09.26.2012

Spots Still Available to Swim the Loop

Topics: Southeast Coast, Water Quality

The Swim the Loop event in Wrightsville Beach is Saturday,  but there might still be time to sign up for this swim, to help out as a stand-up paddle board or kayak escort for these hard- core swimmers, or just to come out and be a spectator.

 Aside from the personal satisfaction of completing this race, a portion of each registration fee will be donated to the federation, helping us to keep these swimming water swimmable for future generations. In addition, participants’ race packets will include a one-year membership to the federation, a membership now exceeding 10,000 people across the state.  If that isn’t enough incentive, the race starts and finishes at Dockside Restaurant, a popular restaurant and hang-out on the Intracoastal Waterway in Wrightsville Beach.

The organizers have a fantastic Web site that includes a guided boat tour of the entire race course and instructions for registering for the event. The paddle board escorts are being coordinated through the Cape Fear Paddleboard Club with Wrightsville Beach Surf Camp donating free board rentals for those who want to help out, but don’t have a paddle board.

Kristen and her cohorts have cooked up a challenging swim race, uniting competitive and recreational swimmers with kayakers, stand-up-paddlers and boaters, who will be on-hand to ensure the participants’ complete safety. The swim takes the famous 2.5 mile walk/jog path around Wrightsville Beach known as “The Loop” and turns it into a 3.5 mile swim. 

As of last week, the organizers were very close to the limit for swimmers, so contact them to see if there are still spots available. Or if you are of the spectator variety, come on out and cheer on these swimmers, see some new and old friends,  join the federation at our special event rate of $15 (normally $35) and hang out post-race with a great crowd at Dockside.

--- Tracy Skrabal, senior coastal scientist