Sea Swims News and Results

Another glorious evening in our little part of paradise with 116 swimmers choosing to give up their precious evening hours to showcase their athletic prowess, and/or secure another week of bragging rights in the workplace.

Opening Splash kicks off the Rylock Endurance Series with 66 swimmers under perfect conditions.

Season opener under sunny-grey skies with 102 swimmers and strong starts across all divisions.

The Blue September Swim kicked off our season with 32 swimmers braving 13°C water at the Nelson Yacht Club. Together we raised around $600 for prostate cancer on a stunning calm day. Congratulations to winner Eddie Swain (6:44.5) and all participants. Click for full results and upcoming events.

Saturday morning coached swim sessions at Riverside Pool start 26th April!

It was a beautiful day on which to wrap up the season. Swimmers in the 5k race were pushed down to the Boathouse by a huge incoming tide. After the first kilometre, Blenheim swimmer Chris Smithers had a 100m lead over Ben Marshall, with a similar gap back to a chase group of three. Once swimmers reached the Boathouse, they …

It was a tricky little swim with a twist at the end. The tide was coming from south to north. The wind was blowing from north to south, so there was a bit of a battle between the two, resulting in some aqueous upset and a few inadvertent inhalations of salty water. Adding to the other factors, the course was …

Tonight’s swim was a solid test over a 1300m course on a moderately strong outgoing tide. Lucas Bell did his usual trick of jumping out from the gun and by the time he rounded the dolphin navigation marker he had a clear lead. A slight navigation glitch had him wrapped around the second marker buoy as the tide swept swimmers …

Interesting course, weaving in and out of the boats, and a surprising current on the leg towards the dolphin. Both races were dominated by fast young swimmers, Lucas Bell in the long course and Phoebe Diamond in the short. Lucas was a clear winner by 22 seconds from Terry Bone, with Ben Marshall a similar distance further back. Phoebe plays …

Interesting swim with a strong outgoing tide. It was plain sailing out to the dolphin, but swimmers had the concentrate on staying on target to hit the next two buoys before the slog north along Rocks Rd to the finish. Terry Bone was a convincing winner over the 1200m course, but Ben Marshall had to work hard for second, holding …

Interesting course of about 1300m. Lucas Bell made his usual supercharged sprint from the start, shadowed by Terry Bone all the way. At the finish, Lucas had another sprint up his sleeve and was able to hold on for a winning margin of three seconds. The field spread out behind the two leaders, With Ben Marshall in third, followed by …

A beautiful night for a long-course swim of just over 1200m and a short swim of about 350m. It was overcast, but calm, with a slight outgoing tide. It’s not often the course goes north, but that was the case tonight, with Terry Bone choosing to shadow Ben Marshall to the first turn, about 200m towards the wharf. Christina Harris …

Beautiful night for a 1500m swim. Lucas Bell took off like a startled rabbit from the gun, giving no chance for Terry Bone to get his big engine wound up as the field headed south. Ben Marshall did his best to hang on. A couple of right turns took swimmers back up the harbour, with Lucas clinging to the lead …

115 swimmers braved cold, rainy conditions at Tata Beach for an exciting day of open-water swimming. Congratulations to all participants and a big thank you to our sponsors, Rylock Windows & Doors, and the volunteers who made it possible.

The 16th Rylock Opening Splash kicked off on a beautiful sunny morning, with 89 swimmers making a strong start to the season. In the long course, Josef Scott claimed the win in 24:23.5, with Chris Smithers and Terry Bone close behind. Lilly Claridge was the top woman, finishing fourth overall, followed by Nia Linyard and Christina Harris. The short course …

This is a reminder that there will be no Saturday morning swim at Riverside Pool on the 19th of October. Instead, join us at 7am at Tahuna Beach for a free group swim. Swimmers of all levels are welcome, and we’ll divide into suitable groups on the day for a relaxed, social swim. Wetsuits are optional but recommended. After the …

Attention Swimmers! Quick reminder: Tomorrow night’s (Thursday, 14th of March) final race, Race #18, in the Rylock Summer Swim Series will be held at Tahuna Beach and NOT at the Yacht Club as usual. Don’t forget to adjust your plans accordingly! See you at Tahuna Beach for an exciting finish to the series! #RylockSummerSwimSeries #TahunaBeach #FinalRace

Terry Bone took another win from Hayden Squance over a testing swim of just on 1km. Terry made an early break and although Hayden gained towards the end, he fell short by teo seconds. Hamish Neill and Ben Marshall had a similar battle a little furth back to finish ahead of teenagers Eddie Swain and Marcel Kepess. Lilly Claridge continued …

Things started out a little confused, with the buoys in unexpected places, but the course turned out to be a good one. Hayden Squance swam an excellent tactical race, lurking behind Terry Bone most of the way, but getting on the inside as they turned the final orange buoy, winning by a touch as they hit the ramp. William Seymour, …

Conditions were perfect for the 15th Rylock Opening Splash since the race began in 2008. Hayden Squance and Blenheim swimmer Chris Smithers reversed their finish order from last year, with Hayden taking first place in 24.56. Marcell Kepess finished third, ahead of Waimea College principal Fraser Hill, then Hayden Lockie. Keshia Linyard took sixth place (just ahead of her father …

Feature photo: Mike Crowe looms up behind Jon Linyard and his daughter Nia at the finish line. Photo:Ruth Leckey. Perfect conditions for swim two. One of the biggest fields of the past couple of seasons, 148 swimmers, took on the short or long swims, with Terry Bone repeating last week’s win over Hayden Squance over the long course. Marcel Kepess …

Good conditions for the opening night, with 121 starters taking on the longer swim of about 750m, or the shorter version. Fresh from success in the Bay of Islands, Terry Bone established a slight lead over Hayden Squance on the first leg of the long course. Expecting to be overtaken at any moment, Terry pushed on to a rare victory …

Congratulations to all our competitors and making the most of a windy and wet Sunday.  Not a bad turn out for Race 2. Congratulations to our overall winners: Long Multisport Tri -Overall Sam Millson 1:20:24.7 William Nieuwenhuis 1:24:39.6 Greg Scott 1:36:24.3 Short Multisport Tri -Overall Kate West 50:36.2 Rod Sharp 57:11.1 Kaitlyn Robinson 58:57.1 Long MB Duathlon -Overall Morgan Lumsden …

Bitterly cold conditions faced the 35 swimmers in the Blue October charity fundraiser for Prostate Cancer sufferers. Fresh snow on the hills was a chilly prospect visually, but the blustery winds that brought those icy temperature down to the Nelson Yacht Club boat ramp were nearly the undoing of otherwise brave souls. Adding to the challenge was the strong current …

Swimmers and triathletes will be saddened by the death of Dick Jones. He was found by his wife Janet this morning, sitting peacefully in an armchair. Dick was 79 and his death was unexpected. He was still working as one of Nelson’s most experienced and respected builders, joking that he couldn’t afford to give up work, but really, he just loved to …

A beautiful morning for the Shoe Clinic MTB Duathlon Race 1. Well done to the 51 competitors, plus teams, who completed the course. Top 3 Long Duathlon 1. Dave Dunbar 1:08.19 2. Joel MacMillan 1:11.36 3. Gareth Cashin 1:13.32 Top 3 Short Duathlon !. Jonathan Linyard 40:01.3 2. Keshia Linyard 41:49.8 3. Reuben Sanders 42:19.8 Some photos of the day …

Saturday morning coached swim sessions are back on at Riverside Pool. Starting this Saturday, 1st of April from 7am-8:30am (doors open at 6:45am and are locked at 7am, the pool is closed to the public). The cost per session is $10 (please bring cash). With the sea swim series finished for the season, now is a great time to work …

It was a perfect morning for the Chia Sisters Olympic Tri/ Multisport Race. Congratulations to the 74 competitors, including teams, who completed the course. Top 3 Triathlon Long Course 1. Hayden Squance 2:03.16 2. Morgan Lumsden 2:08.13 3. Matt and Rickleestrong (team) 2.17.43 Top 3 Duathlon Long Course 1. Mitchell Cooper 2:30.10 2. Anthony Mollo 2:33.44 3. Penny Koroi 3:25.24 …

Perfect night on which to end the season. Paula Meer and Hayden Squance won the relay from about 35 teams. The prizegiving was a great celebration of swimmers, officials and volunteers. Photos, click here

It was a perfect day for a swim, calm, sunny, warm seas. Starting before the sun came up, 43 swimmers started in the 5km event. Hayden Squance won from Chris Smithers of Blenheim and Matt Hansen. Christina Harris was next, ahead of a tight group of three, Angus Perham, Karen Oliver and Mark Oliver, with Jodie Lovell, also from Blenheim, …

A wild, wild night, with plenty of withdrawals. Terry Bone dominated the long course ahead of Connor Eden and Finn Bryant, while Lucas Bell and Christina Harris burgled the short course from series winner Nia Linyard. The season is done – just waiting for the academy awards next week. Hooray for us all – we’ve done brilliantly. Results, click here …

SWIM CANCELLED – HIGH WINDS MAKE IT HARD FOR SWIMMERS AND TOO DIFFICULT FOR THE SUPPORT BOATS With regard to points. Here’s the rule on that from the website: “As even the keenest swimmers can’t make every swim, season points will be taken on a competitor’s best swims taken over 66% of the season’s swims (if there are 18 or …

High tide is a few minutes after 7pm. It’s an astonishingly small low tide (3m), so maybe the current won’t be too strong, although you can never take for granted conditions in the harbour. Good conditions for tonight’s swim of 1400+m. Hayden Squance and Lilly Claridge furthered their claims to season victory, but Terry Bone chased Hayden all the way, …

A nice long swim of just over 1500m. Hayden Squance and Lilly Claridge inched closer to winning the series as both clocked up wins – the third in a row for Lilly and the fourth in a row for Hayden. Nia Linyard carried on winning the short race, tonight she was ahead of Charlotte Taylor, Keisha Old and Grace van …

