Survival Suit Race One of Closest Ever

Jay Barrett/KMXT
The 37th running – or swimming, if you will, of the Norm Holm Memorial Survival Suit Race may have been the closest in history, with the winning margin measured in the hundredths of a second.

The “Kodiak Rescue Swimmers” team of Justin Monk, Keola Marfil, Dave Burns and Jon Kreske won the race in 1-minute 23-seconds.

It was JUST enough to defeat “Big, Blue and Wet,” the team of Cole Christiansen, Celeste Beck-Goodell, Parry Nelson and Axl Levan, who finished a mere two-one-hundredths of a second slower than the winners.

There was a 30-second gap to third place and Team Compromise, which finished in 1-minute 53-seconds. The Freebirds were close behind in 1-55, while the Faster than Lightening team finished in 2-37. Bringing up the rear was the Kodiak High School Soccer-sponsored team, which finished in a time of 3-minutes 14-seconds.

The survival suit race was instituted nearly 40 years ago by the Kodiak Fishermens Wives Association to raise awareness and acceptance of survival suits and water safety. There are indications it may be working – last year was the first one with no recorded fatalities in any of Alaska’s commercial fisheries.