It’s 6:45 a.m. on a Saturday, and 30 or so swimmers are standing in various stages of undress under a shelter at Halibut Point Recreation Area. Some are clipping inflatable neon buoys to their swimsuits, and others are spraying silicone lubricant on wetsuit zippers. Today is their last practice swim before the big race, where they’ll swim anywhere between one and 10 kilometers around Sitka Sound.
Jordan Iverson will race without a wetsuit. She’s gotten used to that – Iverson is one of three Triple Crown swimmers participating this year. That means she has completed three marathon swimming challenges without a wetsuit – swimming across the English Channel, around Catalina Island, and around Manhattan. She earned the title in June, after swimming the 20.5 miles of the English Channel. Iverson has been swimming in the Change Your Latitude race every year since 2017.
“Every year it seems like we know more and more faces, and we feel like we’re part of the community,” Iverson said.
The race itself is just one part of the experience. In the days leading up to the event, swimmers participate in optional adventure swims around Sitka. This year, Iverson had the chance to swim in a new spot – No Thorofare Bay, an area known for its rich marine life.
“It was a route that we had never done before and it was really fun,” she said. “It was pretty shallow at the start and so we could see a lot of different wildlife underneath the water and going through like the ripple section was cool — having the current just really push you through.”
This year, a record 79 swimmers registered for the race. Organizer Kevin Knox attributes the recent growth to word-of-mouth from swimmers like Iverson, who enjoy the sense of community and the adventure swims.
“They love talking about this race and about their experience here, and they love coming to Sitka,” Knox said. “And that’s what we like to be able to share too. It’s just like, what this place is about — sharing our favorite swimming holes, whether it’s raining or sunny. You know, it’s just a really fun thing to be able to share with others, whether you’re in state or out of state.”
And while the adventure swims are partly intended to acclimate swimmers to Sitka’s waters, for many swimmers, they’re also just that – an adventure.
Melissa Kegler is one of them. She is bringing a GoPro on today’s swim to take videos of marine life.
“When I describe this event, I always tell people everything is Jurassic Park-type oversized where the plants are bigger, the starfish is bigger,” Kegler said. “It’s just so cool every time I come up here. It’s a fantastic place to be.”
She wades into the shallows, sporting a bright pink swim cap and a snorkel tucked into her bikini. Today, the water temperature is likely in the high 50’s. Kegler, who is a renowned ice swimmer as well as a Triple Crown swimmer, calls this warm. She submerges herself in the water and calls out to Knox.
“So great. Like if you can guarantee this temperature tomorrow? It’s wonderful.”
She glides off to join the other swimmers, until she becomes a neon speck in the distance.
You can see the full results from the race here.
