The Oceanside Pier Swim became the latest casualty of this summer’s run of bigger-than-usual surf Monday, with organizers canceling the annual event after consulting with experts who told them that holding the race could be dangerous.
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With Tropical Storm Marie continuing to churn through the Pacific Ocean, surf forecasts predicted waves in the six-to-eight-foot range at the Oceanside Municipal Pier on Labor Day. It was a forecast, said Vanessa Boon, co-founder of the Oceanside Master Swim Club, that was deemed too towering to risk.
And the decision, she added, was not just about the predicted height of the waves.
“The current was also supposed to be really strong, south to north, which is how we swim, and it could have possibly driven people into the pier,” Boon said.
Tall waves also make it more difficult for swimmers to make it past the surf zone, the area where waves are actively breaking, in order to reach calmer water where they can stroke and kick past the end of the pier, then make the turn north, before heading to shore.
Additional risk would not have been for swimmers alone. The professionals working the event would also have faced more dangerous working conditions.
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“We have some of the best lifeguards in the state, but we would also be putting them in a bit of danger, because they would have to sit in that high surf zone and attempt rescues or help people through or bring people back in,” Boon said. “That would have led to more danger for both sides.”
About 500 people were expected to participate in the one-mile trek, which was billed as the 97th annual running of the event. The last time it was canceled, officials said, was in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boon said that the organization will honor registrations for next year’s event or refund fees if requested.
Oceanside was not the first Southern California pier swim to wash out in the face of big sets.
The 2026 Pier to Pier Swim in Newport Beach, scheduled for July 19, suffered the same fate when swells were predicted to peak at 10 feet. The Huntington Beach 75th Annual Pier Swim, originally scheduled to occur in June, was also rescheduled due to high surf.
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