Feature photo: Series sponsor Steve Clements. Beautiful day for a swim, sunny skies, high tide and calm seas. Hayden Squance held off a determined challenge from Chris Smither of Blenheim, holding a six-second advantage at the finish. Continuing the Thursday night pattern, Terry Bone and Hamish Neill were next to run up the beach. Another Blenheim swimmer, Jodie Lovell, was …

Photo by Tom Young – Simon Bloomberg gives Hayden Squance a helping hand prior to tonight’s race. Challenging swim tonight, with a long slog south against a slight tide to a black boat away in the distance (although a couple of swimmers went around the white boat, cutting of a bit of the course). Hayden Squance, Harrison Dean, Terry Bone …

Rough swim of just over 1200m. Here’s the results Here’s the points to date Photos by Kay Snedden Story on Sportzhub by Peter Gibbs

Really interesting swim tonight. We deviated from the normal triangle south of the ramp, heading south to the rusty boat, then to the dolphin. Things changed after that, as we rounded a couple of buoys, ending up by the wharf before the return against quite a fierce tide for a swim of about 1.35km (watches vary), but it felt longer. …

Pictured, Emily Chadderton It’s been a busy weekend for Nelson swimmers, with 14 taking on 2km, 5km or 10km in the Ruby swims in Wanaka on Saturday and 17 swimming 3.3km or 2km in Wellington on Sunday in the Interislander Swim the Lighthouse. Eight swimmers took on the 10km event in Wanaka, with Jude Vincent the quickest in a touch …

Interesting swim, with a different course and a hard slog back up the harbour. Terry Bone broke through with his first win of the season, ahead of Hamish Neill and Lilly Claridge. Mark Oliver ramped up the M60-69 competition, finishing fourth, with arch rival Denis Cooper eighth overall. Hayden Lockie, Robert Sheridan and Keshia Linyard filled the intervening spaces. Sophie …

We’re up to the 38th Eyebright Mile, the annual race from the yacht club to the beach. Conditions were near perfect, although a strong incoming tide ruled out fast times. Harrison Dean notched up his fourth win, winning by about a minute from Terry Bone, with Hamish Neill in third ahead of Matt Hansen, Robert Sheridan and the first woman, …

A swim of just over 1300m. There was a bit of current in the face over the 500m drag south parallel to Rocks Rd and a bit of choppiness and a side current to contend with on the second leg out into the harbour. After that it was plain sailing back to the dolphin and on to the finish. Harrison …

Nice calm night for a longer swim. For the first time in their head-to-head races this season, Harrison Dean edged out Hayden Squance, winning by three seconds. Terry Bone was a minute back, with a further minute to Hamish Neill. Emily Chadderton and Lilly Claridge were close behind, with Keshia Linyard the third woman, finishing 13th overall. Nia Linyard resumed …

Nice swim of just over 1200m in still, misty conditions. Ben Isles dropped in from Christchurch to win from Hayden Squance and Harrison Dean. Emily Chadderton turned the table on Lilly Claridge to win the women’s section, while a torrent of Christchurch swimmers dominated the short race. Results, click here Photos by Jan Thompson, click here Photos by Kay Sneddon, …

Beautiful night. We cruised across to the dolphin in perfect conditions, then to a buoy off Rocks Rd. Not a sign of the jolly jellies. The cunning devils waited until swimmers were within a couple of hundred metres of the finish before pouncing en masse. Few escaped the carnage. You would think Hayden Squance was going too fast to catch …

Featured photo: Josef Scott finished in third place. Photo Ruth Leckey Jellyfish night! 129 swimmers – the most this season There weren’t too many tactical manoeuvres at the front of the field, with the lead bunch dispersing across the channel from the start down to the first mark, which seemed a long way against the incoming tide. Harrison Dean and …

A perfect night for a swim, with dull skies (so no glare), calm water and just a little current at the end. Hayden Squance and Harrison Dean settled into their groove at the front, with Lilly Claridge, Sophie Pahl and Emily Chadderton in a tight bunch leading the women. Nia Linyard continued to dominate the short event, with 11-year-old Monty …

It was a beautiful night for a swim. Hayden Squance finished clear of Harrison Dean over the long course of about a kilometre, with Josef Scott and Terry Bone next. Emily Chadderton was the first women, finishing eighth overall, a few seconds ahead of Lilly Claridge, with Keshia Linyard the third woman in. Nia Linyard was a clear winner in the …

Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect – just the day for a Blenheim takeover as Chris Smithers was the first swimmer home, with Jodie Lovell in fourth place and her daughter Nicola in fifth taking the first two women’s placings. Sandwiched in between were Nelson swimmers Terry Bone, second, and Matt Hansen in third, while the third woman, Christina Harris, …

It was a wild old night with both tide and wind pushing swimmers towards the south. That made it hard going when they were trying to swim north. Harrison Dean was a clear winner in the long race from Josef Scott. Emily Chadderton edged out Lilly Claridge in the latest episode of their see-saw battle. Nia Linyard won the short …

Sixteen Nelson swimmers travelled to Auckland for the 4.6km Rangitoto swim on Saturday. They were joined by Abbey Smale, now studying in Christchurch, and Lisa Birkett, who moved to Hawke’s Bay a few years ago. Here’s the Nelson results Here’s a story (That one was aimed at Nelson and Waimea Weekly) Here’s a different story – on Sportzhub: Here’s lots …

Tonight’s swim was fast and furious in conditions which were close to ideal, although it was a bit chilly out. The leaders in the short race strung themselves out quickly, with Harrison Dean, Hamish Neill and Lucas Bell in the top spots. Lilly Claridge, Keshia Linyard and Christina Harris provided a similar age range as they led the women’s field. …

It was a perfect night for swimmers. Not so much for officials who had to stand around in the rain. The tide was high, with little current flowing and there was no wind, so the sea was glassy. The club showed off some new equipment – triangular buoys which were easily visible and combined to make a long-overdue start line, …

Well done to all who took part in a beautiful fresh morning swim, all for a good cause! 47 swimmers braved the cold sea. Approx $1,010.00 was raised for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Thanks to all for your support! Click here for the results

The season finished on a perfect high, with a short, sharp relay, followed by a barbecue and prizegiving. As she has done for much of the season, Kay Sneddon took some wonderful photos. Kay had this to say about taking the photos: “How wonderful to see the happiness at Rylock See Swim events. Every time I went there, my stress …

Perfect conditions. The photo shows Emily Roper, right, and Brian Mills in a sprint for the line. Here’s the results. Photos click here Ironman swim results over the years

A small select field this week, with 78 doing the long swim of 1600m and 15 doing the short option of about 600m. The race got off to an exciting start when naughty boy Geoff Lart shouted out “Five seconds to go”, then whistled loudly. Of course half the field set off, but they were soon reined in and a …

A lovely swim tonight, with a bit of current slowing proceedings over the last 600m from the Richardson St steps back to the yacht club ramp. Hayden Squance, Terry Bone, Hamish Neill and Sam Harman did their regular routine at the front of the field, with Emily Chadderton finishing eighth overall and Lucy Barron in 12th place taking the second …

Feature photo: Keshia Linyard and Brianna Mckay – first to finish in the short swim A lovely swim tonight – just over 1600m for the long course and about 800m for the short version. Starting just after the low tide, there was very little current to fight on the first leg, although there was a strange push to the right …

A successful day for 19 Nelson swimmers in Akaroa with Raphael Marinzeck Borborema the first of the group to finish in the 5k, followed by our pin up girl Sophie Pahl, who took the gold medal in F12-14. The ageless Derek Eaton took gold in M80-84, while Stuart Hebberd and Peter Gibbs won silver and bronze in M70-74. Dave Loose …

Solid swim of about 1650m with a challenging last leg with choppy seas against the tide Results click here Here’s the points We may not have a photographer, and probably not a story this week, sorry.

It was a great relief to have a fine night for a swim, after two cancellations. As it was close to low tide, there was no discernible current and it was only slightly choppy. And the sun was shining. We celebrated with a longer swim of 1650m taking in most of the harbour. Hayden Squance romped home from Connor Eden …

Against the odds and the weather, the race went ahead with 46 starters – the lowest for a very long time. Surprisingly, conditions were fine for those in the water – not so good for the kayakers, boat people, timekeepers and other officials, who did a great job. Hayden Squance was first to finish, with a comfortable margin over Terry …

CANCELLED AGAIN!!! From organiser Dick Bennison: “Based on the current weather conditions and the likelihood that there will be no improvement before this evening I have made the decision to abandon tonight’s swim. Three main reasons. 1 rain, 2 wind, 3 water quality.” At 3pm it was most unpleasant down there. In addition to Dick’s comments, there’s a big swell …

TONIGHT’S SWIM IS CANCELLED!!!   Low tide is at 6.21pm and it’s very low. On the other hand, with the amount of rain forecast there’ll be enough dirty water coming downstream to compensate. On the other hand, the strong wind will probably blow it out of the harbour. All that means that conditions are not propitious. A decision about whether …

We’ve come to expect tough swims and tonight’s was another in the same mould. At least no current was in evidence, but the wind from the north stirred up a decent maelstrom. On the positive side, we had one of the best starts this summer, with a start buoy giving a clear line close to shore making it easier for …

We have done this before, we can do it again. Please be patient and kind to our wonderful volunteers. Please Read Covid Regulations under Red Light All competitors MUST HAVE a My Vaccine Pass AND BE REGISTER ONLINE the night before, registration will close on Wednesdays at 5pm. Please wear your mask at Check-In No new registrations on the swim night will be accepted. Any …

Yet another tough swim, here’s the results: Tonight’s swim was the longest yet at about 1550m. Hayden Squance performed his customary demolition of the field ahead of Terry Bone, Hamish Neill and the first two women Abbey Smale and Sam Harman. Eddie Swain sneaked in for fifth between Abbey and Sam. In the short swim over about 750m, Brianna Mackay …

