Port Nelson Sea Swims, Race six, December 12, 2019

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 break, which Alec worked hard to close down. At the finish it was close between Fergus, Alec and Bendi, with Luke a couple of seconds back, ahead of Oxford Bayley, Abbey Smale, Hayden Squance, Isabella Thurlow and Maddy Shallcrass.

While we take this competition for granted, we’re witnessing the top swimmers in New Zealand competing every Thursday. There’s hardly a swimmer in the country who could break into the top ten in the Port Nelson series – it’s a credit to the work our swimmers are doing – not just the young ones, but the likes of Terry Bone, Hamish Neill, Christina Harris, Ben Van Dyke, Stu Hebberd and Derek Eaton, who put in the same huge hours of training to be on top of their age groups. But let’s not get smug – the next race in the national series is the Interislander Capital Classic in Wellington on January 26. Will you be there? Last year 30 Nelson swimmers took part. Check the details, click here

Here’s the results of tonight’s swim, click here

Photos by Pete Marshall, click here

Updated points table, click here

Story on Sportzhub, click here

Tonight’s free entry to The Interislander went to Dean Boote. Dean – can you email me at petergibbs96@gmail.com for details of how to claim that free entry.

In the buildup to The Interislander Big Tahuna, we’re seeking further locations to those we’ve used in the past. Do you have suggestions for where we can locate further signs? They measure either 2400mm x 1200mm, or 1200mm square. It could be that you live on a major road or street anywhere in the Nelson/Tasman district where a sign would be visible to passing traffic. If you can help, please email petergibbs96@gmail.com