Scuba marathoners will have to battle currents and dodge coral heads Saturday in the small Caribbean island’s first-ever underwater marathon. (photo courtesy of violetto_mm)
Blacktip Island athletes Saturday will compete in the small Caribbean island’s first underwater marathon, a grueling race around the island’s coast, without surfacing, to raise money for local charity.
“Marathons are all the rage, and we wanted to do something really island and scuba specific,” Blacktip Island Athletic Society President Olive Beaugregory said. “Contestants will be on scuba the entire time, with fresh tanks, regulators and BCDs staged every few miles. If you break the surface, you’re automatically disqualified.
“It’s a balance between going fast and using lots of air, and conserving air but falling behind the pack,” Beaugregory said. “This’s a first-ever event, so there’ll be glitches, of course. But so long as everybody survives, it’s all good.”
Racers say dive depth is key.
“After a few weeks of practice, I think the ideal depth is 10-12 feet,” Kay Valve said. “Any shallower, the surge and bad vis’ll mess you up. Any deeper you use too much air and run into deco issues. And swim more than 26 miles.
“Realistically, it’s part marathon, part obstacle course,” Valve said. “You have to swim around coral heads and under swim-throughs, all while navigating using your depth gauge. And rogue currents are a total random element we’ll have to deal with. It’s an added challenge that makes the race so compelling.”
Local historians say the idea of a long underwater swim is not new.
“Oddly enough, this marathon has its roots in an actual event in the 1700s,” island historian Smithson Altschul said. “Pirates had landed in Mango Sound, at Blacktip’s southern tip. “Smackie Bottoms saw them come ashore and wanted to warn folks at the north end, but it was too dangerous to go across land.
“Old Smackie, he grabbed his diving bell and set out underwater and undetected,” Altschul said. “Swam all the way up to where the airstrip is now, crawled out of the water and warned folks so they could go hide up on the bluff. Forgotten part of island history, but an important one. Of course, Smackie died right after giving the warning, so it’s a cautionary tale. We’re aiming for a happier outcome.”
Event organizers stressed the safety measures in place.
“We’ll have snorkelers shadowing each diver, ready to help,” Beaugregory said. “They’ll also be able to chase off any too-inquisitive sharks, and sweep aside any jellyfish. And Nurse Marissa’ll be on hand with a defibrillator, oxygen and saline injections.”
Proceeds from the race, minus expenses, will go to the island’s Divemaster Retirement Fund.
The Blacktip Times 