Congratulations to all who took part in the Chia Sisters Olympic Tri/ Multisport (with short options) race! It was a beautiful morning with 66 competitors and teams. Thanks to our wonderful sponsors Chia Sisters for supplying chia drinks for all our thirsty athletes. A special thanks to all our volunteers who helped out. We couldn’t run these races without you! …

Another tough swim. The expected current was flowing from the south, but the winds were stronger than expected, making the southernmost point of the swim a bit of a challenge. Feature photo: Rob Cant, Erin O’Connor and Polina Stucke – always there, always happy to finish. Photo by Kay Sneddon. Hayden Squance claimed his accustomed spot at the front of …

Perfect conditions for a race of close to 1400m. Swimmers from AquaGym in Christchurch, here on their annual training week, made their presence felt, especially on the short race of about 800m. In the long race, Louis Clark touched down fractionally before Ben Isles, winner of Sunday’s 5km race. Hayden Squance was in the sprint to the finish, taking third …

Featured photo: Wendy Healey leads in a bunch of seven swimmers, who finished within 13 seconds of each other. It was a perfect swim – conditions couldn’t have been better. In the long race it was a clean sweep by out-of-towners. Ben Isles and Hayden Squance went stroke for stroke most of the way, but Ben, from Christchurch, pulled away …

Featured photo by Kay Sneddon, Oxford Bayley, Hayden Squance and Terry Bone. That was a very tough swim of just over 1300m. The first 600m south was a tough slog into the wind and tide. The prevailing wisdom was to stick close to the wall, but it was hard not to be pushed out into the harbour. The next two …

Fast and furious tonight, with Terry Bone coming in ahead of Austen Dean, Hamish Neill, Abbey Smale and Sam Harman. Here’s the results Here’s the photos, by Juliet Cripwell Some extra photos, by Kay Sneddon Points to date Here’s the story on Sportzhub by Peter Gibbs Thursday swims continue through the Christmas and New Year period, with the first 5km …

A testing swim of 1km, with the first leg a battle against the current and the rest of the race a battle to not be swept away. Hayden Squance, Terry Bone, Hamish Neill, Abbey Smale and Austen Dean led the field home, with Sophie Pahl and Keshia Linyard leading the short race. Pictured, Isabella Thurlow and Sierra Thomas Full results …

Great swim, with a testing final leg. Here’s the results. 268 wonderful photos by Christina Harris. Here they are. Here’s the points after four swims. Remember that at the end of the season it’s your best 12 swims that count. Story by Peter Gibbs on Sportzhub

SWIM CANCELLED Due to bad weather, which is worsening, this swim is cancelled Race one of the Rylock Endurance Series starts  on Tahuna Beach at 10.45 on Sunday December 5. High tide is 30 minutes later, so swimmers will catch the final drift of the current. Alec Swan and Abbey Smale are the holders of the fastest times over the …

Perfect flat conditions, for a swim of about 1100m, but a nasty little tidal current to swim against for the start of the race. Hayden Squance turned the tables on Oxford Bayley, with Terry Bone in third. Abbey Smale continued on her winning way in fourth overall, with Sam Harman taking the second women’s spot. Brianna Mckay won the short …

A challenging swim of 1050m. 136 swimmers took part. Oxford Bayley, Hayden Squance, Abbey Smale, Terry Bone and Hamish Neill took out the first five places. More detail soon. Here’s the results Here’s the photos, by Christina Harris Points to date (Note that to compensate for not swimming, volunteers are awarded eight points in their age group. You can volunteer …

Excellent conditions for the first swim of the season. Here’s a story See also The Nelson App on your mobile device and this version on Sportzhub Here’s the results. Photos by Jacqui Old, click here Here’s the points to date click here

Thursday Night Summer Sea Swim Series Kia Ora Swimmers. Summer Sea Swim Series starts Thursday 18th November.  In these uncertain times we are working through various challenges, but we are committed to providing a great swim series.  The committee and volunteers will be doing our best to carry out level 2 regulations. There are Covid plans in place such as mask-wearing …

Great swim in perfect conditions. A field of 44 took part, with Noah Brehaut and Lucy Barron at the front of the field. Grateful thanks to all those who raised money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, with many people giving a little extra at registration. Special mention to Stuart Hebberd, who raised and donated $145. Other donations are being calculated …

One of the lowest turnouts from Nelson swimmers for a few seasons, with seven taking part in the Generation Homes Swim the Mount over 2.8km on Saturday Here’s a story Here’s the Nelson results A more local story: Swimmers face blue skies and rough seas By Peter Gibbs It wasn’t all plain sailing for seven Nelson swimmers who took on …

CANCELLED – BAD WEATHER   The final race of the season, with 3.8km or 1.3km options. For the 3.8km swim, the start is at 10am on Tahunanui Beach, swimming north to round a buoy near Rocks Rd, then the dolphin navigation marker before heading south, rounding the toe of the island  as closely as possible without running aground. Across the …

There was a small turnout of Nelson swimmers at the Blue Lake, near Rotorua. Once again, Alec Swan and Oxford Bayley were gazumped by a swimmer starting in a later wave who finished behind them but recorded a faster time. In a finish mixup, Oxford was forced to swim a little extra distance, leaving Alec to take second place with …

Tough swim tonight – out to the dolphin, around the boats in the harbour and then an arduous (and choppy) swim against the current to the finish. It’s official – with his ten-second win tonight, Oxford Bayley hit the top of the points table to snatch the overall series win from Hayden Squance. The women’s series was never in doubt, …

That was a solid swim, slogging south against the tide to round all the boats down by the Richardson St steps, then across to the pirate boat and back to the ramp via the dolphin. Total distance about 1650m. To make matters worse, the tide picked up the final buoy and drifted it north. To make matters even worse still, …

Due to COVID19 Level 2 restrictions Race 16, Thursday, March 4th has been cancelled. As there will now be only 16 swims this season points will still be calculated on the best of 11 results for each swimmer. If another swim is cancelled, making the series one of 15 events, the series results will be calculated on the best 10 …

One of the smallest turnouts of Nelson swimmers for a while. Abbey Smale continued with her winning streak, winning both the women’s title and the F15-19 gold medal. Maggy Johnston and Derek Eaton both took silver in their age groups. Here’s the Nelson results Here’s a story on Sportzhub Full results 

It wasn’t the most attractive of evenings and the number of swimmers (91) was the lowest in 12 seasons. Yet for those who were there it was a near-perfect evening. Not too much current, calm seas, no glare or sunstrike and far less argy-bargy at the start. Hayden Squance is growing taller every day. He only has to lie down …

Another great day for the 30 or so Nelson swimmers who made the journey south. Oxford Bayley and Alec Swan are pictured coming out of the water at the front of the field, with Oxford winning the sprint up the beach by two seconds. Both swimmers went to the left of the final yellow buoy, making their race slightly longer …

Oxford Bayley and Abbey Smale are on target for the 5km Banana Boat swim in Akaroa on Saturday, the event doubling as the regional secondary schools championships. Oxford had the normal battle with Hayden Squance, taking out the win by two seconds, while Abbey was placed third ahead of Ben Marshall and old geezer Hamish Neill (57). The 1650m course …

It was a wild ride for the 91 competitors in this new addition to the swim calendar. Hayden Squance (pictured) made one critical decision which gave him an edge over Oxford Bayley at the midpoint of the race and he carried this advantage all the way to the finish. The plan was to swim from the yacht club, out through …

That was another great swim. Low tide was at 4.36pm, so the tide was coming in. The first leg along Rocks Rd was tricky, as swimmers kept left to avoid the current. Those who chose the left side of the field found themselves with nowhere to go, squeezed by swimmers on the right and rocks and hard places on the …

Fabulous swim of just over 1500m and 700m, with 127 swimmers taking part in short and long courses. The long course went off  to the dolphin, then south to the black yacht by the Richardson St Steps, then back along Rocks Rd. In the long course, Hayden Squance set off in front in the first leg across to the dolphin, …

Perfect conditions for Wellington swim By Peter Gibbs More than 500 swimmers raced over 3.3km in the Interislander Swim the Lighthouse race in Wellington on Sunday. Nelson swimmers Oxford Bayley and Abbey Smale topped the podium in the second event of this season’s Banana Boat Series, Bayley improving one place from Swim the Shore in December, while Smale continued her …

That was a real ripper. It was one of those nights when the swim could have been cancelled and many would have heaved a sigh of relief. The compromise was to hold the races of shortened courses – a decision most people were happy with. At 5pm, the tide had just turned. Low tide had passed and the current from …

Another great swim tonight over 1400m. It was a bit choppy, with a current pushing south on the final northward leg, but otherwise perfect conditions. Hayden Squance swam a solo race to finish ahead of Terry Bone and Hamish Neill. Christina Harris recorded her first win of the season after knocking on the door since November, Ben and daughter Flossie …

Another fantastic night for a swim. Terry Bone nearly had it won, when a non-wetsuit swimmer streaked by like a bolt of lightning – it was the new Eyebright Mile record holder Alec Swan putting the final touches on his preparation for Swimming NZ’s open water championships in Taupo this weekend. Ben Marshall and Hamish Neill went head-for-head for third, …

Records tumbled today, with three men going below Cadman Irvine’s 1993 time of 23.21 and Abbey Smale taking 84 seconds of Sam Winward’s 2015 time of 25.41. Alec Swan took the win in 22.37 after a sprint to the line with Hayden Squance, who stopped the clock at 22.38, with Oxford Bayley finishing in 22.43. Luke Kelly was fourth in …

Lovely swim tonight of about 1250m. Oxford Bayley led the way home, followed by Hayden Squance, some swimmers from Aquagym in Christchurch, then Nic Hall and Alec Swan, swimming without a wetsuit. Abbey Smale was the first woman, followed by Isabella Thurlow, swimming without a wetsuit, Brooke Swan and Christina Harris. Results have been messed up by a non-registered swimmer …

