it has already been a week since my crew and I started and completed successfully the swim from Catalina to Palos Verdes! We had a great crew thank you party and we will follow up with an all day party in Mexico on the 24th of October. People keep asking what I felt like after the race and these days following too. I felt fine and stil do . I haven't swam yet but look forward to doing so as soon as we get done moving this week!.
I am thrilled with the number of people who this charity adventure swim was able to introduce to Club Dust and the money that it generated through the sharing of friends and family. We already are buying uniforms and school supplies for kids who couldnt afford school because of this requirement and the cost of it.
Thanks again to all those of you who gave in thoughts, prayers and financially. I invite you to join us on a single day or multiple day trip to Mexico to see how the money and our time is spent there each month! Teh next date is October 24th and future dates are listed at http://www.clubdust.org/
Sunday, October 3, 2010
San Clemente Resident Completes 20-Mile Open Ocean Swim for Charity
Event Raises Thousands of Dollars for Needy Children and Families in Mexico
Malibu, Calif. (October 1, 2010) -- A 50-year-old San Clemente resident and self-acknowledged “Passionate Ocean swimmer with at best an average technique” recently completed a 20-mile open ocean swim from Catalina to Palos Verdes. When asked the inevitable question “why?” he answered that it was to celebrate turning 50 and to raise money and awareness for the charity “Club Dust” which he started while attending Pepperdine 30 years ago.
Ray Meltvedt, a 1982 alumnus of Seaver College at Pepperdine University in Malibu and now serving as vice president of sales for Landsberg, Amcor, an Austrailian based packaging material manufacturer and distributor, completed the swim in just over 15 hours. Pledges from supporters have netted more than $16,000 for Club Dust, a not-for-profit organization that provides small decent homes, food and school supplies for needy children and families living in Mexico.
“I was pushed beyond my known limits not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally,” said Meltvedt about the swim. “When you’re in the water that long, your mind wanders and you start thinking about all sorts of things. But, as arduous as it was, it was also the experience of a lifetime.”
Meltvedt, who swam bare-chested wearing regular men’s swim trunks rather than a wetsuit, began his swim at Doctor’s Cove in Catalina. He jumped into the water at shortly past 11 p.m. on a Sunday night, receiving a thunderous round of applause from his support crew of 14 family members and friends who were on board the chartered fishing boat to support him in the attempted crossing. After swimming for almost 7 hours in the pitch dark, then seeing the sun rise and continuing under blue, sunny skies, he finally reached shore at approximately 3:15 p.m. the following day near Donald Trump ‘s Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Water temperatures for most of swim fluctuated between the low and mid-60s, with small to moderate swells and currents. It was the first time that Meltvedt, who stands 5’11’ and weighs 200 pounds, had attempted to swim further than 11 miles at one time.
Accompanying him during the swim was a 50-foot fiberglass fishing boat he chartered as a chase boat and his 14-person crew, including his three daughters, Sierra (19 years-old), Summer (12) and Serena (10). His wife, Robin, whom he met while studying at Pepperdine (and who graduated a year after him in ’83) surprised Ray by joining him for the final half mile swim coming into Palos Verdes.
Ray had several kayakers who accompanied him along the way, and he was joined in the water at various times by swimmers who dived off the boat into the water at various points along the way to provide encouragement. His daughter Sierra paddled a longboard alongside Ray as she had for several of his earlier practice swims along the San Clemente coast.
2-2-2
Friends and family received updates on Meltvedt’s progress via postings on Facebook and a GPS tool called TRACKR. This allowed Ray’s fans to follow his progress via live GPS updates posted on an aerial map of the pacific coastline. Others sent emails to his family and friends to check on his safety and well-being. The chase boat also had a GPS tracking system to ensure that the swimmer stayed on course and swam as straight and direct a line as possible.
Liquid meals high in calories and protein were given to Meltvedt by the crew every 20 -30 minutes throughout the swim to allow him to go the very long 20+ miles from shore to shore. This provided enough calories for his body to produce the necessary heat in the cold ocean water and to have enough energy to swim for 15+ hours non stop.
Meltvedt, who fell in love with the ocean and swimming while living in Malibu and Santa Cruz years ago, trained for the swim over the course of many months but had never received formal swim team training. Still, he suffered no ill effects from the ordeal and was back at work at 8:00 a.m. the next day.
