Thursday 27 April was the date originally set aside for the Cadiz Robben Island Freedom swim, which had to be postponed until 2007 due to the Big Bay development. Andrew Chin suggested celebrating the public holiday with another swim, and got six takers to join him for a "cool" swim. The team - consisting of swimmers Andrew, Ram Barkai, Herda, Hester Brusser, Ryan Stramrood, Graham and James Saunders; Peter Bales piloting Ryan's boat, paramedic Harry Stein, and Zaan Claassens on surf ski - met at 8am at Clifton 4th Beach.

Ram Barkai's account of the swim:

The sea was calm and beautiful. Water temp was around 12C, nice and fresh.
The swim route was spectacular, some of us that breathe to the right managed to enjoy the stunning view of Lion’s Head and the mountain. The others enjoyed looking at us. Zaan decided to test the surf ski stability and ended up in the water. She confirmed that the water is very cold. We swam in a group, no rush, stopping every now and then for a short graphic commentary, mainly regarding the water temperature and the view.

We past Clifton 3rd, 2nd, 1st. We past the pavilion and we where closing on 3AB light house. We ended the swim at 10:42am. A total time of 1h 45m.

The swim was very pleasant but once out the water, the reality of the water temp sunk into our bones. We had to rush to Caprice to load on Hot Chocolate Amarula until our core body temp returned to normal or our brain was too soaked with Amarula for us to care.

The distance is approximately 5.5km. We could have cut around 5 to 10 minutes if we raced it, however, it was just a leisurely swim which we recommend to anyone who wants to have a taste of what is waiting for you on a Robben Island swim.

Route = 5.5km
Swim Started 9:57am
Swim ended 11:45am
Total time 1h 45m
Water temp: Max 13C – 13.5C, Min 12C, Average 12.5C
Average speed 3.13km/h or 19min/km