Beautiful swim of just over 1100m. Oxford Bayley recorded his third win of four swims this season to edge out Hayden Squance by a comfortable 20 seconds. A minute back, Terry Bone squeezed out third place by a second from Abbey Smale. Christina Harris and Lucy Barron took second and third places in the women’s field. Here’s tonight’s results Here’s …

Phew!! Short sharp swim of 650m. Conditions were perfect – high tide, calm conditions and a short swim to allow time for the Christmas barbecue. Hayden Squance took off at the start, veering slightly more to the right, to open up a lead on the first leg south and holding it to the finish to win from Nic Hall by …

Another perfect night, apart from the low tide making it awkward getting in and out. With Alec Swan, Oxford Bayley, Nic Hall and Abbey Smale off on a national long distance camp, the race was wide open. Last year’s series winner Luke Kelly was on the start line for the first time this summer and Hayden Squance is always right …

A dozen Nelson swimmers made the journey north for the 3.8km swim between Narrow Neck and Takapuna Beach. Abbey Smale and Oxford Bayley swam in a small group near the head of the field, with Oxford missing victory by just a narrow stretch of beach to place second, 20 seconds behind Brent Foster of Auckland. Abbey stuck with the pace, …

Here we go. Perfect conditions for a swim Tonight’s results Here’s a story Photos by Pete Marshall Points to date  

SWIM CANCELLED While many swimmers would enjoy the experience of swimming in 30km/h winds, it was just too much for the support boats  

A field of 88 started in the first race of three Clements Endurance Series – 85 in the long course over 2km and three in the 600m option. Alec Swan set the race record of 21.26 in perfect conditions last year. This time round, conditions weren’t as good, with quite a choppy patch in the middle. Nevertheless, Alec set out …

Woo hoo. It was such an exciting swim and a real test of local knowledge, awareness and having clean goggles. A stronger than expected current had swimmers spread all over the harbour. At the front, it didn’t matter. Brother and sister combo Alec and Brooke Swan won the long and short swims respectively, with Oxford Bayley and Abbey Smale taking …

Thursday November 19 Opening night is so exciting. At 5pm it was bleak – chilly wind and choppy seas, but an hour later it was near perfect. Warm too, with a balmy 18 degrees water temperature. Oxford Bayley celebrated his birthday (thanks mum) in style, holding off Hayden Squance by three seconds. Alec Swan was next, followed by Abbey Smale, …

Swimmers and triathletes will be saddened to hear of the recent death of Colin Wragg, aged 73, pictured just two summers ago. Colin and I were of a similar age, and had many fierce triathlon battles, with neither of us giving the other much leeway, but always enjoying the encounters.. He competed in triathlon world championships on the Gold Coast …

The Covid-19 lockdown has been just the time to write some profiles on swimmers – to help our Nelson swim community get to know each other. I’ll be trying to publish a profile each day, adding them to this page as we go – Peter Gibbs The profiles will also be available on Facebook at The Nelson Sea Swim Zone …

The official rankings for the Banana Boat Ocean Swim Series are out. In the end, the rankings were formulated using each swimmer’s best two swims (rather than the three that would have been the case had all swims been held). Abbey Smale (pictured) was the comfortable winner of the overall title, displacing year’s winner Sierra Thomas, who placed third in …

It came upon us so fast – the end of the season. For those still swimming around the country, there’s still three Ocean Swim Series events to go, but here in Nelson it’s the end of the line until November. Featured photo: A sight you never see. Luke Kelly with a cap – is he in fancy dress? The final …

What a fantastic day and what a fantastic event. The weather was perfect and the sea was beautiful as Nelson swimmers took the first five places (Luke Kelly, Hayden Squance, Fergus Drummond, Oxford Bayley and Abbey Smale) overall in the 3k race, as well as seventh (Terry Bone), 10th (Isabella Thurlow), 12th (Hamish Neill), 15th (Sierra Thomas) and 19th (Matt …

The last competition swim for this summer. As is always the way at the end of the season, it was a beautiful night with a full tide and calm conditions and we swam the same course as last week – anticlockwise around the harbour. In the long swim of about 1700m, a lead bunch of five, Luke Kelly, Oxford Bayley, …

As expected, the sea for this annual 3.8km swim was a bit lumpy, but nowhere near as rough as it might have been. It was shallow around the bottom of Haulashore Island, but wonderfully warm over the rocks. Luke Kelly, Oxford Bayley and Hayden Squance set the pace, followed by Sierra Thomas and that was the finish order for the …

Interesting swim – just over 1700m and a bit rough, but no current to speak of. Featured photo: Hayden Squance and Abbey Smale at the finish of tonight’s race. Hayden Squance, Oxford Bayley, Luke Kelly, Fergus Drummond, Abbey Smale and Alec Swan led the way across to the buoy which was to be fixed just off the jetty. However the …

More great results for Nelson swimmers in the 5km race from Wainui Bay across the harbour to Akaroa. Luke Kelly followed up his win in Wellington with second place. Abbey Smale was in a sprint up the beach with the third-placed male to finish fourth overall – easily the first woman. (The featured photo shows Abbey with her Gold medal …

Tough swim this week. Fergus Drummond turned the tables on Oxford Bayley and Alec Swan to score his second win of the season, with Abbey Smale looking strong to finish in fourth place. Swimmers faced a strong incoming tide as they swam south, with a northerly wind stirring up the surface. An unexpected swirl in the current provided a further …

What a beautiful swim. 1700m around the harbour, to the jetty on the island, then on in a circuit around all the boats moored in the basin between Haulashore Island and Rocks Rd. Alec Swan dominated the long swim, winning from Fergus Drummond, Oxford Bayley, Abbey Smale, Terry Bone, Hamish Neill and Sierra Thomas, with Sophie Alexander and Flossie Van …

After some windy weather, Sunday dawned calm and clear – great conditions for the 79 swimmers who took part. Helped by the perfect conditions, Alec Swan (32.19), Oxford Bayley (33.18) and Fergus Drummond (33.30) all broke Hayden Squance’s 2017 record of 35.33. Sierra Thomas (38.03) was fifth to finish (behind Terry Bone), breaking Pip Dwyer’s 2015 record of 38.15. Here’s …

It was a rough old night – close to cancellation conditions. However a shortened course was decided upon and it turned out to be quite exciting. At the front of the field, Luke Kelly and Oxford Bayley were almost inseparable, the timekeeper’s finger barely able to click quickly enough for the official time difference of 0.4 seconds. The finish is …

Perfect conditions for a short swim of about 400m and a long swim of about 1650m. Here’s the results, click here Photos by Sandra McGregor, click here Points to date, click here Coming up on Sunday February 9 is the Haulashore Circuit, race three of the Clements Endurance Series. The race is 2.8km and starts at 10.30am. The short option …

Pictured above, Luke Kelly (first male overall), Abbey Smale (first female overall), Sierra Thomas (second female overall). A hugely successful day for Nelson swimmers over the 3.3km course. With 20 of our swimmers taking part, the group picked up 14 age group medals (seven gold, five silver and two bronze), as well as first male overall and first and second …

Exciting swim over 1500m. A lead bunch of three trundled around the course together, with Luke Kelly having a body length on the others at the final mark. However, Bendi Kepess (left in photo above) put on an astonishing sprint over the last 30m to take it by a fingernail with Oxford Bayley in third. Hayden Squance took fourth, followed …

Another swim down – probably the best yet. Conditions were near perfect, with a longish swim of just over 1500m across to the island via the dolphin. Hayden Squance took a course to the right and led Luke Kelly, Oxford Bayley and Nic Hall as far as the second mark. The four came together with Luke and Oxford leading to …

EYEBRIGHT SWIM CANCELLED It’s a bit of a horror story down by the beach and all along Rocks Rd, with waves crashing up over the road even two hours before high tide. The winds are predicted to increase during the day. It doesn’t seem that there are available dates for a rerun later in the season, but more news about …

Featured photo: Training mates Sali Matthews and Stephen Neas finished a second apart in tonight’s swim. Probably the nicest swim this summer. Pity it took until the tenth of 18 swims to get there. Most of our fast young swimmers have gone to  Lake Taupo for the Epic swims, so you’d expect the door to be wide open for some …

Tonight’s swim started out looking calm, but the wind came up a just before race start, making things a bit more challenging. The outgoing tide provided a stiff challenge on the third leg of the 1500m course. The lead changed several times, with Hayden Squance the first to round the dolphin. Fergus Drummond took over on the way to the …

Very tough swim of 1250m, with Luke Kelly and Abbey Smale top male and female. Here’s the results, click here Photos by Sandra McGregor, click here. More photos by Tom Young, click here Points to date: click here Story in Sportzhub: click here. Many people are curious to know how our young swimmers performed at the NSW Open Water Championships, …

We were blessed with a break in the run of bad weather, swimming a short course of about 700m in relatively calm seas. Terry Bone pushed hard over the first leg, challenging Luke Kelly and Oxford Bayley to match his pace. Luke broke away on leg two and extended his lead to the finish, winning ahead of Oxford, then Terry. …

Perfect conditions for tonight’s swim. Not much current to the first mark, as the first four swimmers stuck together heading south parallel to Rocks Rd. On the leg out to the dolphin, Alec Swan and Fergus Drummond went to either side, while Luke Kelly and Bendi Kepess stuck together in the middle. Fergus turned first at the dolphin, making a …

Ten Nelson swimmers joined a field of just over 500 for the 2.8km King of the Bays swim between Milford and Takapuna on Auckland’s North Shore, winning six age group medals and with 16-year-old Abbey Smale finishing sixth overall, splintering the women’s field to win the women’s title with a minute back to the second-placed swimmer and another minute back …

SWIM CANCELLED Conditions marginal at 5.15pm and with winds predicted to rise the only option was to cancel tonight’s swim. This week it’s high tide at 5.04pm, but it’s a very small tide, so although the current will be flowing out, it shouldn’t be too strong. Chances are we’ll swim out into the harbour, then back closer to shore. At …

