NSF Tampa Swim
Tucked away in the northeast corner of Florida, Tampa shines as one of America’s hidden gems. The Big Guava is home to the NFL’s Buccaneers, the legendary Bern’s Steakhouse, and the annual Tampa Bay Frogman Swim. Back in January, we at Luminox went down south to help out our friends from the Navy SEAL Foundation Platoon Wave team to raise money for the Navy SEAL Foundation during this year’s Frogman Swim.
For the uninitiated, Platoon Wave is made up of a group of Special Operations ‘Brothers’ consisting of SEALs, Army Special Ops, Naval Special Warfare Personnel and Civilian Patriots who have joined in a shared mission to support the Navy SEAL Foundation and other likeminded non-profit organizations dedicated to helping their ‘Brothers’ and the families of military personnel nationwide.
As the swim kicked off, the Luminox team joined in on the fun from the comfort of the coast as the Platoon Wave team braved the winter bay. While we weren’t prepared to go toe-to-toe with the peak performers in the sea, we did manage to outfit the entire Platoon Wave team with watches from our legendary Navy SEAL and Navy SEAL Foundation collections that served as a handy tool.
It shouldn’t be a surprise, but the Platoon Wave team welcomes a challenge. Keeping true to their fearless attitude, the event (unsurprisingly) takes place in the winter. Despite the Florida sun softening the blow, the waters still sit at gnarly, cold temperatures. Undeterred by the clouds and choppy waters in the bay, the band of brothers braved the surf, as they have done in combat, conducting a live maritime tactical movement. The operation culminated with an Over-The-Beach (OTB) infiltration in full combat equipment totaling 50-60 pounds, including Body Armor, Rucksack, Weapon, Fins and more. This elite team of operators conducts the full 3.5-mile combat swim and hits the beach in full view of supporters.
We worked on our tan and got some Vitamin D, but most importantly we were able to spend time with our like-minded, patriotic partners while raising awareness and funds for NSF.
It was a great day but don’t just take our words for it, here are some comments from the men who swam:
“It’s an honor to be a Teammate on PW where we support each other on at least 4, 5k Open Water Swims a year , several skydiving events and a Hand full of shooting events all in the name of Fundraising to Support the tip of the spear and their families through the Navy SEAL Foundation and a few other reputable Veteran 501c org,” said John Humann NSF Ambassador
Navy SEAL Veteran Derek “Scrappy” Reynolds, summed it up best when he poignantly said, “Swimming is stupid, but Luminox watches are cool.”
We are still laughing at the memories we shared and grateful for the friends we made and during this year’s Tampa Bay Frogman Swim in support of a tremendous cause.