Pacific Travel
In The Swim
Vanuatu’s Ocean Races
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people associate a Vanuatu holiday with the chance to experience Melanesian culture
and true relaxation. Since independence 25 years ago, Vanuatu has marketed itself
as a honeymooner's haven and a Mecca for scuba divers. In recent years, however,
it has begun attracting a different kind of tourist. Every June, the aloha shirts and straw hats are replaced by swimming trunks and bathing suits. These days, Vanuatu is home to the fastest growing ocean swim in the Pacific. The Vanuatu Ocean Swim was originally the brainchild of Gary "The Bean" Stevens, a long-term Australian expat living in Port Vila. Every day, Gary would swim around Iririki Island in the middle of Vila harbor, with many people thinking he was quite mad. "He would dive in each day and swim the 3km path around Iririki before breakfast," says Gary's wife, Louise. "After doing this for years, he thought initially it would be a great idea to organize a swim between the two hotels on the first lagoon (Le Meridien and Le Legon)," Louise says.
Gary encountered a few logistical problems trying to establish the "Hotel to Hotel" swim before Paul McCoy, a former Port Vila and now Fiji event organizer came along, and the 'Rossi to Rossi' swim was born. The inaugural Rossi to Rossi was held in 2002 with 39 swimmers taking part in the 3.2km event. McCoy says the Vanuatu Ocean Swim (VOS), as it is now known, has grown dramatically since its inception and is now attracting champion swimmers from all over the world. "This year the VOS drew a record field, with swimmers such as Grant Cleland, Benoit Rivier, Chole Abbott and Shelley Clark taking part. "Shelley, the first female across the line, has ranked as high as fifth on the FINA World Open Water circuit. She left for Canada in July to swim for Australia in the World Open Water Championships, then for a series of Open Water World Cup Swims in North America and Europe," McCoy says.
Gary Stevens lost his battle with cancer in 2003. However Louise Stevens says he would have been delighted with the continuing success of the Ocean Swim. "He would never have envisaged the numbers this event has attracted. He would be really pleased," she says. McCoy trialed a second ocean swim in Vanuatu the week after the VOS, this time in the country's north. A field of less than 20 was expected to swim from Luganville, on the mainland of Santo, across the open waters of the Segond Channel to Aore Island. "The Espiritu Santo - Aore event exceeded expectations… Originally, we expected about 20 competitors but this ended up at 38, mainly as a result of those choosing to add the Santo-Aore swim after the Vanuatu Ocean Swim in Port Vila," the Vanuatu Tourism Office's Marketing Manager, John Cvetko says. Cvetko believes the event has a promising future, one which will build further on the expected growth of the Vanuatu Ocean Swim in Port Vila.
Santo's struggling tourism industry has been crying out for a major event-or any event for that matter-to put them on the map. In recent years, the island has emerged as Vanuatu's adventure playground and the country's second most popular tourist destination. It is home to the world's largest and most accessible shipwreck, the SS President Coolidge, offers heart-racing jungle treks and cave tours, and some of country's most beautiful beaches and snorkeling spots. With the recent opening of Santo's international airport, the island is hoping to welcome direct flights from New Caledonia and Australia next year. At the moment flying to Santo costs around A$270 (US$200) for a two hour round trip with Vanair, the only airline servicing the route. Locals in Santo welcome tourists with open arms. There are no false smiles here. Hundreds of locals crowded the shoreline in Luganville to watch the Santo-Aore swim, hoping to return next year. Spectators were treated to custom dancing and music. One observer said it was "the biggest crowd to turn out for anything other than independence celebrations." Ocean swims are experiencing a growth similar to the interest shown in triathlons over the past decade. Vanuatu hosts regular triathlons throughout the year as well as the "Round-Island-Relay" in July.
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