A sombre night, with low cloud and low water, but conditions were pretty good, although the chop coming back was a surprise and there seemed to be a bit of early current from the incoming tide. As usual, Luke Kelly led out on the 900m swim, with a large group to the first mark, spreading a bit on leg two …

Conditions were absolutely perfect, with flat seas, a slightly hazy sky and no current. Alec Swan set a cracking pace along the shoreline, swimming alone for the whole race, while Luke Kelly led a bunch a bit further out. When they converged at the final mark, Alec  had a clear lead and went on to lead Luke in,  breaking the …

Nice night in all respects. Sunny skies, relatively calm and not much current – just a bit of sun-strike on the first leg of the long swim. With many of our top swimmers in attendance at the Sportsperson of the Year awards, Luke Kelly was able to cruise to victory in the long swim ahead of Oxford Bailey and Hayden …

TONIGHT’S SWIM IS CANCELLED High winds, rough seas, a forecast of heavy rain in the hour between 5pm and 6pm and a pollution caution notice have all contributed to the decision to cancel. This week it’s low tide at 5.39pm, so we’ll again face an incoming tide. The course will be much the same as last week, but just a …

A cold windy night and cooler water temperature were a contributing factor in keeping numbers down tonight. The total of 105 swimmers over the two distances was the lowest in recent years, but the competition was as hot as ever. Bendi Kepess, Luke Kelly and Fergus Drummond battled it out at the front of the field, with the leading women, …

Well done to all who braved the cold temperature of the sea and helped raise some money to aid sufferers of prostate cancer! Click here for results Here’s a story Blue Sept 2019 (1) (Also available on The Nelson App on mobile devices.) Click here to view photos by Peter Marshall Thanks to all who supported the Blue September swim. …

Some great Nelson results with a swag of medals – most notably Sierra Thomas winning the women’s race – beating Commonwealth gold medallist Lauren Boyle in the process. Photos – here’s some photos Here’s the Nelson results. Nelson swimmers featured prominently in the overall series results – click here NB: In those series results it shows Ben Van Dyke as …

Lovely calm swim, but a nasty little tide to swim against on the final leg of the long swim. The short swim had to push against it at first, but had a cruisey trip home. Points were closed off as at February 28 for the awarding of overall and age group positions, so we didn’t have to fret about positions …

TONIGHT’S SWIM IS CANCELLED. It’s very rough out there tonight with no predicted improvement. It would be tough for IRBs and almost impossible for kayakers and without our support services we’re not able to continue. The plan at the moment is to have the final swim next week, immediately prior to the barbecue and prizegiving, but watch this website for …

What an amazing day. When the first three men and women in the 3km race stood on the podium, five of them were from Nelson. In the men, Luke Kelly, Fergus Drummond and Alec Swan took the first three places overall, while Abbey Smale was the first woman home, taking eighth overall, one place ahead of Sierra Thomas, second woman …

Turned out to be a rough one. Out of kindness to those swimming on Saturday, the course was shortened to 1100m, with a short version of about 450m. Results in finish order, click here Results in age group order, click here. Photos by Sandra McGregor click here. Points to date, click here

Interesting venue – rotten getting in and out due to the very low tide, but a nice swim. Here’s the results in age group order, click here Here’s the results in finish order, click here Here’s a lot of photos by Sandra McGregor – click here Here’s a funny little video Story now on The Nelson App on your mobile …

The early morning start was worth it to get a nice calm sea. A beautiful day, with 70 starters in the long swim of 3.8km and 11 starters in the 1.3km swim. The finish was dramatic, with three swimmers sprinting for the line – the shelving beach making it tricky to stay upright. In the end it was Alec Swan …

A bit rough early on, so shorter courses. However, things died down a bit, so it became a shorter preparation for Sunday’s long swim. Results in age group order, click here Results in finish order, click here Points click here (Note that the table is now sorted on your best 12 swims – your worst results are discarded) Photos by …

Another good day for Nelson swimmers. The long swim of 2.6km was shortened to about 2km due to the rough conditions, with a particularly difficult section through the surf from the shore out to the first buoy. Of eleven swimmers, seven won age group medals, while Sierra Thomas added the gold medal for the first woman overall and Luke Kelly …

It was a wonderful swim tonight, with the long swim stretching out to about 1600m, taking in the area south to Richardson St, north to a buoy off the Haulashore jetty, then back to the ramp. Age group results, click here Results in finish order, click here Photos, click here Points, click here. Story – here Friday or Saturday Following …

A perfect day – especially appreciated after a summer of rough swims. With a long weekend and the attraction of pool competition for the younger swimmers, number were down to 80 – 12 in the short swim and 68 in the full circuit. Times in finish order click here Times in age group order, click here Photos by Annie Odienne, …

It was a testing swim after all. The tide was right, there wasn’t a huge current, but it was in opposition to a good wind, which whipped up a decent amount of choppiness, adding a couple of minutes at least to the times of most people, compared to last week on the same course. We had a near-record turnout of …

It was a pretty brilliant day for 28 Nelson swimmers in Wellington, as they took second and fourth overall and dominated the medals in the older age groups. It wasn’t an easy swim, with the course shortened to 2.5km thanks to Wellington’s wild winds. Last year’s overall winner Luke Kelly took second place, narrowly beaten by veteran Brent Foster, while …

A pretty good swim, although challenging, of close to 1500m. The featured photo, by Marie Alexander, shows the effort put in at the finish and the closeness of the result. If you check the photos you can see how difficult it was to get out in the shallow, slippery conditions, Results in age group order, click here. Results in finish …

Beautiful night for a swim of about 1300m. Age group results, click here. Finish order results, click here Photos, by Janice Coyle Points, click here Story on Sportzhub, click here A large number of our regular swimmers, along with a few who have been regulars here before, competed in the Epic swims, the NZ Open Water Championships, in Taupo last …

Sadly, the swim was called off. Although probably 80 percent of swimmers could handle the conditions, the support boats can’t safely operate in those conditions. If they were to pull up to 20 percent of swimmers out (as happened on Sunday) they would not have been able to cope, so the swim was cancelled for safety reasons. Swimmers are referred …

It was the roughest Eyebright Mile on record, so top times weren’t on the cards. of the 111 starters, only 90 finished. Luke Kelly (28.39) and Abbey Smale (29.44) were the male and female winners. Luke joins a select group with three wins (that group includes Fergus Strickland, Megan Ramsay, Harrison Dean and Hayden Squance – but the most successful …

Nice swim – testing, but not too much. Distance just under 1200m, Hayden Squance proved that it’s true you can beat the current by staying close to the shore. Hayden got the edge by doing that, gaining a lead at the first turn and never giving it up to take his first win of the season. Age Group results, click …

Challenging swim of about 1250m, with slightly choppy seas and a bit of a current to face on the last leg. Age group results, click here. Results in finish order, click here Photos, by Ruth Leckey, click here Points to date, click here (NB The points table had a bit of a meltdown over the weekend – should be good …

Conditions couldn’t have been better for what was probably the most pleasant swim this season. At the front of the long race, things were more competitive than ever, but that’ll all be clear from the results and photos. Results in age group order – click here Results in finish order – click here Photos by Janice Coyle Points to date …

Despite the miserable sky, the swim was wonderful. Calm seas and a moderate current made for some competitive swimming, with Luke Kelly turning the tables on Alec Swan at the front of the field in a nail-biting finish. The green boat that came and anchored during the race caused a few people to have problems with the finish – those …

Fifteen or so of our swimmers took part in race one of the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series on Sunday. In very rough conditions, we came home with six gold, two silver and two bronze medals in the 3.3km swim between Paihia and Russell, and a gold and a silver in the 750m swim on a loop course from Russell. …

A good turnout of 165 swimmers on a near-perfect night, marred only by a strong current and a very slight chop. Age group results, click here. Results in finish order, click here. Points to date, click here. Photos, by Janice Coyle. Story, click here. Race one of the Clements Endurance Series is on Sunday. The Opening Splash, 2km from the …

Nice to get the series underway on a nice night, despite the slight current and a bit of chop. Some drama at the front of the field, as the leaders struggled to stick to the course. Read all about it in the story below. Here’s the results in age group order. Results in finish order. Points table. Photos, by Janice …

Uh Oh Things are rotten at the yacht club – wind, waves and generally nasty weather, so sadly, tonight’s swim is cancelled. Things are looking much more positive next week – see you then.   There are signs of increased activity in the water as swimmers get back into the swing of things. It’s still brisk, but slowly warming up. …

Here are the results from Clements Endurance Series, Haulashore Circuit, 2.8km. Haulashore Overall Results Haulashore Category Results

A fun night with a surprisingly tough relay. All the volunteers and winners of various categories were recognised. Photos, by Janice Coyle Don’t forget the Haulashore Circuit at 11am on Sunday and The Interislander Big Tahuna on Saturday March 31. The discount code for The Interislander Big Tahuna is NELSONSWIMSERIES2018 The price goes up on Friday night, so get the 20% …

Very nice swim to finish the season – just over 1500m for the long swim, calm conditions, not much current on the return leg from the black boat. Here’s the results. Results in finish order Photos, by Janice Coyle Here’s the final points. Story on Sportzhub

Turned out to be a great swim. The sea was calm, the sun was out, the current was barely there and the water didn’t taste bad at all. To the delight of some, the reduced field – the lowest this summer – gave the chance to pick up some points. Featured photo: Jude Vincent and Jane Alloway were very happy …

What a great swim. If we get more high tide opportunities, this seems like a popular option – give us your thoughts. After a look at the tide tables, it doesn’t seem that there’s one suitable for another beach swim this season. We’ll definitely put some on the season for next year. We had 156 swimmers, in perfect conditions. Here’s …

The low tide made it difficult to get in and out, but conditions were perfect, the sea calm, no discernable current and the rain held off until we were finished. Keep looking here over the next 24 hours for points table and news story. Results in age group order. Results in finish order. Here’s the photos, by Jean Hodson and …

