Santa Barbara Semana Nautica 6-mile Ocean Swim
evmo
SydneyAdmin
Entries are now being accepted for the Semana Nautica 6-mile Ocean Swim in Santa Barbara on Sunday, July 8. It is a point-to-point race between Goleta Beach and Arroyo Burro Beach (a beautiful stretch of coast). Swimmers must provide their own paddlers, but if you email the race director (Jane) she can probably connect you with someone.
From the entry form: "As in the tradition of open water swimming, the use of wet-suits or other non-porous attire, kickboards, gold chains, booties, paddles, swim buoys, body suits, triathlon suits, fins, gloves, or other wimpy contraband will not be allowed. No exceptions!!"
Entry Form
Semana Nautica main website
From the entry form: "As in the tradition of open water swimming, the use of wet-suits or other non-porous attire, kickboards, gold chains, booties, paddles, swim buoys, body suits, triathlon suits, fins, gloves, or other wimpy contraband will not be allowed. No exceptions!!"
Entry Form
Semana Nautica main website
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Yes, it's a perfect warm-up / test for an Anacapa swim. Water temp in early July typically high-50s to low-60s. The past year it has been so warm; not sure SB has even been below 60 this winter!
Swimmers provide their own kayakers... and a kayaker is required... but if you register early sometimes Jane (the race director) can pair you with one of the local beach guard volunteers.
Jane puts on a first-class event. Friendly vibe, food & hot coffee at the finish, handmade local craftwork for the awards.
Hope that helps, let me know if you have other questions!
Evan: Big disparity in the times over the years. Besides regular chop, are there quirky currents?
Keep moving forward.
That said, I agree with @evmo... it's a great swim!
Keep moving forward.
I recommend these guys:
http://www.channelislandso.com/rental/
This swim usually happens the second Sunday in July, but this year it will be a week earlier, on July 5th, due to some scheduling issues. If you want more information, Jane (race director) can field your questions. She is at janeswims@gmail.com. I have swum it several times, and often the temperature is 61 to 65 degrees. A couple of years it was a brisk 58 degrees. I don't think I've ever swum it in temperatures below 58.
Due to the lay of the shoreline, this swim is virtually a west-to-east swim. There is a fair amount of kelp in the last 20% of the swim. Like Rob accurately stated, some years the kelp braids are flowing right towards you -- propelled by currents that you have to swim against. Other years the kelp is laying down, slanted in the direction you are swimming--those are the happy years. And as others previously said, the times of swimmers can vary by as much as 30-45 minutes, based upon the currents.
The last two years have seen ~45 swimmers each year. This is a non-wetsuit swim.
This is an excellent swim with a long history, and Jane Cairns is a first class person who puts on a first class event. Her Mom makes sure there is much food and drink at the finish. Jane provides a warm and upbeat vibe to the swim.
And yes for sure it'd be a nice tune-up for Anacapa.
It looks like the 2015 Festival Schedule lists the 6-mile swim as happening on Sunday, July 12, 2015, while the 3-mile swim is listed on Sunday, July 5, 2015.
I've reached out to Jane. I'll post what I hear from her regarding the date. I sure hope it's not July 5 as I'm sure 4th of July weekend will be busy in S.B.
Just heard from Jane:
" The swim is on July 5th. Unfortunately the Semana Nautica site has not been updated yet.
We had to do some major changes of dates for the Sports Festival this year and I got bummed to the 4th of July weekend."
Bummer...I'm likely out as I don't think 4th of July in S.B. will work.
Here is a map of the Semana Nautica six mile swim: Again, swim is on 7/5/2015, and you can get more information from janeswims@gmail.com.
The Santa Barbara 6-mile ocean swim will be July 9th this year. The route is Goleta Beach to Arroyo Burro Beach. Entries are online at:
http://semananautica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SB-6mile-swim-2017.pdf
This is a beautiful event, one of my all-time favorites. It is held annually as part of SB's "Semana Nautica" ocean sports festival. It's still pretty off-the-radar nationally, but SB locals come back year after year, because it's just such a cool swim.
