"I've always loved the ocean, but the Jersey shore is no place to do any serious ocean swimming, so when we moved here, I realized you can see through the water," said the Pennsylvania native.

Bill, 52, who retired from the Air Force in 1997 and now works as an ocean life guard for the City and County of Honolulu, said his "passion for swimming comes from living near the ocean growing up in Florida."

Bill has been a rough-water swimmer for more than 20 years, and began competitive swimming as a pool swimmer in his teen years.

"Swimming has always been my primary sport ... but I caught the rough-water swimming bug in 1972 when I first came to Hawai'i," he said.

As a competitive swimmer, Bill trains eight hours per week, combining three days in the pool at the University of Hawai'i, and four days in the ocean.

"Fortunately, my job as a lifeguard allows me to swim at the office on company time," he said.

Bill has been a 20-year member of the Waikiki Swim Club and has been with the University of Hawai'i Masters Club for the past 11 years.

He said he has competed in every ocean swim race on O'ahu at least once. He also has competed in races in San Diego and Lake Tahoe, but his favorite race is the annual 9-mile Lana'i-to-Maui channel swim. The race is held each Labor Day weekend, and Bill has completed it eight times.

Bill finished first in the solo division of the Maui channel crossing in 2001, 2003 and 2004, averaging 3 hours, 40 minutes each crossing.

As to the future, Bill hopes to one day swim across the Ka'iwi channel from Moloka'i to O'ahu.

Bill said that he takes pleasure from "being out in the ocean and not having to follow a black line in (the bottom of) the pool ... the thrill comes when the conditions are entirely controlled by Mother Nature."

Pat takes a lighter side to ocean swimming to fulfill her fitness and recreational needs, finding the wildlife she sees during her outings as a "total immersion into a serene world."

Coach Joe

Those seeking to dive into ocean swimming, may wish to look up Joseph G. Lileikis, who is a recognized swimming coach on O'ahu.

Lileikis, 42, of Hawai'i Kai, has been coaching since 1987. First with the UH Masters Swim Club, and since July 2003, he has been the swimming program director for the O'ahu Club Masters.

Lileikis' introduction to open- ocean swimming came during his high school years, when he participated in a 1-mile race in Santa Barbara.

"I ended up winning the race and was energized with the different variables that ocean swimming offers, including currents, wind ... and the strategies involved," he said.

After high school, the California native made his way to Hawai'i, swimming for UH from 1981 to 1985.

"My best rough-water training years were when I swam for the university, (when we) were training 20 hours per week," Lileikis said.

These days, Lileikis, who teaches at Kalani High School, averages five hours of training per week, and lends most of his attention to coaching others.

"Now that I'm 42 years old, married to my lovely wife ,Yuki, (raising) our daughter, Kiara, and with a second (baby) on the way in October — my training time is limited, so coaching takes precedence," he said.

Lileikis is passionate about ocean swimming.

"The benefit allows for the meditation principle — being with your thoughts, imagery, and nature with each training session," he said. With this frame of mind, Lileikis said that he receives "a high level of energy from those (he) coaches in becoming (better) swimmers."

North Shore series opens tomorrow

Advertiser Staff

The Surf & Sea North Shore Swim Series kicks off with the Raging Isle Summer Sprint, a 1-mile race tomorrow from Sunset Beach to 'Ehukai Beach Park.

The race begins at 9 a.m. It is the first of four series races over the summer.

Entry fee for the Raging Isle Summer Sprint is $35.

The three other series events are the Cholos' Waimea 2000 on July 9 (1.2 miles), the Surf & Sea Cup (1.2 miles) on July 23 and the Surf & Sea Challenge on Aug. 6 (2.4 miles).

Early fees for the final three races are $25.