Calm seas hide tough challenge

By Peter Gibbs

It seemed to be a perfect night for swimming as more than 130 swimmers gathered for the third night of the 18-race Rylock Swim Series at the Nelson Yacht Club on Thursday.

Looks can be deceiving. The first leg of 500m along the Rocks Rd seawall turned out to be a tough slog as the incoming tide ramped up the current from the south.

Hayden Squance turned the tables on last week’s winner Oxford Bayley, with a convincing win over the 1100m course.

The gap between the two was 13 seconds, but it was more than another minute before Terry Bone arrived at the finish, with the first woman, Abbey Smale, not far behind.

Eddie Swain had his best swim yet, the 15-year-old taking fifth place ahead of the second woman Sam Harman, another rising star.

Peter Burrell continued his run of consistent finishes with seventh place, ahead of third woman Lucy Barron and Brazilian import Raphael Borborema, who is making an impact in the sea after previously specialising in the pool.

Many less able swimmers struggled with the current, making for a very spread field by the end of the night.

Brianna Mckay has been improving her finish position each week in the short course and she made it to the top with an 8-second win over Lono Kalani in the 600m event.

Next was Sophie Pahl, followed by Keisha Old.

Swimming continues each Thursday throughout the summer.

Full information and results at nelsonseaswims.co.nz.