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If you are traveling to Cape Town to attempt an Atlantic Ocean (Robben Island or Cape Point) swim, it would be advisable to do some training in the ocean. Camps Bay beach or 4th Beach, Clifton, are perfect for this as both are reasonably well protected bays and the water is normally calm and cold. It is however never advisable to swim on your own so that your first port of call should be one of the social swims described below.

There is a social swim at Camps Bay every Sunday morning at 09:00 all year round. This is a purely social swim and newcomers are welcome and will be looked after by the more experienced swimmers as they acclimatise to the cold. Sea temperatures are usually around 13 degrees, but can go as low as 9 degrees and as high as 19 degrees. The course of 1.5km is close to shore so that swimmers can exit at any point. The picture below shows a particularly beautiful morning at Camps Bay.

We meet on the lawns in front of Cafe Caprice and afterwards we always stay on at Caprice for hot chocolates and breakfast. Thus it is also an ideal opportunity to meet many of the best and most experienced local swimmers and to find out what is happening locally. For further information contact Andrew Chin on 083-708-1390.

On most Sundays the swim is at Camps Bay, but on the first Sunday of the month there is an organised swim at 4th Beach, Clifton, where for a small fee you get lifeguards and your time over the course. Both the Camps Bay and Clifton swims are around 1.5km and usually very cold.

Sunday morning at Camps Bay

Sea Point Pavilion

For time in the pool there is no better place than the Sea Point Pavilion. This is a large 50m open air sea water public pool on the beach front in Sea Point. In summer (October to March) the pool is open from 07:00 until 19:00, although it is best to get there early to avoid the crowds.

Some swimmers prefer this venue on a Sunday morning. Indeed, you will find other swimmers there every morning, as well as at lunchtimes and after work. Many of the Cape Long Distance Swimming legends should be training - veterans like Peter Bales, Hugh Tucker, Theo Yach and Otto Thanning still train here regularly.

Although pool training is vital, it would be dvisable to do some training in the ocean as well. Camps Bay Beach or 4th Beach, Clifton, are perfect for this as both are reasonably well protected bays and the water is normally calm and cold. It is however never advisable to swim on your own so that your first port of call should be one of the social swims described here.

The biggest challenge presented by Robben Island, Cape Point and often False Bay swims is not necessarily the distance, but the cold water temperature. There are ways to prepare your body and mind for a cold swim: these include training in cold water for weeks or even months before an attempt, or traveling to Cape Town at least a week before your attempt to acclimatise in the Atlantic ocean. Picking up some weight could be beneficial as extra body fat will serve as a natural insulation and may prevent hypothermia.

A swim is only official when done according to the English Channel Swimming rules, i.e., a swimmer is permitted to wear only one costume, one cap, and one pair of swimming goggles. You are allowed to use grease, but this is seldom done other than to prevent chaffing.

The open water swimming season in Cape Town generally stretches from October to April/May, although crossings in winter have been completed successfully. Water temperatures on the Atlantic side supposedly increase around February / March / April, due to the gradual decrease of the prevailing summer-wind, the South-Easter. It does however often happen that temperatures are still very low during these months, and higher in January; it is unfortunately impossible to predict. The hot air temperature during summer months does make a big difference.

The conclusion is that, due to Cape Town's often unpredictable weather, especially with regards to wind, it is advisable to allow yourself a reasonable window period in order to at least get a chance to make an attempt. A period of 7-10 days should be sufficient for Robben Island, Cape Point and Cape Agulhas attempts, while crossing False Bay is more complicated. Please contact us to discuss this.

If you are already a registered swimmer and wish to review or change your personal details, please log in. If you are not registered, you may complete the form on the right (see below first!).

Please check first whether you are registered! (See the Surname Lookup on the Records Database.)

Registration comprises two parts: providing us with your personal details, and paying your membership fee. Once you are a registered member you may apply to do a swim.

When CLDSA has checked your registration details and received your membership fees, they will confirm your registration by email and you will then be able to use your Swimmer Id to apply to do your swims.

Registration is a one-off process and will remain in effect in perpetuity whereby you retain your unique Swimmer Id forever. However, membership needs to be renewed on 1 August every year (R100).

You have to be a CLDSA registered swimmer in order to apply to do a swim. You can check on the Records page to see if you are registered, and if not you will need to first go to the Registration page and register. Once you are registered you will be allocated a Swimmer Id which you will then use to apply for a swim.

Your application to swim gives us notice of your intentions so that we can arrange for an observer and collect your swim fee in advance. When CLDSA have checked your application and received your swim fee you will be notified via email and you will then be cleared to swim. Note that your swim fee does not expire and can be used at any time in the future to do a swim. We call it "banking a swim".

Before you complete the online form below you need to download two documents. The first is the Indemnity & Waiver  which you can download here, and which you need to complete and return (details are on the form). Note that if you are under 18 years of age you must provide CLDSA with a consent form signed by your parent or guardian.

The second is the Information on Long Distance Swims  which you can download here.

There are three options for the Course below, based on the cost: a single is a swim such as Robben Island to Blouberg, a double would be Robben Island to Blouberg and back, and a marathon would be a swim such as across False Bay. Broadly speaking, a single is less than 10km, a double between 10km and 20km, and a marathon greater than 20km. In the description field please enter the key points, e.g., Robben Island - Blouberg, Three Anchor Bay, etc. The approximate date can be the month and year.

Dense fog and chilly seas did not deter the organisers from calling the swim. A small field of 14 invited swimmers, the cream of the local crop, as well as two wild card invitees (Sandi and Hazel) set off from 4th Beach, Clifton, to swim to Three Anchor Bay. Each swimmer was accompanied by a paddler trailing a shark shield.

A light NW wind was blowing making the water choppy and at 12 degrees the going was hard. Philip Emslie came in first in 1:15 followed closely by Emma Alsop in 1:21. Sandi and Hazel brought up the rear in 1:58.

Considering the conditions, this was a sterling effort by everyone. Theo Yach, the patron of the swim, has promised another one in November.

Welcome to the new CLDSA web site which we hope you will find both informative and entertaining.

There are a host of new features, most notably access to the swimming records database and the ability to both register and apply to do a swim online. Other helpful facilities, such as the ability to pay online, may be added in future as demand dictates.

All the swimming courses can now be viewed via interactive Google maps, which is particularly helpful for those swimmers who are not familiar with the local environment.

You will notice that there is no home page as such. When you enter the site you will be viewing the Gallery, which you can always revert to if you just want to look at pictures. Please feel free to submit your own pictures for the Gallery, but they must be high-res.

You would be doing us a big favour if you could complete your personal details on the Members Tools/Registration page. First check whether you are registered by using the first query on the Records Database page. This will give you your Swimmer Id which you can then use to log on using the password "password". Once you are logged on, the Members Tools/Your Profile page will present you with your personal details, which can be completed and/or edited. Note that although everyone's password has been set to "password", the only personal details available are your name and gender.

If you spot an error or wish to suggest a change please contact the site administrator here.