Water temperatures almost guaranteed in the low 60s... perfect stepping stone to longer Channel Islands swims (Anacapa or Catalina). If you swim straight, it's more like 5.2 miles.
AND (how could I forget to mention)... this event is also notable for being completely wetsuit-free. No "separate categories" or other concessions to the triathlon community. Just an old school ocean swim, speedos, caps, goggles.
Love this event so much.
This right here is why I have just put this swim on my bucket list. Thanks @evmo!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Looking forward to it. I've had this good time swim on my list for a long time.
Semana Nautica 6-mile results (actually about 5.2-5.3 miles by shortest path including around the pier) now available:
http://longswims.com/events/semana-nautica-ocean-swim/2017
At some point we will get the missing 2002-2009 hand-written/PDF results transcribed into the database.
This is a great point-to-point swim from Goleta to Santa Barbara, organized by SBCSA board member Jane Cairns. The swim has long been a feeder/inspiration for Santa Barbara Channel & Catalina Channel solo swims.
This year's first overall finisher Tim Siciliano was, no joke, a three-time NCAA Div 1 champion in the 400 IM in the early 2000s.
It appears this was a neutral-to-favorable year for currents. Some years (2001, 2010) have had a helpful current, resulting in fast times. More frequently there's a slight head current.
Local news coverage here:
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/tim_siciliano_karen_schultz_win_semana_nautica_6_mile_ocean_swim
I think there was certainly a favorable current as the kelp was all lying flat pointing south and my time was 25 minutes faster than last year. Always a fun swim!
The Semana Nautica 6-mile swim - a beautiful point-to-point from Goleta Beach to Hendry's Beach in Santa Barbara - will be held Sunday, July 8, 2018.
Entry form here: http://marathonswimmers.org/assets/SB6mileswim2018.pdf
Historical results here: https://longswims.com/events/semana-nautica-ocean-swim/
Oh this looks gorgeous - I had to look up who the Hendrys were - amazing to think that people used to grow lima beans in Southern California!
I did this race last year, and I'm planning on going back again this year! Beautiful, well organized, and really fun.
Really hoping I can fit this in my schedule again this year!
I am heading up to SB tonight and would love to get a training swim in tomorrow, are there any established groups I can drop in with? Alternatively any pool masters teams with Sat am workouts?
Santa Barbara Swim Club Masters swims @ 10:30am on Saturdays at beautiful Los Banos del Mar Pool near the SB Harbor.
East Beach or Leadbetter Beach are good, safe places to get in the ocean, but I don't know about any regular meet times on Saturdays.
Have a great swim!
Thanks! My friend and I will check out Leadbetter!
Entries now available for the Semana Nautica 6-mile Ocean Swim in Santa Barbara/Goleta on July 7th, 2019:
https://forum.marathonswimmers.org/uploads/SB 6 mile swim 2019.pdf
This is the oldest continuously-running swim of this distance on the west coast.
Congrats @abbygirlrose - 2nd woman and 5th overall yesterday at the SB 6-miler. Any other forum members there?
How'd it go?
Thanks! Always a fun swim! Colder and more overcast than usual but so much fun!
This year was my 2nd time doing it. Such a fun swim! Air temperature was a lot colder than usual and the weather was pretty overcast, but the water temperature hovered around 63-64 and the water was clear and beautiful. Can't wait to keep coming back!
I was there and was NOT DFL!! Great swim. Water was warm by my standards. DOLPHINS!! My daughter Janna kayaked for me and had never seen fog or dolphins in the wild before. Great experience for her too. Love Jane and the group of supporters keeping us safe. Water was smooth as glass for the majority of the swim. Saw several "Keep Goleta Country" bumper stickers around town @evmo Great group of SERC swimmers showed up this year too. Can't wait til next year!!
The Santa Barbara Semana Nautica 6-mile Ocean Swim is back after a 2-year hiatus:
https://semananautica.com/2022-festival-schedule/
Already signed up! This is THE BEST event
Love this swim! Unfortunately I can't make it this year - so many other swims are happening on this weekend!