased with how the race came together last year, and I do know that they have started answering emails regarding the 25k swim that they are staging the 18th. I think I answered all your questions, and may have rambled a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.