This is a goodie. A really unusual but exciting event. 5km of open ocean swimming.

Now, we paddle this route often. On a calm day, on a North Wester and in a South Easter. The view is always fascinating since you have this wreck on the beachfront, the hustle of Tableview on the one side, Robben Island in the distance on the other and then a Table Mountain in all it’s wonder across the way. It’s an odd clash of worlds.

And the Seli 1 has not been without controversy but clearly not going anywhere. So when life throws you a lemon… ? The concept is awesome.

Now the route can be quite tricky since in a big SE wind, the wind chop gets gnarly past the wreck. If there’s a big SW swell on the day, you get a lot of interference bouncing off the wreck- and then again, more interference off the rocks close to halfway. Now, on a ski, it’s easy to take a slightly longer line and drive your approach into the bay with the swell and wind, but on a swim, an extra 200m to the left is a loong way.

All in all, the approach lines will be interesting and my money is on the swimmer picking the best line on the day. Cut it too close to the rocks and you got hectic currents and interference which will have you swallowing in a lot of water. Too far out, and you’re swimming 5.5km (maybe more). And of course, you’re pretty far from land.

Being in November though, the weather is slightly unpredictable. On the day we could get just about *anything*. Time will tell, but for what it’s worth- this is one swim you want to put in your diary and be sure not to miss. It’s definitely going to be an adventure!