March 26, 2020
Coronavirus is cancelling some of life’s biggest moments – among them last Friday was the 20km Chopper Swim from Waiheke Island to Mechanics Bay in the city.
Los Locals, a band of swimmers from Waiheke, had trained and fundraised for months to take part in the sea challenge, raising almost $4000 for Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust (ARHT) in the process.
Crushed that world events had blown their plans out of the water, a smaller contingent decided to undertake a 10km swim around the island instead.
The three brave souls – Francisco Blaha, Avi Duckor-Jones and Felipe Forero – met at Owhanake beach on Friday just before 11am, swimming all the way round to Onetangi beach in less than four hours. They were accompanied by Kacila Hall, who kayaked alongside them as safety support. • Liza Hamilton
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