What a great way to wind up 2017. Conditions were near perfect. The tide hadn’t quite turned as we started, so there was the most gentle current to contend with at the start. Hayden Squance (24min 19sec) and Sierra Thomas (26.34) were the leading man and woman. Hayden’s time is the fastest recorded since the swims consistently began on the high …

High tide at 6.06pm, so plenty of water and very little current movement. The wind was something else. It made for a challenging swim but the general consensus was that it was testing – but fun. The long swim covered just over 1000m, the short swim about 500m. Nobody had it easy, but it was achievable for most people, leaving …

Another perfect night – how lucky we are. The short race was over a course of about 500m, with the long swim nearly 800m. Results in age group order Results in finish order Without our star photographer, everyone had a go behind the camera. It’s a mixed bag – here they are Featured photo: In her first swim in the …

Five intrepid Nelson swimmers made the journey to Paihia for the 3.3km swim, which this year went from Paihia to Russell, the first time it’s been held in this direction. It was a fairly comfortable swim, with a little choppiness. Andrew Martin placed 25th of the more than 500 finishers, taking the gold medal in his M55-59 age group, while …

After a few computer problems overnight, normal service is resumed. Here’s the results in age group order Here’s the results in finish order Story  on The Nelson App on your mobile device – also on Sportzhub Here’s some photos, by Janice Coyle. Points after six weeks

A challenging swim of about 1300m. Luke Kelly put his stamp on the series with a definitive win over Hayden Squance, while Sophie Alexander edged out Leah Friend and Piper Riley in the women’s race. Yegor Jones continued to dominate in the short race ahead of Mark Smale, Mia Langley and Brooke Swan. Featured photo: Yegor Jones edges out Mark …

Another wonderful swim with 110 taking part – 102 doing the long swim and eight doing the short swim. Luke Kelly raced to victory in the closing stages to win ahead of Hayden Squance. Sierra Thomas and Sophie Alexander reasserted their dominance from the Port Nelson series to take the first two places in the women’s section. Speaking of the …

The tide was pretty fierce at 6pm, but it slackened a little, allowing for a beautiful swim in warm seas with perfect conditions. Luke Kelly won a ding dong battle over Xavier Anderson and Hayden Squance to record his third win from four races. Apart from that, we’ll have to wait for the results (coming soon) to see how things …

Climate change may be lulling us into a false sense of security. We’ve had a fantastic start to the season with perfect nights so far. Tonight was one of the best. Not only was the sun out and the sea calm, but our fantastic crew was ticking over in a seamless and perfect manner. Registration, timing, kayak and boat support, …

It seemed like a lovely day for a swim. A bit overcast, but very warm water and it seemed calm. A large number of swimmers were there – turned out to be 999 competitors heading from Bayswater on Auckland’s North Shore across to the Viaduct Basin. The opening few hundred metres were uneventful, but conditions turned out to be a …

The season is shaping up into a battle between Luke Kelly and Hayden Squance, both previous winners of the Port Nelson Series. Last week it was Luke by three seconds. This week it was Hayden’s turn, as he sprinted to a one second win over Luke on a course of about a kilometre on an incoming tide. In the women’s …

Things couldn’t have been better for the opening night swim. Sunny skies, calm seas and a turnout of 167 swimmers. While not quite matching the opening nights of 2013 (175 swimmers) and 2012 (171 swimmers) it was a cheerful start to the season, with swims of 400m and 800m A bit of tweaking coming up, but here’s the initial results …

Here’s a bonus for all our swimmers. The Interislander Big Tahuna – 31 March 2018. Event 6 of the Banana Boat NZ Ocean Swim Series. All info at www.oceanswim.co.nz . 20% codes to be used before 17 Feb 2018 to receive 20% off the Super Early Bird rates.   NELSONSWIMSERIES18 – for Nelson Swim Series participants and affiliates.

Low cloud and rain, but perfectly flat seas made it a perfect day. Hayden Squance and Luke Kelly did battle with each other and stingrays, setting up a final sprint, which Hayden took by three seconds, setting a new record of 35min 33sec. Luke also broke the old record of 35min 45sec, which he set two years ago. Terry Bone …

It was an unexpectedly exciting swim, with the current ripping in. Over a short distance, it was a night for the sprinters. Tonight’s results. Results in finish order Here’s some photos. Featured swimmer: Dick Bennison has been the event organiser and leader of the sea swim team for the past four years. Dick is also the president of the Nelson …

Another lovely swim. Here’s the results Results in finish order. Here’s some photos Featured swimmer, Jude Vincent. After a season of tight competition in F50-59, Jude clinched the category with a win tonight. Points to date Remember that the figure that counts is the best of 12 swims – in the column on extreme right. Next week’s swim will be a …

Another wonderful swim in perfect conditions, possibly about 1700m for the long course. Here’s the results. Results in finish order. Points to date. Note that season points are taken on each swimmer’s best 12 results. Categories are now sorted on this basis, so the column on the right reflects this adjusted total. There are two swims remaining for points to be …

Absolutely, fantastically perfect conditions. Hayden Squance a clear winner from Harrison Dean. Ruby-Lou Stuart the first woman, from Kerry Mathieson. Results click here. Results in finish order. Here’s some photos, thanks to Digby Kynaston. Featured swimmer. Steve Clements, sponsor of the Clements Windows and Doors Endurance Series, had a good race in the perfect conditions. Points to date.  Note that …

Great swim, perfect conditions. Here’s the results. Results in finish order. Featured swimmer: Matai McGuinniety was this year’s winner, from Terry Bone and Matt Hansen. Kerry Mathieson was the top woman, followed by Christina Harris and Jude Vincent. Nelson Mail story on stuff.co.nz Here’s the details of former winners and record holders.

A beautiful swim with a solid slog 600m south against the tide, followed by a jet propelled return to the dolphin and the finish for a total of about 1500m. Featured photo: Matai McGuinniety congratulates Fraser Neill, centre,  and Harrison Dean, who finished first and second ahead of Matai in the race to the finish. Here’s the results. Results in finish …

Cold but calm – the smoothest race of the season. Results Results in finish order Featured swimmers: In one of the closest finishes of the night, Derek Eaton, 75, Dick Bennison, 63, and Stuart Hebberd, 68 finished in a virtual dead heat in 34th, 36th and 35th. You’re never too old for some fierce competition. Points to date – now that we’ve …

A challenging swim of about 1200m. With this year’s leader Hayden Squance off at national triathlon events, it was left to three former series winners, Fraser Neill, Harrison Dean and Luke Kelly to battle it out for honours. Here’s the results Results in finish order Here’s the season points to date Featured swimmer Eileen Searle: Eileen is one of New …

Vigorous and punchy – a short sharp swim to celebrate the bad weather. Here’s some photos by Carolyn Squance Featured swimmers, Matt Hansen (top) and Jody Keefe-Laing have always been among our top swimmers in recent years. Both have been slow starters this summer, but now they’re back they’re both showing they’re forces to be reckoned with. Tonight Jody was fourth …

At last a nice night. Here’s some photos. Peter Gibbs and Gillian Watson shared the photo duties. Any volunteers to take up this task would be very welcome. Featured photo: Hayden Squance has dominated this season’s swimming. He took off his wetsuit tonight and finished second behind Fraser Neill. Results Results in finish order Points to date Nelson Mail story on …

For details, click here

Solid swims of 400m and 1200m. Christchurch swimmer Angus Syme touched just ahead of Hayden Squance in the long race, with Nelson’s 2016 junior sportswoman of the year Caitlin Delany edging out Talya Harwood in Caitlin’s last swim with us for a few years, as she prepares to take up a swim scholarship in San Diego. Zara Aydon cracked on …

  With apologies for the delay, here’s the results Results in finish order Points to date Nelson Mail story on Stuff

Things took an unexpected turn for the rough – although given the summer we’ve had so far wind is hardly a surprise. Times were down on previous years as swimmers battled through the roughest seas. Hayden Squance led in Luke Kelly by 13 seconds, but given the conditions, the race record was never under threat. The women’s race was even …

The sea is rough, the rain’s pouring down – seems like a good idea to stay warm and snug inside. With tonight’s swim cancelled, the next opportunity is the Eyebright Mile, 9.30am, Tuesday, December 27.

It was certainly a rough one, but short and sweet to give everyone time to have a small party at the barbecue. Hayden Squance and Tony Dodds clashed for the third time, with Tony getting the edge to make it two from three in a battle which is now ended as Tony heads off for a run training block in …

High hopes of a calm swim were dashed when the wind come up just as the race started, so swimmers faced choppy conditions. Hayden Squance swam away from the start, pursued by Luke Kelly, Terry Bone, Hamish Neill and Simon Kneebone, and that was the way they finished. Flossie Van Dyke came in just behind father Ben to win the …

Calm swim on an outgoing tide, with 149 swimmers taking part. In the long race, Tony Dodds turned the tables on Hayden Squance, winning by a touch. Talya Harwood held off Caitlin Delany to head a strong women’s field. In his first swim, 15-year-old Nicholas Paulin had a clear win from Brad O’Leary, with Gemma Langley leading the women’s field. In …

With apologies for the delay, here’s the results. In the best conditions so far this season, Hayden Squance was put to perhaps his hardest test yet as 29-year-old Olympic triathlete Tony Dodds pushed hard all the way. Swimming stroke for stroke to the dolphin, the pair took turns to surge and test the other until Hayden opened up a sprint …

Interesting swim, battling the tide on leg one, then catching some chop as tide and wind fought each other on the return. 157 swimmers. Hayden Squance continued to dominate, winning for the third consecutive week, this time by three seconds from Sam McKenzie with Xavier Anderson a further four seconds back. In the women’s field, Caitlin Delany finished four seconds …

Featured swim, Hayden Squance, winner of both races so far this season. Close to 130 swimmers on a low tide, age group results, click here Results in finish order, click here Photos, thanks to Emily Trengrove, click here. Here’s the Nelson Mail story, on Stuff, click here Points at last, click here

