by Jessica Kieras
The Gulf of Roses is located in Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeast Spain. There is a rich and vibrant swimming culture here that has existed for well over a century. On July 20th, 2024, Quim Siles i Borràs made his second crossing of the gulf, documenting his journey and placing this beautiful and historical swim route into the written history of our sport. He completed the (approximately 15 km) swim in a time of 5:58:57, pending MSF ratification. According to Quim, this route is affected by vicious winds and ranges from “pleasurable to impossible, but always interesting and exciting.”
History of Roses to L’Escala
In his research, Quim encountered rumors of swims dating back to the early 20th century. Apparently, an annual event was held during the local festival where young men from L’Escala were taken to the town of Roses to swim back to L’Escala. Since then, there have been various solo swims, small group swims and a couple of organized races with swimmers wearing a variety of apparel including wetsuits or skins. Most of what he learned was oral history, discovered through conversations with local fisherman and other swimmers whose families have lived in L’Escala for generations, but he was able to find very little written or recorded history of swims in the gulf.
Why document a swim?
Many view ratification as a way of gaining public legitimacy for swims, while many don’t feel the need for such attention and are content to swim anonymously on their own. But Quim had two reasons, neither of which had anything to do with personal publicity or attention. One, he wanted to “put the swimming route on the map to attract other swimmers” and two, he wanted to honor the people who have previously swum these waters.
“I wanted to give all these ‘anonymous’ swimmers who, along the years have crossed the Gulf, sometimes in dangerous conditions due to battering winds and huge swells, and most times with very little support or perhaps none at all, the recognition they deserve,” he wrote. “To me they are the real open water swimmers, real adventurers and explorers of the sea. I would like to think that even though most of these swimmers’ names have vanished, or one day will vanish forever from any human memory, and unfortunately we will never get to hear or read their personally accounts and experiences, their strokes have been left imprinted in the waves and winds that brush and batter the Gulf of Roses every day.”
Ratification is not just about getting a rubber stamp of approval from an organization, it’s about carefully documenting your journey and publishing that information for fellow and future swimmers. It contributes to the history of our sport and connects us across the globe through shared tales of adventure, dramatic winds, waves and weather and ultimate triumphs beyond what we thought possible. Documentation for each MSF ratified swim (including photos, video, swim data, gps track, swimmer narratives and more) is published here.
The Swim
“The swim went well enough, even though I made some mistakes from which I’d like to learn for futures swims,” Quim wrote in his documentation narrative. The water was 23c and started out calm, with some northwest wind. But Quim later reflected he should’ve listened to local fisherman and begun the swim an hour earlier. His kayaker, Marc, told him he had thirty minutes left to swim, so “no more feeds”. Shortly after, a wicked south-easterly wind picked up. “In Catalan we call it ‘Xaloc’.” He explained these winds typically come up around 11 am each day in the summer. His pace was significantly slowed, and then progressing forward became very difficult. Thirty minutes became ninety minutes instead, while Quim and his kayak support team inched their way to the finish. Likely due to his consistent training and persistent mindset, he was still able to arrive in L’Escala, in conditions where other swimmers may have experienced a “DNF”.
Quim recommends this swim for, “swimmers from anywhere to come and enjoy. I know it is ‘only’ 16k, but sometimes the wind (especially the wind) turns it into a challenge.” He went on to add that others may want to try the swim in the winter, when swimmers can expect water temperatures of 13-14°C. “And… if someone comes from a far, they could combine it with another two excellent/longer routes in the same area (Cap de Creus [30k] and Cap de Begur [25k].”
