King’s Swim Kailua-Kona Pier-July 4th 2019
The 25th annual King’s Swim was held on July 4th this year (2019) as it has been for the last 25 years. This particular swim race starts at the Kona Pier and ends at the adjacent Kamakahonu Beach, also know as King Kam Beach or Kids’ Beach. Kamakahonu Beach is a very small beach where locals and visitors alike snorkel, launch kayaks and sup’s as well as sunbathe in the heart of Kailua Kona. You can find Kamakahonu Beach just north of the Kailua pier and in front of the King Kamehameha (Marriott Courtyard) hotel right on Alii Drive.
This year several of us and our spouses decided to avoid the long drive to Kona in the early AM of race day and stay at the King Kamehameha Hotel the night before. This turned out to be a fun change and allowed Susan, Noe and I to warm up on Wednesday afternoon on the course and scope out the start and finish sections where we were able to asses the water conditions including the current , swell direction etc. for some possible clues to the actual race conditions the following morning. ...
