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Swimmers & kayakers round the Wharf. |
17 DECEMBER 2011, Santa Cruz – It was a tad nippy when the three Auxiliary vessels got underway from Santa Cruz Harbor early Saturday morning. The mission for the morning was to provide a safety zone for the annual charitable fund raising event, "Will Swim For Food." This event raises donations for the Second Harvest Food Bank, with various entities "sponsoring" swimmers who venture from Cowell's Beach, out and around the Santa Cruz Wharf and back to the beach in front of the Boardwalk… with water temperatures in the low 50s.
With about 20 swimmers and an armada of supporting kayaks, the swim got underway at about 0940 accompanied by a bagpiper on the beach. With our lookouts acting as 'lifeguards' watching the swimmers, our main concern was hypothermia as the event wore on with some of the swimmers in the cold water for nearly an hour. Fortunately there were no emergencies of any kind.
One of the supporting personnel was "Ms. Claus" on her paddleboard, resplendent in her Santa suit (sans beard – Welcome to Santa Cruz!) "Ms. Claus" got cold feet (literally) about paddling back to the Harbor so our facility taxied her back … hopefully we'll get something nice in our stockings this year!
Later that day at about 1730, I received a call from the event organizer, "Nick." He was 'effervescent' about the Auxiliary participation in the event. Nick was very complimentary about how we provided support with three vessels and three mobile radios on the Wharf. He mentioned that during the swimmers' pre-swim meeting, there were several participants who were reluctant to venture into the cold water for that long a time fearing hypothermia.
Nick pointed to the Auxiliary vessels and said that we were there to support the swimmers, and if anyone needed help, we were there to bring them on board and assist. He said that when the "reluctants" saw our vessels, the looks on their faces immediately calmed and all made the swim! This was a terrific fund-raiser for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
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Swimmers & kayakers get underway in flat calm conditions. |
The event organizer posted the following on Face book: "The kids hugging their Grandma who was getting ready to swim around the Wharf, the families that drove from the East Bay and met up with old friends, the Mom who took the time to introduce me to her Dad and two sons, my own Grandkids wanting to take a picture with me, the line of people determined to write a check for Second Harvest, looking out on the water and seeing our Coast Guard Auxiliary escort, seeing Santa on a SUP, seeing all of the kayaks and surfboards lined up on the beach, and the cheer that went up when we found out the water really was going to be COLD! Electricity reigned supreme, and nobody was in a hurry for it to end."
The Face book link is below: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Will-Swim-for-Food/238795202835860#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=268995506482496&id=23879520283586
This was an extremely good day on the water. Bravo Zulu to the 19 Auxiliarists who participated (13 on vessels, 3 mobile radios, 2 in the Santa Cruz Radio Tower and 1 photographer). And well done to the event organizer and sponsors for raising funds for a worthy cause. The Auxiliarists that participated included:
| Operational vessel #1 | On Operational vessel #2 | On Operational vessel #3 |
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| Santa Cruz Auxiliary Radio Tower | Mobile Radio Communications on the Wharf | |
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~cc 01-08-12