Ben Putman
Ben Putman is a member of Team Coto, a 6-person relay team that completed a crossing of the Anacapa Channel on 14 October 2012 in 7 hours 15 minutes.
Team Coto consisted of Michael Trudeau, Tanya MacLean, Jeff Conrad, Ben Putman, Lynn Kubasek and Cherie Edborg.
Team Coto swam together with 2 other relay teams: Team Augie (consisting of Lisa Nordholm, John Stevens, Jullian Rusinek, Morgan Empey, Vanessa Mesia and Mike Lane) and Team Jessie (consisting of Howard Burns, Charlie Christensen, Marc Horwitz, Mike Kendall, Alan Baumgardner and Corey Tabor).
All 3 teams were escorted by the boat New Blue Fin.
Anacapa Island
Anacapa Island is a small volcanic island located about 11 miles (18 km) off the coast of Port Hueneme, California, in the United States. Anacapa Island is composed of a series of narrow islets 6 miles (10 km) miles long, running in a mostly east-west orientation, 5 miles (8 km) east of Santa Cruz Island. Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands archipelago and is part of the Channel Islands National Park. It is the smallest of the northern islands.
Marathon Swimming
Solo and relay swims between Anacapa Island and the California mainland are governed by the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association (SBCSA) that supports and sanctions open water swims to, from, and between 7 of the 8 Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California, USA.
Anacapa Island Swims
12.4 miles (10.8 nm) to Silver Strand Beach, Oxnard. Cindy Cleveland pioneered this swim in 1978 in a 12 hour 48 minute double-crossing - a record that still stands. Since then there have been 36 total solo crossings to date (October 2012), including a double crossing by Paul Lewis. There have been 3 successful relays by Team Jessie, Team Augie and Team Coto.