“It was the most wild and wonderful experience of my life,” he said. “If a guy like me can do something like this, anyone can. In addition to raising money for Club Dust (www.clubdust.org) to help those in need, I did it to provide inspiration to children and adults alike – to show them that you can really accomplish what you set out to do in life if you follow your passions and are smart enough to ask for help from friends along the way!”
Event Raises Thousands of Dollars for Needy Children and Families in Mexico
Malibu, Calif. (October 1, 2010) -- A 50-year-old San Clemente resident and self-acknowledged “Passionate Ocean swimmer with at best an average technique” recently completed a 20-mile open ocean swim from Catalina to Palos Verdes. When asked the inevitable question “why?” he answered that it was to celebrate turning 50 and to raise money and awareness for the charity “Club Dust” which he started while attending Pepperdine 30 years ago.
Ray Meltvedt, a 1982 alumnus of Seaver College at Pepperdine University in Malibu and now serving as vice president of sales for Landsberg, Amcor, an Austrailian based packaging material manufacturer and distributor, completed the swim in just over 15 hours. Pledges from supporters have netted more than $16,000 for Club Dust, a not-for-profit organization that provides small decent homes, food and school supplies for needy children and families living in Mexico.
“I was pushed beyond my known limits not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally,” said Meltvedt about the swim. “When you’re in the water that long, your mind wanders and you start thinking about all sorts of things. But, as arduous as it was, it was also the experience of a lifetime.”
Meltvedt, who swam bare-chested wearing regular men’s swim trunks rather than a wetsuit, began his swim at Doctor’s Cove in Catalina. He jumped into the water at shortly past 11 p.m. on a Sunday night, receiving a thunderous round of applause from his support crew of 14 family members and friends who were on board the chartered fishing boat to support him in the attempted crossing. After swimming for almost 7 hours in the pitch dark, then seeing the sun rise and continuing under blue, sunny skies, he finally reached shore at approximately 3:15 p.m. the following day near Donald Trump ‘s Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Water temperatures for most of swim fluctuated between the low and mid-60s, with small to moderate swells and currents. It was the first time that Meltvedt, who stands 5’11’ and weighs 200 pounds, had attempted to swim further than 11 miles at one time.
Accompanying him during the swim was a 50-foot fiberglass fishing boat he chartered as a chase boat and his 14-person crew, including his three daughters, Sierra (19 years-old), Summer (12) and Serena (10). His wife, Robin, whom he met while studying at Pepperdine (and who graduated a year after him in ’83) surprised Ray by joining him for the final half mile swim coming into Palos Verdes.
Ray had several kayakers who accompanied him along the way, and he was joined in the water at various times by swimmers who dived off the boat into the water at various points along the way to provide encouragement. His daughter Sierra paddled a longboard alongside Ray as she had for several of his earlier practice swims along the San Clemente coast.
2-2-2
Friends and family received updates on Meltvedt’s progress via postings on Facebook and a GPS tool called TRACKR. This allowed Ray’s fans to follow his progress via live GPS updates posted on an aerial map of the pacific coastline. Others sent emails to his family and friends to check on his safety and well-being. The chase boat also had a GPS tracking system to ensure that the swimmer stayed on course and swam as straight and direct a line as possible.
Liquid meals high in calories and protein were given to Meltvedt by the crew every 20 -30 minutes throughout the swim to allow him to go the very long 20+ miles from shore to shore. This provided enough calories for his body to produce the necessary heat in the cold ocean water and to have enough energy to swim for 15+ hours non stop.
Meltvedt, who fell in love with the ocean and swimming while living in Malibu and Santa Cruz years ago, trained for the swim over the course of many months but had never received formal swim team training. Still, he suffered no ill effects from the ordeal and was back at work at 8:00 a.m. the next day.
“It was the most wild and wonderful experience of my life,” he said. “If a guy like me can do something like this, anyone can. In addition to raising money for Club Dust (www.clubdust.org) to help those in need, I did it to provide inspiration to children and adults alike – to show them that you can really accomplish what you set out to do in life if you follow your passions and are smart enough to ask for help from friends along the way!”
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