Swim The Loop starts and finishes at the Dockside Restaurant, which is located on Airlie Road (Wilmington side of the Intracoastal Waterway). The race will start at a high tide to ensure an even tide pattern throughout the 3.5 mile swim. Don’t be fooled though; there will be times of slight incoming tide, slight falling tide and a mostly slack tide.
Mott’s Channel Sprint starts at the Blockade Runner Resort, located on Wrightsville Beach, and finishes across the intracoastal at the Dockside Restaurant on Airlie Road. The course is approximately 1.3 miles long and is a point to point swim. The race will start at a high tide (based off of the Masonboro Inlet tide chart) to try and ensure a slight incoming to slack tide throughout the 1.3 mile swim.
Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are beautiful in the months of September and October. The race will take place 1 day into the fall season and hurricane season does not end until November 30th. The average air temperature is 75° with an average water temperature of 75-79°. The average wind speed is between 5-10 mph and usually comes from the Southwest. On race morning the expected sunrise is 7:04am with a high tide of 5.75ft at 8:11am.
Swim The Loop and Mott’s Channel Sprint will be a part of the Carolina Swim Series again this year. The Carolina Swim Series consists of now SEVEN open water swims in the greater Wilmington area. There are two swims in the spring, three in the middle of summer, and then two more in the fall.
The Carolina Swim Series will culminate with a year-end awards party, with a date to be named. Check out the swim events:
Stoked to Go Out - Saturday, May 18th @ Wrightsville Beach, NC
Lake Lure Swim Challenge - Saturday, June 8th @ Lake Lure, NC
Swim CB - Saturday, July 14th @ Carolina Beach, NC
Racin' the Basin - Sunday, August 18th @ Ft. Fisher, NC
Holy City SwimJam - Saturday, September 7th @ Isle of Palms, SC
Pier-to-Pier - Saturday, September 14th @ Wrightsville Beach, NC
Swim the Loop - Sunday, September 29th @ Wrightsville Beach, NC
4:00-7:30pm at Dockside Restaurant
Athletes must attend a pre-race meeting. These are mandatory, but you only need to attend one.
SWIM THE LOOP 3.5 – 6:00pm
MOTT’S CHANNEL SPRINT 1.3 – 6:30pm
Both MOTT’S CHANNEL SPRINT and SWIM THE LOOP 7:00am – SUNDAY AT DOCKSIDE
6:00am-7:15am at Dockside Restaurant
6:00am-7:15am. Your swim cap and arms must be marked with your race number. This number must be bold and large.
6:45-7:45am. PAID meters start at 9:00am if you choose to park at the start. The fee is $3.00 an hour.
Both MOTT’S CHANNEL SPRINT and SWIM THE LOOP 7:00 AM
THE RACE WILL START AT 8:00 AM
At the start everyone must cross over the timing mats before entering the water (Swim The Loop) or a mass start (Mott's Channel Sprint). At either start let the more competitive swimmers start up front. If you wait 10-30 seconds at the start, you will have plenty of room and won’t have to worry about contact with another swimmer. At 11:00am you must be finished with the swim course. If you do not make the time cut-off you will be pulled from the water and be brought back to Dockside.
NEW THIS YEAR. THERE WILL BE A HARD CUT-OFF for SWIM THE LOOP at the green channel marker 23. IF YOU DO NOT PASS THIS POINT BY 2.5 HRS YOU WILL BE PULLED FROM THE COURSE.
Motts Channel 1.3 9:30 am
Swim The Loop 3.5 10:30 am
Post-race food and drinks will be from 8:30am-Noon.
Parking will be available at Dockside’s main lot and larger side lot. Both lots are marked as Dockside Parking. There is plenty of parking; however, street parking is not allowed. Please DO NOT park at any other businesses along Airlie Rd unless you have approved permission. This year we will have ADDITIONAL parking at Waterman's Brewing on Pavilion Pl. This walk is about .70 of a mile (10-15 minute walk).
Yes! A portion of the race proceeds goes to support the North Carolina Coastal Federation,a non-profit conservation organization. We firmly believe in the importance of keeping our coasts clean, since clean coastal waters is something we all need to live and play! Through education, advocacy and restoration, the North Carolina Coastal Federation works in our region to keep polluted stormwater out of our Swim the Loop waters and to restore oyster reefs and wetlands.
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