Rough sea forced the abandonment of the Rottnest Channel Swim as scores of swimmers and supporting vessels struggled in the choppy conditions.
Several swimmers were rescued by Fremantle Marine Rescue and four were sent to hospital as a precaution.
It was only second time in the iconic event’s 34-year history that it had been cancelled due to ocean conditions.
Disappointed swimmers said organisers made the right call to abandon the Swim with worsening weather and rescue resources stretched by calls for help.
Initially, participants who’d not reached the 14km mark were told to immediately exit the water. But that was followed by a call for everyone to get out.
President of the Rottnest Channel Swim Association Dr Kirsty Bellombra said the wind was the biggest concern.
“It was a difficult decision,” she said. “But our processes around safety are pretty tight. We know when we need to call it and it reached that point around 10am.”
A woman in her 20s was transported off Rottnest Island and rushed to Fiona Stanley Hospital and another man was taken back to Fremantle where an ambulance was waiting to transfer him to hospital. Organisers later said both were okay.
Difficult conditions were forecast before the swim got underway. “It was all within the safe parameters to go ahead (but) we were right on the cusp,” Dr Bellombra said.
After the weather deteriorated and rescue resources became stretched, the event was deemed “extreme risk”, she said.
‘That’s what led to the abandonment of the whole race.”
Earlier, more than 2600 swimmers entered the water. With support crews and skippers, about 6500 people participated.
Solo swimmer Chelsea Exell, 21, from Esperance, was “in the zone” just before she had to get out of the ocean.
“I was doing okay. I reckon I would have made it.” she said. “At 4km, I would have been happy for it to be cancelled, but then I got to the 10km mark (and was feeling better). It was a little annoying, but they had a duty of care and made the right decision.”
Natalie Chua, from Cockburn, was also making her first solo attempt.
“It was very challenging,” she said. “I was looking at my paddlers and they were struggling too,” she said. “I made it about 7km. I’m not upset, it’s better to be safe than sorry. My skipper called it five minutes before the (organisers). I think it was a good call.”
The waves got so high, Liam Doherty, 20, couldn’t see the paddler in front of him. His team of four covered 11km.
“On the way back, it was terrible as well,” he said. “There were massive waves.”
Organisers said they were “devastated for all of our swimmers”, many of whom had travelled from far and wide.
“We are also so happy that everyone is is safe and on dry land,” Dr Bellombra said. “Mother Nature was not on our side today.”
Laura Schuhkraft, Jeana Pritchard, Lauren Young and Nikki Martin were seasick from the conditions.
“You get another wave and your body would drop about a metre because of the swell,” Ms Schuhkraft, 24, said.“It’s sad not be able to finish, but considering the conditions, it was probably for the best,” Ms Pritchard, 24, added.
Premier Roger Cook, who sounded the starting horn, said: “While the cancellation is incredibly disappointing for those involved, safety of participants must be the top priority.”
Five swimmers made it ashore, being applauded over the finish line by surf lifesavers just before 10.20am. But it was an unofficial finish, following the organisers’ earlier decision.
Craig Brooks, from Melbourne, said it was a “real shame” the race was scrapped, but said common sense prevailed.
He and his swim partner were 13km into the 19.7km swim when the call was made.
“I totally understand why they had to do it, for sure,” he said.
Clint Jasper flew back home from Melbourne to compete in a team with his brother Shaun and two of their mates.
“Swimming in that swell was very challenging, I think I drank about two litres of the Indian Ocean’s finest,” he said.
Mother of three Jessica Jakova and three friends were competing in their first swim and had been training since October.
She said while the ocean was choppy, the team were confident they could have finished the race.
“We respect the decision that was made but we were really sad, for us it was the first big event we were doing since having kids and it was really special,” she said.
“We were having a great time (when it got cancelled.) We will definitely be back next year.”
Port to Pub organisers, the other main Rottnest channel swim, posted to social media that it was “devastated” about the cancellation.
“We are devastated for the Rottnest Channel Swim Association having to make the disappointing and very difficult call to cancel the event,” it said in a post on Facebook.
“This is not a decision made easily — many highly qualified and experienced stakeholders come together to make this decision.
“It’s a year of hard work and planning that goes into this event to put on a great and safe swim for our community. Thank you for your commitment to the swimming community RCSA, our thoughts are with the committee.”
The race director’s weather report on Thursday warned conditions remained unpredictable, with swimmers likely to battle a fluctuating swell which was expected to shift between a 1m low to a 2m high by mid-afternoon.
Dr Bellombra said the weather predictions during the week had been “up and down”.
“We started meeting daily from about Monday,” she said. “We met all the way up to 4am this morning, when we made the decision.