Rex Tullius, 27, swam to his second consecutive long-course, unassisted victory in the 11th Annual Beach to Beach Power Swim on Saturday, running out of the water at Hawksnest Bay one hour, 12 minutes and 43 seconds after kicking off from Maho Bay, a distance of about three and a half miles.
Tullius is a graduate of the University of Florida and former roommate of U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. Tullius, who now calls St. John home, cruised to his second win in as many years in mostly calm conditions at the annual swim, hosted by Friends of V.I. National Park.
"It got a little choppy by Windswept, but it was good out there," said Tullius. "It was a lot of fun."
Tullius bested a field of about 300 swimmers who completed one of three courses, either "assisted," with the use of fins and a snorkel, or unassisted in the solo category.
All courses started just after 8 a.m. at Maho Bay, with the short course, about one mile, finishing at Cinnamon Bay. The intermediate course, about two and one quarter miles, finished at Trunk Bay, while the long course, about three and a half miles, finished at Hawksnest Bay.
Swimmers could also compete in three-person relay teams for the race.
It was a fairly close call just off shore of Hawksnest Bay, where second-place, long-course male finisher Matthew Mays, 15, of St. Croix, was only nine seconds behind Tullius. Hailing from a line of distinguished St. Croix swimmers, this was Mays’s second Beach to Beach Power Swim.
"It was pretty rough out there for sure," said Mays, who has been swimming since the age of five and is a member of the St. Croix Dolphins swim club.
Mays, who completed the swim in a time of one hour, 12 minutes and 52 seconds, picked up the torch from older brother Bryson Mays, 19, who finished in third place in the men’s long-course, unassisted category after making a navigation error in the Trunk Bay area.
"Coming into Trunk Bay I didn’t see the last buoy," said the elder Mays, who finished in a time of one hour, 15 minutes and 38 seconds. "I had to turn around and go back and I fell off the leaders."
Bryson Mays, a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., is a former three time winner of the event, and competed in his first Beach to Beach Power Swim when he was 10 years old.
"I won two years ago and finished second last year," he said. "I finished third this year and I really hope I don’t finish in fourth place next year."
On the women’s side in the long course unassisted category newcomer J.J. Washshah, 16, of St. Croix won with a time of one hour, 21 minutes and 23 seconds. The course was a bit of a stretch for the powerful swimmer, whose specialty is sprinting.
"I am a sprinter, so this was a little long for me," said Washshah. "But I actually love open-water, long-distance swims. I love the Buck to Buc five-mile swim on St. Croix, so that helped."
Washshah has been swimming for 10 years and promised to be back next year to defend her win. The 16-year-old Crucian took the title from 56-year-old Barb Crowder of St. John, a three-time women’s long course unassisted winner, who came in second this year.
"I’ve competed six times and I’ve won it three times," said Crowder, who finished in a time of one hour, 21 minutes and 51 seconds. "It was nice out there but it was rough at Windswept and around Dennis too."
Another newcomer, 21-year-old Jill Mullany of Monroe, Conn., came in third in the women’s long-course unassisted category. A recent graduate of Providence College, Mullany enjoyed swimming in the beautiful V.I. National Park waters, she said.
"It was a pretty long course, but it was so nice out there," said Mullany, who finished in a time of one hour, 26 minutes and 27 seconds. "It was beautiful."
After the race, hundreds of swimmers and well wishers gathered at Oppenheimer Beach and enjoyed fresh grilled food, cold drinks and DJ music at an after party sponsored by local businesses. Race director and Friends of VINP Executive Director Joe Kessler made running the 11th Annual Beach to Beach Power Swim, a four-category, three-distance race, sound easy.
"We’ve learned a few things over the years," said Kessler. "But we could not do this without our volunteers."
Full results were expected to be posted online here by late Saturday.
at http://www.friendsvinp.org