Congratulations to the 148 hardy souls who braved the chilly waters at the end of a dingy day. Opening night can be a bit of a struggle, but thanks to early arrivals and the efficiency of our crew in handling two queues, it all went well. Featured photo: Terry Bone was happy to finish close to the front of the …

Conditions couldn’t have been better – here’s the results Results in finish order, click here Story on Nelson Mail and Stuff, click here If anyone has photos, please email to info@nelsontriclub.co.nz and we’ll get them online

A beautiful night to end on. Here’s some photos

  Interesting swim – here’s the results Results in finish order. Featured swimmer: Finella Gibbs-Beal wrapped up the under-16 section of the short swim series gaining the maximum 100 points and winning last night’s short swim over 600m. Here’s some photos from the swim. Here’s a story from the Nelson Mail and Stuff Season points – these are the final points from …

  Nice long swims. High tide and relatively calm seas. It’s taken a long time to come, but with just one swim remaining we’ve finally achieved swim nirvana. Featured swimmer: Talya Harwood has been the dominant female swimmer this year. She consolidated her lead in the series tonight, finishing second overall, behind Thomas Heaton. Here’s the results. Results in finish …

  February – traditionally the month of calm conditions, where we stretch the swims out and enjoy the speed. Not so this year, as El Nino seems intent on plaguing us to the bitter end. Tonight’s swim was rough and tough, but short enough that we could all enjoy punching into the waves (the offer only available for a limited …

  Due to dodgy weather conditions, there will be no swim tonight. Miss last week’s points update? Here it is

With apologies for the amount of time it’s taken, here’s the results from Thursday’s swim. Click here Points to date, click here Some great results from the Christchurch round of the Ocean Swim Series, with gold medals for Kerry Mathieson (F45-49), Janis Crampton (F55-59), Margaret Johnston (F60-64) and Derek Eaton (70-74). Also bronze medals to Kuke Kelly (M15-19) and Kirstin …

High tide for this swim, 6.56pm, so the current will be incoming, south to north. Not a very big tide (3.2m), so shouldn’t be too great. The short course will be approximately 500m around the cluster of yachts off the boat shed. The long course will go further south to the black yacht then to another yacht close to the jetty …

  Nice swim in good conditions. Here’s tonight’s results. Results in finish order Photos, by Emily and Sean Trengrove The Nelson Mail story from the Stuff website, click here Here’s a story from events of January 30, 31 in Wellington, click here Points to date Fancy a free entry to the Christchurch race in the national Ocean Swim Series on Saturday …

Do you swim uphill? Check out these tips Lionel is hosting another swim workshop on January 31. Details here.  

Perfect conditions, 101 competitors. Featured photo: race start, by Simon Bloomberg Here’s the results Results in finish order If you spot any errors, please email info@nelsontriclub.co.nz (NB – the finish order results have been updated several times and reflect the most accurate results. The age group splits may still contain some errors.) Here’s the Nelson Mail story from the Stuff …

  Turned out to be a bit tougher than expected. Reasonable current to combat in the first leg, with a few more waves than predicted. A good challenge and preparation for Sunday’s 3.8km swim. Featured photo: Isabella Thurlow was fifth in the short swim over about 450m. Photo: Emily Trengrove Tonight’s photos by Emily Trengrove, click here Here’s the results.  …

  Challenging swims all round, but it was a good night for swimming with some very close finishes. Here’s some photos, taken by Jean Hodson. Results, click here Featured photo: Steve Bryant looks happy as he burglars a third place finish in the short swim. Points to date, click here Nelson Mail story

A lovely swim after a spell of rotten weather. 109 took part, with Hayden Squance first to cross the line in 26min 30sec, followed by Terry Bone (27.38) and Chris McFadden (28.10). Kerry Mathieson was the first woman in 30min 10sec, followed by Jude Vincent (32.25) and Janis Crampton (32.55). Here’s the results Results according to finish. Click here We …

It will be high tide at 9pm, so we’ll be swimming on an incoming tide. Both swims will head south against the current, close to shore, before swinging out for a boosted trip to the finish. Long swim will probably return via the dolphin.

  Great swim – about 1400m for the long swim, 400m for the short. Here’s the results. Here’s some photos by Bryony Marriott Series points to date Here’s the Nelson Mail story from the Stuff website, click here

Feature photo, Simon Kneebone, left,  was 8th, followed by Caitlin Delany and Jon Linyard. Photo Jean Hodson Lovely swim in good conditions. Here’s the results Points table to date, click here. Please email info@nelsontriclub.co.nz with corrections. Story in the Nelson Mail, click here Photos by Peter Gibbs and Jean Hodson, click here    

Here’s the results, click here The story from the Nelson Mail

Swimming smarter not harder. Following the 1st swim tip re pacing a number of you asked me the same question, “How do I get faster?” Over the coming weeks I will talk about a number of swim and training techniques but this week I want to focus on getting smarter in your approach to swimming faster. I spent many years working swimmers …

  Conditions were perfect. Featured photo: Hayden Squance and Thomas Heaton took it all the way to the finish, with Thomas, on the right, taking it by a whisker. (Photo: Emily Trengrove) Here’s the results, click here Photos from Emily Trengrove, click here Points to date, click here Any corrections, please email info@nelsonseaswims.co.nz

Conditions were marginal with wind and rough conditions and because of the difficulties that would be experienced with support boats and kayaks, the race was cancelled. Don’t forget the first Clements Windows and Doors Endurance Race, The Opening Splash, 2km from the beach to the yacht club, 11.30am Sunday December 13. The short option is 600m, Richardson St Steps to …

Keep your elbow high!!!  A few years back at a conference the world’s top swimming coaches were asked to list what they felt were the key stroke skills that differentiated average and elite swimmers. Almost unanimously they voted the high elbow catch (often referred to as the Early vertical forearm or EVF) as the top skill!!! – Wow!!! – This …

  The most challenging swim yet, with distances up and the tide vs wind combo making for some interesting sections on both short and long course. It didn’t make any difference at the front of the field, with Thomas Heaton and Hayden Squance repeating their one-two at the head of the long course for the fourth time and Finella Gibbs-Beal …

Pace your Sea swims Getting your pace right in a sea swim is crucial to achieving the outcome you want, and can prove very difficult for relatively inexperienced and experienced swimmers alike. Good swimming coaches spend a fair chunk of training time encouraging their swimmers to develop a feel for their most effective swim pace so that it is second nature come competition time. …

For the third consecutive week it was a one-two for Thomas Heaton and Hayden Squance , with Xavier Anderson and Luke Kelly close behind. Talya Harwood and Bailee Spriggs were not far from the front leading the women’s field Brendon Hughes burgled the short swim from Finella Gibbs-Beal. Featured photo: Medical official Carolyn Bennison and shore supervisor Paul Peacock ensure …

My name is Adam Walker I am the first British person to swim the 7 toughest ocean swims in the world and one of 6 to complete it and last year was nominated for World Open Water Swimmer of the year. Here are my websites: www.adamwalkeroceans7.co.uk and oceanwalkeruk.com I swam the Cook Strait April 2014, where dolphins accompanied for 1 hour …

  The scenario was similar to last week’s, atrocious weather in the leadup (a couple of episodes of hail and cold wind as late as 5pm), but then perfect conditions for the swim. Even the water temperature wasn’t bad at 19 degrees and 144 swimmers took part. The featured photo, taken by Alice Trengrove, is of Finella Gibbs-Beal, winner of …

Treat yourself next winter. Join other swimmers in a trip to Samoa for the three-race Samoa Sea Swims in August 2016. Start planning now. Preliminary details below Samoa Sea A4 flyer16

The day has dawned with fresh snow on the hills and a hint of frost. Hardly encouraging. On the positive side, it looks like a clear, sunny day. By the beginning of the day there were 188 people signed up, so it looks like a big opening night. A swim of about 800m is planned for the the long event, …

Against predictions, it was a beautiful day for swimming. Luke Kelly and Pip Dwyer won the long swim, with Daniel Dwyer and Mandy Medcalf-Stephens leading the short swim. 86 swimmers took part. Because of some navigation confusion, the surf rescue boat sent some swimmers on a shortcut, so results need to be taken with a grain of salt. If you …

Final night – a fitting culmination to a near-perfect season. After the relay and barbecue we recognised the achievements of swimmers and those who made it happen. The Samoa Swim series prize was won by Clark Ambrose, who has waited since the opening swim, when he was drawn as the first person to go into the swim ballot. Here’s photos of …

The culmination of one of the best seasons yet. It’s been a summer of beautiful weather, calm seas and a lot of swimmers. Tonight’s field of 178 was up there among the biggest. The long course of 1700m and the short course of just on 600m were possibly the longest we’ve ever had. Tonight’s featured swimmer is Peter Thomas. Peter …

Isn’t it great. Another wonderful swim – a bit rough on the return, but nothing to bother our intrepid swimmers. Here’s the results – these are the third set, so if you’ve been scratching your head earlier, scratch no more – these are right. In a rare moment of cosmic justice, tonight’s winner Hayden Squance is also the winner of the …

We couldn’t have had a better night. 178 swimmers, flat calm, no sun in the eyes. We called it 1500m, although one swimmer had 1800m on his gps. Emily Trengrove did a fine job of photos, as usual. Here they are Featured swimmer: Pip Dwyer. Pip will have her name on the overall winner’s cup this year. In her third season …

Another very nice long swim of about 1500m, or 600 for the short option. 188 swimmers. There’s a lot of lost property, including an Orca equip wetsuit left in the men’s dressing room and several pairs of goggles, caps and a pair of leather sandals. The winner of the chance to be in the draw for the Samoa Swim Series …

