Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are beautiful in the months of September and October. The race will take place in late September, which will be the FIRST time the event's have fallen in this month.  Hurricane season does not end until November 30th. The average air temperature is 75° with an average water temperature of 77-80°. The average wind speed is between 5-10 mph and usually comes from the Southwest. On race morning the expected sunrise is 6:57am with a high tide of 4.94ft at 7:37am.

Swim The Loop starts and finishes at the Dockside Restaurant, which is located on Airlie Road (Wilmington side of the Intracoastal Waterway). The race will start at a high tide to ensure an even, but challenging tide pattern throughout the 3.5-mile swim. Don’t be fooled though; there will be times of incoming tide, falling tide and some slack tide.

Mott’s Channel Sprint starts at the Blockade Runner Resort, located on Wrightsville Beach, and finishes across the intracoastal at the Dockside Restaurant on Airlie Road. The course is approximately 1.3 miles long and is a point-to-point swim. The race will start at a high tide to try and ensure a slight incoming to slack tide throughout the 1.3-mile swim