The rise of False Bay Crossing: a growing attraction for skilled swimmers
One of the new ways Cape Town seems to be attracting attention from international tourists and locals is through those hoping to do long-distance swims, particularly the False Bay crossing.
Derrick Frazer, of Big Bay Events, a company that trains open water swimmers, is one such man who has been helping swimmers with Robben Island and False Bay crossings for years.
Frazer said that they have had people from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Bali, Croatia, Brazil and the United States of America - alongside the South Africans committed to swimming the long distances.
“I support a lot of swimmers training for the English Channel, and False Bay is pretty much the same distance as an English Channel swim.”
The Robben Island crossing is between 7.4 and 11 kms, and the False Bay swim is approximately 34 kms. The swim route across False Bay can be taken in two ways, from Rooi Els to Miller’s Point, or from Pringle Bay to Buffels Bay in the Western Cape.
“I had started doing Robben Island crossings about 15 years ago, and I was used to looking after swimmers, so it was a logical step for us to go onto the False Bay side. We did a test swim in 2019 with a relay team, and then the next swim I did was in 2021.”
Frazer believes that between the 12th of March 2021, and up to now, they have done 45 swims of the False Bay crossing.
“From 1989 right to 2012, there were five successful swims, and essentially since March 2021, we’ve done 45. Our success rate on those is about 98%. So, extremely high.”
Frazer said that such swims are difficult to organise, but he does think that his history with swimmers plays a role in them trusting him and has now started picking up more international swimmers.
From its humble beginnings, Frazer said that it took a lot of education and research, alongside his wealth of personal experience of working with swimming that helped develop the False Bay swim, in particular to become what it is today.
“I studied a lot of the currents and I got a hold of marine biologists who work in the area and did as much work as I could to determine if we did a double, which way we should swim first.
“With all the work I did, I realised that they had actually been swimming the wrong way the whole time. We needed to swim in the opposite direction. And I asked the first swimmers, who were a relay team of girls, if they were happy to trust me on that.
“And we went that way, and it proved to be absolutely fantastic...”
In terms of what it takes to do the swim, Frazer shared that generally for a swim of 30-odd kilometres, they work on a 12-month preparation, but that is not possible for someone who does not swim long distances regularly.
“Someone who’s sitting on the couch thinking they could do it in a year, and that’s not going to happen… preparation doesn’t start from a base of not having swum at all. If somebody is currently a Robben Island swimmer, for instance, then we can have a look at a 12-month preparation. If somebody hasn’t swum for a while, you’re probably looking at an 18-month preparation.
“Robben Island is never to be dismissed as an easy swim. We’ve seen some people swim the English Channel at 33kms, come back and say, ‘I’m just going to do a Robben Island’ but then they come back and it burns them because it’s not easy. It’s never an easy swim, and a lot of that has to do with the cold water as well.”
A representative for the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association (CLDSA), Tracey Steyn, agrees with Frazer as she knows first-hand the challenges having done the Robben Island swim three times.
She is training to do the False Bay swim in March, if all goes as planned.
Steyn said what it takes to do such long-distance swims is dedication, and one benefit for locals is that, Cape Town itself allows for variety.
“We have the False Bay and the Atlantic Seaboard, we have a lot of opportunities for open water swimming. The community has grown radically with groups of people swimming everywhere.”
When it comes to what it takes to do such types of swims, Steyn joked, “You need to be very stupid or mad”.
“I’m training for False Bay, and you can’t cut any corners. You need to make sure you are comfortable, and accept what will happen to your body whether you are doing it in skins, or wetsuits.
“You are swimming in the Atlantic ocean, you’re dealing with ocean temperate, waves, and currents are a challenge. Weather temperatures can change. Companies like Big Bay Events and others will support you. You’re out there in the middle of the ocean, and you need to know anything can happen,” Steyn said.
In terms of advice for those wanting to take on the challenge, Steyn said that there is an amazing swimming community.
She added that: “We are so blessed in Cape Town with the most amazing ocean and beautiful beaches. The City has invested in swimming pools, so there are amazing facilities available. The best thing to do is look at the CLDSA site and find a list of groups that meet up on different days, and really just rock up. Introduce yourself.”
Steyn shared what is keeping her focused and motivated for her swim “is not thinking about the swim”.
“I’m just trying to look at every day, and every week, trusting the process and staying injury-free.”
Frazer explained that while Robben Island is never easy, it is cheaper to run from a boating perspective. It costs between R4000 and R4500 depending on the boat they use. And when it comes to doing False Bay, it is much cheaper than going to the English Channel.
“To give you an idea of the English Channel, one of the major costs there is what you pay the pilot - basically the boat support. And that’s about R90,000. We currently charge around about R30,000 for the same distance.
“Our boats are a lot smaller and obviously, it’s an emerging market for us. So, we’re looking at building it up...”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za