Nelson swimmers had a great time in Akaroa on Sunda Here’s some pics from Bryony and Keller Marriott Featured photo – Margaret Johnston, silver medallist in F60-64 Nelson results in 2.8km age group race: Luke Kelly 34.15 2 (2nd M15-19) Kirstin Ramsay 41.32 41 (1st F30-34) Lionel Padial 41.44 43 (7th M45-49) Barry Thomas 42.44 56 (1st M55-59) Christina Harris …

It’s hard to imagine the season could ever get any better. We had sunshine, semi-high tide, not much wind but enough so it wasn’t boring, warm water, good friends and tonight we broke all sorts of records: The biggest attendance ever in 28 years – 194 swimmers. Probably the longest short swim – more than 600m Probably the longest long …

Punchy little swim tonight with 159 competitors. Colder and choppier than in recent weeks, but because it was a bit shorter it was possible to go a bit harder, which suited the conditions. Emily Trengrove took a record number of photos – an intense record of the night. Here they are Here’s the results The Samoa Sea Swim draw has …

Swim Tip #5 – Get connected!  Many if not most swimmers paddle and kick whilst allowing their mid-section to sag and wallow. This disconnection between the arms and legs leads to a drag inducing fishtailing effect as the swimmer attempts to move forwards. When you were young and had to choose a stick to throw in the river in the …

Lovely swim – one of the best – about 1400m. 188 swimmers – second biggest turnout of the season. Featured swimmer, Murray Tewnion. Murray is one of the hard men of long distance triathlon, with some seriously good Ironman results to his credit. Last year Murray raced in Kona and placed well in his age group (M60-64). For most people, …

It couldn’t have been a more perfect day in Wellington, with high tide, not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky, but millions of (harmless) jellyfish. Luke Kelly (pictured) started alongside the 15-strong elite field, paced himself with them to the 2km turn at the Pt Jerningham lighthouse, then moved away with the leaders to place 8th …

Beautiful night, warm water, slight chop that took people by surprise coming back, 172 swimmers. Pity about the low tide. Results here Here’s some pics Featured swimmer, Buzz Burrell. Few people make as much effort to get to the swims as Dr Buzz. Since Buzz makes such an effort to get here every week and is unfailingly cheerful and full …

Beautiful day, perfect conditions, 100 swimmers. Here’s the results No official photos taken today – anyone got a couple for the website? Email to info@nelsontriclub.co.nz The featured swimmer is Simon Kneebone, today’s winner, but pictured here finishing in the Eyebright Mile two weeks ago.

Great swim, 192 swimmers – the most ever in 28 years of swimming. The timing crew was put to the test as the regular stopwatch somehow got mislaid after last Sunday’s triathlon. Nevertheless, they muscled through using a smartphone and have come up with a set of results. Please contact us – info@nelsontriclub.co.nz if you spot errors. Here’s the updated results …

Beautiful night with 170 swimmers. Photos, click here Here’s the updated results, click here Featured swimmer: Deputy mayor Brian McGurk looks pleased as he comes out of the water just ahead of Eric Wylde. Here’s the points to date And finally – the Samoa Swim Draw winner for this week is Kay McPherson. Kay will go into the draw for …

Swim Tip #4 – Drive your arm deeper.  The vast majority of swimmers, even relatively good ones begin their stroke with their hands too shallow. With the hand at or too close to the waters surface any downward stroking pressure forces the swimmers body out of the ideal horizontal position thus creating heaps of drag. The resulting solid feel of …

What a beautiful day – 146 swimmers enjoyed perfect conditions for the 28th annual Eyebright Mile. Here’s some photos from Anna Perkins, click here Featured photo: Geoff Lart and Brian McGurk sprint up the beach at the end of today’s swim. Results – click here The story from the Nelson Mail, click here Story from the Marlborough Express, click here

Tricky conditions all round, with wind, tide and light buoys making navigation difficult. Only 124 swimmers with a lot of people away, but numbers boosted by visitors to the region. Don’t forget the Eyebright Mile on Sunday – the annual 2km swim from the yacht club to the beach. Start time on the full tide at 10.15am. Registration from 9am. …

Tricky little swim – not very long, but turned out to be much harder than expected. A field of 170 swimmers. Here’s the results, click here Here’s some photos from Anna Perkins, click here Points to date, click here Tonight’s featured swimmers. Dick Bennison, left, is the race organiser – he’s hard on wetsuits, he blames his whiskery face – …

Swim Tip #3 – Relax your hands. The latest in a series of swim tips from Nelson coach Lionel Padial The picture above says it all…. here we have the most successful swimmer that has ever lived swimming at speed and as you can see, his fingers are open! Surely he would go faster with his fingers together and his …

Beautiful calm night, even if the low tide made it a bit awkward getting in and out. Charlie Perkins headed off Jaslyn Humphries in the sprint to the finish of the short swim, while Kelly savoured a tactical finish as he came in a touch ahead of Thomas Heaton. Here’s the updated version of the results, click here Points to …

Results, click here Here’s a few photos from Sharon Sellars, click here Here’s a story from the Nelson Mail, click here

Tonight’s results, click here Beautiful conditions, 165 swimmers Tonight’s winner of the chance to go into the Samoa draw is Camilla King (all weekly winners will be included in the points table from now on). Camilla will go into the final draw in March. All weekly winners must have completed 12 swims by season end to be eligible for the …

This week’s Thursday high tide is at 9pm at 3.9m. Swim time at 6.15 will be with an incoming tide approximately mid-cycle, so we should have a moderate flow up the harbour. Both courses this week will head south from the ramp against the tide so it will pay to stay in close to shore. The short course will turn around a …

Coming up January 10, click here for details

Nice night, competitive swim Here’s some pics, taken by Anna Perkins, click here Tonight’s results, click here Points to date, click here Please check results and points and email info@nelsontriclub.co.nz as soon as possible if you spot any errors Tonight’s featured swimmer – Nigel Muir. Nigel is the boss at Sport Tasman and a pretty good athlete in his own …

Lionel Padial is a Nelson swim coach. This is the second in a series of tips for sea swimmers. Focus more on form, and less on effort! When swimming we would all be wise to focus our efforts primarily on reducing drag in any way we can. When you consider the scary facts that water is 880 times thicker than …

Results from Russell-Paihia swim Derek Eaton, 1.10.02, 1st M70-74 Janis Crampton, 1.10.39, 2nd F55-59 Paul Fisher, 1.12.33, 13th M45-49 Dick Bennison, 1.12.49, 7th M60-64 Stuart Hebberd, 1.14.59, 1st M65-69 Margaret Johnston, 1.16.13, 5th F55-59 (Margaret turned 60 the following day) Peter Gibbs, 1.19.43, 5th M65-69 Photos: click here

It looked a bit daunting, but tonight’s swim seemed to go off well – 147 swimmers. The most noticeable feature was the mass failure of the leaders in the short course to spot the turn buoy. It was a good lesson for the long course swimmers to keep an eye on where they were going. Plenty of lost property – …

Lionel Padial is a Nelson swim coach. This is the first of a series of tips for sea swimmers Get MORE oxygen. If you are like the many swimmers I come across who struggle with your breathing during sea swims or at the pool the “fix” might be simpler than you think. Whether you are relatively new to sea swimming …

This week’s swim It’s a bit dismal now, but the forecast is for a sunny day on Thursday. It’s quite a low tide at about 3pm, so once again we’ll be in a situation of tidal flow. As the weeks go by, we’ll swing into a period where we catch the low or high tide, with far less current, so …

Big night, serious swim, here’s the preliminary results: swim131114 Here’s some photos, taken by Anna Perkins, click here Points to date Some lost property – two wetsuits, a watch and a stray cycling glove. Email info@nelsontriclub.co.nz if these are yours. Do you recognise the featured swimmer? Ralph Hetzel is 71 in a couple of weeks and has been competing in Eyebright and …

If you took part in race one, congratulations. That’s definitely the earliest, and probably the coldest night we’ve ever had in the 28 years since the series started. If you were disheartened, don’t be, things will only get better. Added to the problems last week was a strong tide. We’re in the middle of the flow right now, but over …

In the earliest-yet start to the season, 156 swimmers braved cold temperatures for the opening swim. Thomas Heaton and Sally McMath were the first male and female in the long course of just under 800m, while Ben Price and Bryony Marriott were first ashore in the short race over 300m. Anna Perkins took a heap of photos, click here Results, swim061114 …

Thanks to Andrea Livingstone and Wildside Travel, one lucky swimmer and their partner will be flying from Nelson to Samoa to swim in the Samoa Swim Series of ocean races. All travel, accommodation and entry costs are included in the prize. After each swim this summer, a competitor from the long race will be drawn at random and be eligible …

Lost any gear? We’ve just chucked away a heap of old stuff. We’ve kept a dozen pairs of goggles – handy at the swims. You may like the size 12 wetsuit, the bike helmet from the spring duathlons or the nice Icebreaker merino beanie. If these appeal to you, email info@nelsontriclub.co.nz – the secretary’s garage won’t hold them forever.  

If you’ve finished planting your vegetables, start planning for a great summer of racing. It’s just over a week until the Port Nelson Sea Swim Series starts. More than 70 people have already signed up. You can help the hard-working volunteers by getting in your entry sooner, rather than later. There’s a fair amount of work involved in transferring those …

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/sport/10567111/Squance-leads-field-home-in-sea-charity-fundraiser

Sea swim workshop Michele Surcouf is one of our most enthusiastic sea swimmers and has been swimming through the winter. Michele also hosts the adventureswim.co.nz website where you can find out about all the informal sea swims that take place through the year. Become a member (it’s free) and follow the activities of other sea swimmers. Michele has been in …

Race results from the Blue September swim are here (PDF). Raw results here (PDF). Photos from the event can be found here (google+ album)

Tomorrow, Sunday September 28, sea swimming gets its very early season launch with the Blue September 600m swim. The distance is significant because of the 600 men who are hit by prostate cancer every year. Did you read this story in yesterday’s Nelson Mail?  click here Entry to tomorrow’s swim costs $5, but donations in addition to this have already …