Samantha Watts (left) and Charlotte Webby (centre) battle to be the first woman home. Photo / Andrew Warner
Samantha Watts (left) and Charlotte Webby (centre) battle to be the first woman home. Photo / Andrew Warner
At first glance it seemed as if Mount Maunganui had been taken over by rubber-clad aliens on Saturday morning. But on closer inspection they turned out to be hundreds of swimmers in wet suits preparing for the start of the Sand to Surf ocean swim.
Surf conditions were the calmestthey had been all summer for swimmers who took on four races ranging from beginners through to the 2.6km elite race around Rabbit Island and back to Mount Main Beach.
It was the fifth event in the State Ocean Swim Series.
Tauranga swimmer Nathan Capp took out the men's elite race by seven seconds from Rotorua's Kane Radford with series leader Philip Ryan a few strokes behind in third.
Capp, 22, led from start to finish and was pleased to win at his home beach. The New Zealand 1500m short and long course record holder is building up nicely for the NZ Open Championships next month.
"This is the first time I have done this surf race as last year it was held in the harbour," Capp said. "The challenge today was navigation as I didn't know where the buoys were going to be set ... it was about keeping up a solid pace."
