Santa Barbara Semana Nautica 6-mile Ocean Swim

evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
edited June 2012 in Event Announcements
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
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Comments

  • bobswimsbobswims Santa Barbara CACharter Member
    This is a beautiful course. I hope to do it in 2013.
  • AquaRobAquaRob Humboldt Bay, CACharter Member
    I had a really good time on this swim last year... I came face to face with a mola mola!
  • jkormanikjkormanik Boise, IdahoMember
    edited March 2015
    I've searched the archives and only found a few comments on this event. I'm considering it for 2015...as a "test" for my potential 2016 Anacapa swim. Any thoughts and experiences would be appreciated...from lodging to the swim itself. TIA.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited March 2015
    It's a great swim, highly recommended! A point-to-point from Goleta Beach to Hendry's -- a gorgeous stretch of SB coastline that few ever see. Actually more like 5.2 miles if you swim a straight course.

    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!
    jkormanikTheoDanSimonellirlm
  • smithsmith Huntsville, AlabamaSenior Member
    Thanks for posting this. I might be out in California that weekend, and was considering this swim.

    Evan: Big disparity in the times over the years. Besides regular chop, are there quirky currents?

    Keep moving forward.

  • AquaRobAquaRob Humboldt Bay, CACharter Member
    edited March 2015
    @smith you'll be able to tell what kind of day you're going to have by which direction the kelp is flowing when you swim over the top of it. I dropped something like 40 minutes between 2011 and 2012 based entirely on current, not conditioning.

    That said, I agree with @evmo... it's a great swim!
    jkormanik
  • smithsmith Huntsville, AlabamaSenior Member
    Great tip!. Thanks!
    jkormanik

    Keep moving forward.

  • jkormanikjkormanik Boise, IdahoMember
    How about a location to rent a kayak? My wife will likely be crewing for me and we don't want to bring our kayak from Idaho...
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited March 2015
    jkormanik wrote: »
    How about a location to rent a kayak? My wife will likely be crewing for me and we don't want to bring our kayak from Idaho...

    I recommend these guys:

    http://www.channelislandso.com/rental/
    jkormanik
  • VanMouVanMou San Luis Obispo, CASenior Member

    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.

    DanSimonellievmo
  • VanMou said:
    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.

    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.

  • jkormanikjkormanik Boise, IdahoMember

    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."

  • jkormanikjkormanik Boise, IdahoMember

    Bummer...I'm likely out as I don't think 4th of July in S.B. will work.

  • VanMouVanMou San Luis Obispo, CASenior Member

    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.

    SM6 v1

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2017

    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.

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2017

    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.

    Karl_Kingerydc_in_sfIronMikeChrisgreeneKate_Alexander
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member

    evmo said:
    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.

    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

  • KNicholasKNicholas ArizonaCharter Member

    Looking forward to it. I've had this good time swim on my list for a long time.

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited July 2017

    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

  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    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!

    marlin
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    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/

  • JaimieJaimie NYCMem​ber

    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!

    ssthomas
  • jjamesjjames Los AngelesMember
    edited May 2018

    I did this race last year, and I'm planning on going back again this year! Beautiful, well organized, and really fun.

    Jaimieabbygirlrose
  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    Really hoping I can fit this in my schedule again this year!

  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    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?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited July 2018

    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!

  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    Thanks! My friend and I will check out Leadbetter!

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2019

    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.

    abbygirlroserlmCathyInCA
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    Congrats @abbygirlrose - 2nd woman and 5th overall yesterday at the SB 6-miler. Any other forum members there?

    How'd it go?

    CathyInCAkejoyce
  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    Thanks! Always a fun swim! Colder and more overcast than usual but so much fun!

    CathyInCA
  • PaigeKiedingPaigeKieding Santa Barbara, CaliforniaMember

    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!

    evmoabbygirlroseCathyInCArlm
  • CathyInCACathyInCA Martinez, CASenior Member

    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!!

    rlmAzskievmopolka_stripes
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    The Santa Barbara Semana Nautica 6-mile Ocean Swim is back after a 2-year hiatus:

    https://semananautica.com/2022-festival-schedule/

    JustSwim
  • abbygirlroseabbygirlrose Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CASenior Member

    Already signed up! This is THE BEST event

    JustSwim
  • hpyswmrhpyswmr San Francisco Bay - SERCMember

    Love this swim! Unfortunately I can't make it this year - so many other swims are happening on this weekend!

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