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THE VICTOR 5 MILE CORAL REEF SWIM -
ST. CROIX US VIRGIN ISLANDS
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I had read about the swim for several years, but made up my mind to do it the previous June, when I was about 10 seconds into the Alcatraz swim. After jumping into San Francisco Bay’s 53-degree water from a ferryboat I began to swim and say to my self “next year some place warm”. A few months later I emailed St. Croix race director Randy Nutt of the Victor (swim sponsor) and he told me he would advise me when they opened up for registration. Some time in March I was notified that registration information was available and less then a week later told it was selling out. Swim magazine ran an article on the swim and it was filling up fast. I would not normally sign up for a race, buy airline tickets and put a deposit on a room seven months in advance, but with four of my EP Masters Swimmers wanting to go it seemed like a great idea for a race (vacation/party). We swam under the name "Team Citizens Bank" as three of us work there, myself, Diane Robitaille and Mark Formica (full time Vice-Chairman of the bank, part time swimmer and famous T-shirt designer). Gerry Guardino and Ron Phipps filled out the squad.
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All of us regularly do open water swims such as Save the Bay, Mashpee and the Kickmuit swims, but 5 miles is a lot longer than anything we had previously done in the ocean (bay, lake or pool in most cases).
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ANOTHER FANTASTIC DESIGN BY MARK FORMICA
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MAP OF SWIM. STARTS AT BUCK ISLAND NATIONAL MONUMENT AND GOES ABOUT 2 MILES TO ST. CROIX. THE COURSE THEN ZIGZAGS ALONG THE SHORE AROUND POINTS OF LAND AND BETWEEN A SMALLER ISLAND AND ST. CROIX AND TO THE FINISH AT THE BUCCANEER HOTEL.
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ON THE LEFT IS BUCK ISLAND. THE START IS ON THE BEACH ON THE TOP LEFT OF THE PICTURE. AS YOU CAN SEE, MOST OF THE ISLAND IS SURROUNDED BY CORAL REEF. THE AREA ON THE BOTTOM LEFT IS GREAT FOR SNORKELING. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF SNORKELING TRIP THE DAY BEFORE (THAT SITE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.)
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ON THE RIGHT IS THE VIEW FROM THE ISLAND BACK TO SHORE.
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BELOW DIANE AND GERRY STOP FOR A DRINK AND ORDER A PIZZIA AT THE FIRST WATER STOP
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BELOW: FRANK FINISHED IN 2:33. HE DID NOT HAVE A GOOD SWIM BUT HE DID HAVE A GOOD TIME.
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BELOW: ALEX KOSTICH IS THE FIRST THROUGH THE CHUTE BY A FEW MINUTES (AGIAN).HE IS FROMERLY FROM NEW ENGLAND. HE ONLY BEAT ME BY 45 MINUTES, JUST BARELY TIME TO SHOWER, CHANGE AND HAVE LUNCH AND A FEW BEERS BEFORE I FINISHED. NEXT YEAR I AM GOING TO TRAIN HARDER AND SWIM A STRAIGHT LINE. I WANT TO BE FINISHED BEFORE ALEX HAS SECONDS AT LUNCH.
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BELOW: MARK FORMICA TO THE FINISH.
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ABOVE IS THE FINISH. THIS IS WHAT YOU SEE AS YOU ROUND THE LAST MARKER AND INTO THE FINISH IN FRONT OF THE BUCCANNEER HOTEL. OUR ROOM IS BETWEEN THE TREES BELOW THE GAP BETWEEN THE SUGER MILL AND THE MAIN BUILDING ON THE TOP OF THE HILL. THE VIEW WAS GREAT FROM THE ROOM AND BETTER FROM THE MAIN BUILDING CLICK HERE FOR THE VIEW
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THE TEAM MINUS RON WHO WAS OFF MAKING MONEY ON THE PHONE. YA GOTTA CLOSE THE DEAL WHEN YA GOTTUM.
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