On Saturday we packed the car and headed off to Langebaan for one of my favourite local swims of the year, the 3.2km Pearly’s Around the Island Swim. I had my family taking up the backseat and training partner Duncan Bonney for company on the one and a half hour car trip. There was great excitement from my side as it was James’ first trip to the beach and he was coming with to watch his dad swim. The ocean holds such a special place in my life, so it is something I look forward to sharing with my son as he grows up.

A great view of the Island from the Langebaan Beach

The beautiful West Coast Road heading out of Cape Town provides great views of the ocean and as you pass the West Coast National Park just before Langebaan, there is often plenty of wildlife on show. The swim event forms part of the Annual Langebaan Lagoon Festival. This year there was quite a buzz around town as we arrived. Preparations were underway for the antique car show, they had a Pilates session happening down on the beach, along with talent shows and DJ’s pumping their music.

Registration took place at Pearly’s Restaurant from 09h00 and race briefing started on time at 09h45. The race was split into 3 options, a short 400m fun swim for the kids, a one mile out and back swim and the main event, the 3.2km Around the Island Swim. The one mile was first to go at 10h00, followed by the 3.2km ten minutes later. The water was a very fresh 15°C and by the start the wind had picked up and was blowing very strongly from the South (left to right across the course), creating decent sized wind swell and chop on the water surface. The 3.2km route took you straight from the beach towards the island, where at a turn buoy 300m out you turned left, swimming as close as possible to the rocky edge of the island. You circumnavigated the island in a clock-wise direction. Once around the island, roughly 2.6km, you ended up back to the same turn buoy, made a left turn and headed straight back to the beach for the finish.

It seemed as though the race was going to be a rematch from the Camps Bay Human Rights Day swim last week (Report) as Danie Marais was lined up next to me on the start line again. Being tall, I had a great start as I was able to run quite far out, lifting my legs and jumping through the water. I set off at a relatively comfortable pace and was soon caught by Danie and Duncan, both sitting nicely on my feet. Danie reached the turn first and I followed him closely. Danie surged around the buoy and I followed on his feet, dropping Duncan in the process. Danie and I then worked well together, taking turns on the front and each of us testing one another every couple of hundred metres with a good surge in speed. With the island being so rocky and rugged, there are plenty of obstacles along the way to watch out for. There are kelp beds everywhere along the route and the occasional rock quite close to the surface. The race is not only tactical but navigational IQ plays a huge role if you are trying to swim fast and as close to the edge of the island as possible. Danie and I were definitely pushing the limits as on more than one occasion we found ourselves completely entrenched in seaweed and laughing at one another as we tried to get scramble over and through the kelp beds. We had a paddler leading the way for us, he must have had a few chuckles whilst at the same time having a great race unfold before him. With us nearing the final turn and nearly the entire way around the island we both had turns on the front trying to push the pace with neither of us successfully getting away.

We rounded the final turn together and set off as fast as we could with 300m to go. I managed to hold onto Danie’s feet for about 200m of the last 300m, at which point he put in a last big surge to which I just could not respond. Reaching the beach just behind him, I crossed the line just four seconds back. Danie finished in 38:23 and I placed second in 38:27. Danie was frozen, I reckon a bit of hypothermia was setting in. My wife, Nes, and James were there waiting for me, towel ready and cheering dad on. Well done to Danie, who is definitely pushing me hard in these races, always great to race head to head like that. It is really what racing is all about for me, so much fun! Can’t wait for the next race against him which will be the 10km at SA Open Water Swimming Championships at Albert Falls Dam, Natal, in two weeks time.

Duncan held on to a solid 3rd place finish in 42:20, helping Danie and I take the team event honours as Vineyard Swimming Club. Bryan Allot dominated the wetsuit category, winning in 43:02. Emma Alsop, the birthday girl, won the Ladies race in 45:42. Well done and happy birthday Emma.

Duncan Bonney - 3rd, Philip Emslie 2nd and Danie Marais - 1st

After the race we enjoyed a great cup of warm coffee and lunch at Pearly’s restaurant while we waited for the prize-giving to start. Rob and Craig, the race organisers, put on another fantastic event. They really go all out and this is one race I recommend you put onto the calendar for next year. There is talk of the hosting one or two other swim races in the awesome lagoon, I can almost guarantee they will also be fantastic races. The prize giving was also great, they had loads of prizes for swimmers in every category, as well as great spot prizes from the race sponsors.

For a full set of Results: Click here

Hopefully I will see you there next year, I will definitely be back.