Fellow Swimmer,
The time is soon upon us! We have been diligently working to put together the best possible event. I have purposely waited before sending this email. I wanted to wait until we had all our necessary permits. I met twice with representatives from the Coast Guard, Key West Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff's Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife and Key West Port and Transit. These meetings were very productive.

We received our Marine Permit from the Coast Guard a few weeks ago and today I receive a call from the Key West City Manager's office informing me that our city permit is ready to be picked up. Our insurance is in place, our T-shirts are being printed and our awards are being produced as I write you.

We will hold our pre race meeting at the Keys Bible Center on Thursday, June 19th. The Bible Center is located at 1000 Coppitt Road on Big Coppitt Key. That is at the corner of US1 and Coppitt Road (mile marker 9.75 on US1). If you need further assistance in finding this facility call my cell at 305-394-5292. The meeting will begin at 6:00PM promptly. I hope it last no longer than 75 minutes at tops. We will go over the rules, the course and answer any and all questions.

I suggest you arrive at the Bible Center as soon as possible as you will need to sign in and receive your T-shirt and number. We will have our volunteers waiting for you by 4:30PM to make sure you are ready for the 6PM meeting. This meeting is mandatory. There will be no registration on Friday morning.

The first wave of swimmers will leave at 8:30AM. This is designed for slower swimmers to get through critical areas before the tide changes. If your pool mile is slower than 40 minutes this wave is recommended. The Second wave is ideal for anyone whose pool mile is faster than 25 minutes. If you are somewhere in between it is you call but remember you will not be eligible for any placement awards if you swim in the first wave. All solo swimmers who complete the full course will be awarded a finisher medal, regardless of wave. The second wave will swim at promptly 9:00AM

The water temperature today was 85 degrees. Expect that temperature, give or take a degree. This is a warm water swim. Hydration is essential. Have plenty of fluid on your support boat/kayak. Don't forget the need to replace carbohydrates and electrolytes. The sun is hot and burns. Solos swimmers will be in the water an average of 5-7 hours. Skin protection is a major concern. Most sun blocks will wash off in a few hours. The hottest part of the day is from 11-3PM. Solo swimmers will need skin protection the most at that time. Will your protectant still be protecting you? I personally use zinc oxide. I put it on very thick before I enter the water. I look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, silly white but I find it stays on longer than anything else. You can find this in tubes in any pharmacy.

We will not be using dive flags this year but we will provide Day-Glo orange pennants on dowels for all support boats/kayaks to display. This will designate that you have a swimmer in the water. It will also have your solo or team numbers on it. We will have 7 "Committee Boats" on the course. Their sole purpose is to keep a watchful eye on you swimmers and your support crews. You will be given and emergency phone number. Kayaker and Boaters are suggested to bring a cell phone in a waterproof case (not a plastic bag!!!) All kayakers will be given a flare in a plastic bag in case of any emergency. 

At the finish line we will have drinks and fruit. If you desire something special for recovery bring it along. After the last swimmer arrives at the finish line we will have our awards get together. We will be serving soft drinks, chicken and ribs supplied by Dion's Quick Mart. The first place overall male and female solo will receive an award and a gift certificate from Emeralds International. For the solo division we will go three places deep. In both the two and three person relay we will go two places deep. We will also have a raffle. All registered swimmers will be eligible for gifts. One of the raffle prizes is a two night stay at the Casa Marina Hotel values at $800.00. There will also be two gift certificates raffled from Emeralds International not to mention other wonderful prizes.
If you have any difficulty with your support boat needs please contact Don Nelson immediately his email is don.n@juno.com His cell# is 305-304-0091. If you have any other questions or needs contact me at wvwelzien@aol.com or by cell at 305-394-5292

We will go over all this on Thursday evening and much more so get here early. We will have extra T-shirts available for sale. Have a good taper!!

See You Soon,
Bill Welzien