With the usual course altered in the interests of safety and many lifesavers from Pacific Palms Surf Club on hand to guide swimmers through the break, both ocean swims were completed without incident.

As one competitor noted, "This was my first 1.5km ocean swim and I truly couldn't have done it without the wonderful and caring support of the lifesavers. Thank you for giving up your Easter Sunday to support us."

At 11am, 88 swimmers hit the water for the 600m Mini Rock Swim.

First place in the male category went to Bill Delaney (14 - 18 age group) in a time of 8 minutes 16 seconds, with Chris Wilson (19 - 29) close behind in 8:25, followed by Lucas Kloosterhof (14 - 18) in 9:01.

Not to be outdone, Emma Jeffcoat (19 - 29) led the girls in with a time of 8:17, followed by Lauren Wilson (19 - 29) in 8:36, and Samantha Doust (30 - 39) in 10:15.

At midday the main event, the Pacific Palms Real Estate 1.5km Rock to Rock Ocean Swim, kicked off with 174 competitors taking part.

The first wave (the under 30s) were first off the beach, with the 30 - 70+ year olds following five minutes later.

Ethan Whiteman (30 - 39), winner of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 events, again took out the male title in a time of 15:30, with Brock van Kampen (19 - 29) coming second in 16:16 and Chris Wilson (19 - 29) third in 17:02.

Emma Jeffcoat, the 2018 winner of this event, added another gold medal to her tally for the day by taking out the female title in a time of 16:32, followed by Claire van Kampen (14 - 18) in 16:40, and Lauren Wilson (19 - 29) in 16:42.

The event organisers thanked Pacific Palms Real Estate for 20 years of support, as well as the many Pacific Palms SLSC volunteers who assisted with water safety, setting up the course, taking registrations, helping on the finish line and the many other tasks necessary for the safe running of the event.

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