22nd Beach To Beach Power Swim set for Sunday at Maho Bay Beach on St. John
Daily News Staff | Virgin Islands Daily News.
It may have a new name, but the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park’s annual Power Swim will still have the usual numbers this weekend on St. John.
Now called the “Joe Kessler’s Beach To Beach Power Swim,” the 22nd annual open water races will be held Sunday morning, with all races starting off at Maho Bay Beach.
From there, the swimmers — 371 for the 2025 event, according to FVINP officials — will finish up at one of three of the V.I. National Park’s beaches: Cinnamon Beach for the short course (one mile) racers, Trunk Bay Beach for the intermediate course (2¼ miles) racers, and Hawksnest Beach for the long course (3½ miles) and relay swimmers.
“I wish everyone a great swim in our beautiful park,” Friends of the V.I. National Park executive director Tonya Lovejoy said in a prepared release. “This is the first year of the new name and I would like to think that Joe Kessler, who founded the event 22 years ago, would be so proud of the community spirit and joy that pervades the Power Swim.
“Beyond the fun of the event, we are so grateful for the critical funds raised to support our work including our ‘Learn To Swim’ program that trains instructors and lifeguards and offers free swim lessons throughout the year.”
Considered one of the world’s top 25 open water swimming events, a list compiled by OpenWaterPedia.com founder Steven Munatones, this year’s Beach To Beach Power Swim has drawn entries not only from the U.S. Virgin Islands and its immediate Caribbean neighbors, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands, but from 29 U.S. states and even overseas. According to FVINP officials, one entry has been received from Manchester, England.
A majority of this year’s entries are repeat participants in the Power Swim — of the 371 entries, 221 have entered at least one past Power Swim.
Open swim talk
Marine biologist Jeff Miller, who has competed in all 21 of the past Beach To Beach Power Swims, will speak about open water swimming tonight at the National Park Service’s Lind Point Complex on St. John.
The talk will begin at 6 p.m., with a shuttle service from the National Park Visitors Center in Cruz Bay starting at 5:30 p.m.
