On 26th March 2015, the Penang Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) in conjunction with the Penang State government organized the Penang International Cross Channel Swim.
This was a 6+ km swim starting at Pantai Bersih in Butterworth, and ending at Ocean Green Restaurant at Northam Beach in Penang Island. The last time a similar cross channel swim was organized was 27 years ago.
I was the Chief Time Keeper for the event. All officials assembled at Ocean Green Restaurant as early as 4:30 AM. There was an air of excitement at the briefing room. And quite certainly, all of us were proud to be part of this event.
We had to board fishing boats for our journey to the Butterworth side for the start of the race. Wearing sports shoes and socks, wading into ankle-deep sea water to board the boat was not a pleasant experience for me.
A view of the Butterworth side from the middle of the channel.
Equipped with life-jackets, the technical officials speed towards the event's starting point.
The trip from Penang Island to mainland Butterworth was a surprisingly fast and smooth one. There were some 10+ fishing boats ferrying the technical officials to the Butterworth side. Although it had rained earlier in the morning. thankfully, the weather was bright and sunny for the rest of the day.
The technical officials' landing point at mainland Butterworth. We arrived by 5AM.
This restaurant was the assembly point for all officials and participants. The race started slightly after 7AM.
The participants assembling at the restaurant prior to the start of the race.
I couldn't resist a selfie at the starting point of the race.
The start of the race started slightly later than planned, about 10 minutes after 7 AM. There were some 170+ participants in this event, most of them from China and all above 30 years of age. The oldest participant to my knowledge was 68 years old.
Participants waiting for the starting signal.
And they're off!
Soon after the participants started their race, the technical officials embarked on the fishing boats and we sped back to Penang island to complete our duties.
I regret not taking pictures of our return trip, of our landing back at Penang island, or of the finishers. But during that time we were all caught up in our duties and rarely spent a moment for ourselves.
Frenchman Sergei Dominichini, aged 48, finished first place in the Men's category with a time of 1:47.22. The last of the participants finished some 4+ hours after the start of the race. All the finishing participants had jelly fish stings.
Personally, it was a memorable event for me, and I was proud to be part of this event. Hopefully, they'll hold it again next year.
Related links:
The Star Online,
Official Website
