Maui Channel Swim
The Maui Channel Swim is a 9.9-mile (15.9 km) ocean swimming relay race between the islands of Lanai and Maui in Hawaii. Each team has six swimmers who rotate at fixed intervals. It is one of the World's Top 100 Open Water Swims and annually named as one of the World's Top 100 Island Swims by the World Open Water Swimming Association.
Contents
Strategy
The Maui Channel Swim is interesting because navigation and currents can be a deciding factor. The fastest, strongest team does not always finish first. Each team is responsible for their own navigation and, as such, at various points during the race, escort boats of all shapes and sizes dot the horizon with everyone thinking they have the shortest route. Depending on conditions, the fastest teams finish in 3 to 4 hours. The race has a time limit of 8 hours and it is not uncommon that teams do not finish.
Rules
At the start of the race, each swimmer swims half-hour legs until all team members have raced. Then each swimmer swims a 10-minute leg until they cross the finish line. Every team has a dedicated escort boat. The boat captain acts as the navigator for each team.
Awards
Swimmers compete in seven categories based on the ages and sexes of the team members. The grand prize goes to the first team to finish. It is a large, perpetual carved koa wood Duke Bowl. There are other perpetual trophies that go to the winners in many of the divisions. Swimmers on the top three teams in each division receive impressive Hawaiian swim towels with their division and place embroidered. Each swimmer also receives a custom-designed tee shirt.
Host Hotel
The Kaanapali Beach Hotel is the Maui Channel Swim headquarters. The hotel serves as the raceoint and hosts the award banquet. This event is so popular that it has never been formally advertised. The Maui Channel Swim is well run and so much fun that many of the teams come back year after year and enlist friends and fellow swimmers. There is always a great rivalry between the Australian and American teams.
Course
The race course officially starts at the pier at Club Lanai on the island of Lanai and ends on the beach in front of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel on the island of Maui. The distance between start and finish is approximately 9.9 miles, although the actual distance swum is longer depending on currents, winds, etc.
Distance
9.6 miles
Type
Ocean
Location
City Lanai to Maui
State/County/Province Hawaii
Country USA
Region Americas
Contact
Race Director Coco Emberson at cocoemberson@hawaii.rr.com
Event Information
External links
- David O'Brien Talks About Keep Turning Over On WOWSA Live
- Michael and Mackenzie Miller Talk Channel Swimming On WOWSA Live
- Maui Channel Swim
- Doug Woodring Talks About Deplasticizing Open Water On WOWSA Live
- Kathrin Kammers Honored By The Hall Of Fame
- Kathrin Lammers Talks About Traveling On WOWSA Live
- John Derr At 50, 60, 70 And Beyond
- Like Father, Like Daughter In Maui Channel Swim
- In The Blink Of An Eye, Accident In Maui
- When Open Water Swimmers And Boaters Collide
- Open Water Swimming Accidents
- When Open Water Swimmers And Boats Intersect
- In A Blink Of An Eye - Accident Update In Maui
- Propping Up Safety Standards In Open Water
- Playing It Safe In The Maui Channel And Elsewhere
- The Feeling Of Finishing From Fatigue To Felicity
- Marathon Swimming
- Open Water Swimming
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- I Got Stung
- The Parting Touch In Open Water Swimming Relays
- Oceans Seven Relay Style
- The Party Is Starting…Kaiwi Channel Invitations Are Out
- Six And More...Or Fewer
- Dea Ann Joslin, A Master Juggler Of Excellence
- The Vision And Early History Of The Maui Channel Swim
- Great Scottish Swim - What A Honeymoon
- Four Days Of Fun And Competition In Hawaii
- Unbelievably Gorgeous, Awe-Inspiring Open Water Places
- Darren To Be Great, Turner Recalls His Career
- Kathrin Kammers Honored By The Hall Of Fame
- DIY Completion Certificate In The Open Water
- Volcano Swims Around The World
- Harry Huffaker's Three Islands Swim
