NEWS | Eighteen Pioneers Discover the Volcanic Coastline of Milos Island
Beneath the white volcanic cliffs of Milos, eighteen UltraSwim 33.3 pioneers gathered to test what could become one of the most spectacular open-water events in Europe. Over four days, they would swim 33.3 kilometres through turquoise bays, hidden channels and lunar-like landscapes unlike anywhere else in the Mediterranean.
With close to perfect conditions on the first swim of 6.2km, we kicked off the #MILOS pioneer event with a channel crossing from Pollonia to Kimilos Island. We followed the stunning coastline of Psathi into a beach where we had a quick refuel before boarding the boat to the second swim.
The second swim circled St Georgios Island. Conditions had become choppier, but the chalk-white cliffs, electric-blue water and occasional turtle sighting kept spirits high. With too many swims to choose from, we decided to throw in a third swim on day one (a first for UltraSwim 33.3) of 3.7km from Mavinisi to Blue Bay which is a very famous (and popular) bay, appropriately named for the stunning colours, creating perhaps the most picturesque finish line in the history of UltraSwim 33.3.
The biggest surprise came on day 2. Weather conditions forces a change to the usual format, moving the marathon swim forward by a day, a first for UltraSwim 33.3. Opinions were divided, some swimmers loved the idea of getting it over with, giving them an easier two days to follow, and some s
wimmers preferred to be eased in gradually. I was in the first camp, after the marathon, I felt like I could have done anything, 8km the next day sounded abnormally easy! This is what pioneer events are all
about, pushing the boundaries and trialling different ways of doing things that haven’t been done before, using the experienced pioneer swimmers, all of which had swum the event previously, except for 3 (including myself). We had two feed stations, at 4.2km and 7.7km. The first one utilised the big RED SUP with Hayley on board handing out PF&H gels and carb drink to the swimmers and the second was the lovely Lesley at 7.7km who made me laugh when I really needed a pick-me-up!
The pioneers had the rare experience of being nearly 1:1 with the kayakers, an experience that is unique to pioneer events with small numbers of swimmers. The bond between the kayakers and swimmers strengthened throughout the event and the camaraderie between everyone involved grew stronger by the day. Spirits were high at the end of day two, having swam a total of 22.5km over two days. One of the swimmers was trying to convince Mark to make it a 44.4km, as if 33.3 isn’t enough!
The day three swim was 6.4km through the famous moon-like landscape of Sarakiniko, Jane, one the swimmers, said it was her ‘favourite open water swim ever’. Themis, another swimmer and first time 33.3er, was from Milos and knew all the secret passages and unique geological formations. He introduced us to ‘the crack’, a thin rock passage that the swimmers had to swim through single file. It felt more like an expedition than a swim course, revealing parts of Milos that most people would not see. We had the ‘feed station on Mars’ at 4.5km which consisted of Harvey, my brother, on a rock with all the PF&H essentials that he’d carried down on his back, photobombing a wedding on the way down! He even offered me a bacon sandwich when I got there. Some people are in and out of the feed stations quickly and some people prefer to take their time, I stopped for a chat and a snack and even met some tourists from Australia who were having a leisurely swim and we’re very interested in what an UltraSwim 33.3 is, so I tried to explain the method to the madness in between mouthfuls of precision chews!
The next swim was a very relaxed untimed 1.9km swim amongst sea turtles and old ruins, it had a very authentic Greek feel to it.
On day four, we did the final 5.5km swim which consisted of ‘the penultimate gap’ and ‘the final gap’ close relatives of ‘the crack’! There were so many interesting rock structures that you felt like you were truly exploring, I’ve never felt that while swimming before. Something just took over in my head, suddenly my muscles didn’t feel the fatigue of the previous three days and I felt like I could have kept going forever. I said as I came over the finish line ‘I just don’t want to stop swimming!’ The energy was buzzing as we finishing in the shallow turquoise waters of Fyropotomas, with just 200m to the final 33.3km finish line.
The pioneers boarded T1, the transfer boat that had seen us through the entire event, we got dropped in the water at Adamas where we swam the final 200m into the beach, friends and family swimming alongside, and through the finish line. Four days earlier, Milos had been an exciting mystery to us, if this pioneer event was a glimpse of what's to come, UltraSwim 33.3 Milos is set to become something truly special.
