Sharkbait (8/26/01)

After feasting on the whale all evening, the great white shark spotted off the coast of Newport was ready for some tasty oceanswimmer dessert. We eyed each other on the beach warily, inwardly attempting the calculation to determine the probability we would arrive safely back at the finish given the complex parameters of others' speeds, our own speed, how tasty others might be, how tasty we might be, and so on. And as is usual for oceanswimming buddies, we displayed no semblance of sanity and were off on the Corona Del Mar One Mile swim! I note for the record that the organizers did announce they had displayed some sanity by moving the race closer to the shore, or perhaps that's what they said to calm the huddled masses. In any event we believed them!

It was a SCAQ one-two finish with Alex and Dawn leading the way. Both didn't look the least bit tired after the race, with Dawn showing off her stylish Marilyn Monroe suit. No surprise - it looked great on her though we all thanked our lucky stars that Pat Dixon's Hawaii team settled on the more staid floral print. In third was the fast Lyle, followed closely by our own Eric E. Tracy splashed home in fifth, and Todd Menzel broke his established pattern of 8th place finishes in order to narrowly finish 6th in front of the very fast Jenny Cook who wowed the crowd as second woman and 7th overall (see our 5th and 7th place swimmers here). Next in was Parks at 9th. Pat sped home at 19th and Jeni Buys, fresh from a 1st place at Nationals in the 50m free and a 2nd place in the 800m free (showing her incredible swimming range), finished at 20th, with our very own Richard Elder at 21st (Richard - I have your Starbucks Coffee gift certificate, please collect it soon before it falls victim to a hot chocolate with double whipped cream attack). Kathy Mann also finished strong and the odds for the Jenny/Jeni/Kathy Hawaii team continue to rise in Vegas and magazines are lining up for a photo shoot of these beautiful women in their team Bluebuzz suit. Don't worry - I have several spies promising pictures for the Hawaii report.

Ann Finley from the South grabbed another first in her agegroup, and Elizabeth from Reiko and Parks' new Shore Aquatics team also placed first in her agegroup and continues to hold the View Ocean Race Series lead position as the summer draws to a close. Auggie (shown here with Dawn and Eric) also nailed a first-place finish with Peggy cheering wildly from the beach. Bill Cashel, Ira Dupree, and Jeanne from the LMU morning crew also represented our beloved team in style.

In other news, Libby Ireland finished first in her agegroup in keeping with the Ireland family tradition at the Avila swim. A report from said swim by a special guest reporter will be posted soon. John J. was 8th overall (wow) and 1st in his agegroup at the Santa Barbara triathlon. Linda Terris was sighted at the Sunday morning Pier to Pier oceanswim practice and is well on her way to recovery from a shoulder injury. Expect to see her knifing through the waves at Catalina in a few weeks!

Kathy acted for thousands when she paid homage to oceanswimmers extraordinnaire and another oceanswimming weekend of fun was over. Thanks to Kathy and Jenny for a ride to the swim in Kathy's stylish Volkswagen, and thanks to Tracy for a ride home and putting up with my discourse on the fact license numbers are running out in California (I mean they're already up to "6..." and if you do the permutation calculation....I know, you're sorry you missed it). Hope to hear about all your successes in Hawaii or see you at the Hollywood Aquatics Zuma One Mile next long weekend oceanswimming buddies!