Faster Freestyle Swim Camps with Karlyn Pipes in Sicily 2025
Historic island of Ortigia - Siracusa - Sicily
The 2025 DATES for 7 day/8 night swim camps are:
Camp #1 Tuesday, Sept. 9 to Wednesday, Sept. 17th, 2025
Camp #2 Wednesday, Sept 17th to Thursday, Sept. 25th 2025
Karlyn is calling these the “Endless Summer” Camps because she plans to help YOU extend your summer by offering these events in September to take advantage of the warm weather, warm water and fewer crowds.
This week-long camp will offer a variety of gorgeous 2k-4k open water swims along with combination of Faster Freestyle & Stroke technique instruction, video analysis and your very own 1-on-1 private lesson.
All Sicily Faster Freestyle Swim Camps include:
Karlyn’s World-Class coaching, eight nights accommodation, eight breakfasts, snacks after every swim, two lunches, two dinners.
Six beautiful open water swims approximately 2k to 4k in and around the Ortigia Island. You will love the warm, turquoise water and be amazed by the clarity. There will be sea caves to explore, small coves wander into, islands to swim around and on the final day we will swim around a castle!
Video analysis of your stroke during the Faster Freestyle Workshop
One-on-one private lesson with Karlyn’s expert video analysis and feedback. Time and location TBD
Open Water Skills & Drills workshop
Multi stroke swim clinic…yes, that means we will cover back, breast and fly!
Staff will be filming you daily with an underwater camera to provide you with videos of your technique as well as to document our aquatic adventures! Videos will be texted to you.
Custom FFSC SWAG…BOCO visor, long sleeve dry-tech tee shirt and a silicone swim cap
Mid-camp we will take an all-day excursion to go swim the Isola Ciclopi located off the small coastal town of Acitrezza. After our gorgeous swim around the islands and a casual lunch, we will shuttle back to Catania to explore the history, culture and markets of this amazing city.
First night meet and greet sunset drinks an appetizers…an opportunity to meet your fellow campers and our staff.
Guided sunset walking tour of historic Ortigia.
A farewell dinner party at Cavour, a local Sicilian restaurant.
The group size will be 10 or less with Red Cross Trained lifeguard trained safety staff on duty at all times to help you feel safe, supported and to provide swim technique tips as you swim along the coast. Karlyn will be in the water with you and her husband Christopher will be on a Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP).
Swim Ability: Ideally you should be comfortable in the open water and able to swim continuously 1,500 yards/meters at a steady pace. Since we will start and return to the same location, you can decide how far (and how fast) you want to swim. If you are questioning whether you think you are “fast enough” to participate in a camp, please reach out to me fasterfreestyle@gmail.com to discuss your situation.
This camp will be an experience of a lifetime AND you will go home a FASTER SWIMMER
Our accommodation for eight nights will be the lovely Artusa Vacanza B&B. We have booked almost (if not all) of this family run Bed and Breakfast located in the heart of Ortigia. There are a variety of rooms to choose from including one and two bedroom apartments with kitchenettes and double rooms (with one bed) perfect for a couple.
“This lovely B & B was a highlight of our Sicily trip! Located down a quiet alley in the heart of the Ortigia historic area. Seconds from the water, beautiful sunsets and wonderful restaurants. Stefano and his mom Flavia are welcoming and patient hosts anxious for us to love Ortigia as much as they do by providing us with many helpful tips and suggestions. Breakfast had many options and was a wonderful start to the day. The rest of the staff was friendly and helpful as well. Anxious to return soon! FYI We had a kitchenette but really only used the fridge as there too many good restaurants nearby.” Vicky June, 2024
More reviews can be found here
Visit Artusa Vacanza B & B website
Cost for the camp including 8 nights of accommodation, 12 meals, refreshments after every swim and everything listed above is as follows:
Sharing a room with another camper and your own bed: $2695
Sharing a 2 bedroom apartment with a shared room and your own bed: $2895
Private room with a qeen bed, may share with a non swimming or partner: $3195
SPACE is limited to 10, so if you are at all interested, please email soon as these camps will fill up Fast.
Deposit: to reserve your spot, please inquire as to paypal options. Or, mail a check made it out to Aquatic Edge and Send to: Karlyn Pipes, 77-6479 Kilohana St., Kailua Kona, Hawaii, 96740. FiNal Payment may also be made by check.
Payment: Full Payment is due tHree months Prior to Camp start and Payment options will be sent to you via email once your deposit is received.
cancelation policy: cancel Two month prior to the camp start Date and you will receive a refund, minus the $500 deposit or you can opt to recive full credit for a future camp. Cancel less than 1 month OUt and if we are able to fill your spOt, YOU will receive a refund minus the deposit. At any time, reservations are transferable with no fee.
SPACE IS LIMITED TO 10
Sample Schedule:
Pre-camp
12:00-5:00 check into B and B. This extra night of accommodation is THE NIGHT BEFORE the actual camp starts! We are hoping to make it easier for everyone to arrive from there destination so that we can start the camp mid-morning the next day.
Day one:
Enjoy a relaxing breakfast on our rooftop terrace.
11:00-12:00 Meet at lobby for safety meeting and distribution of goodie bags. Interactive discussion on past and present freestyle techniques
12:00-2:00 We will take a short walk to Cala Rosa lido (beach) for first swim of the camp. Length to be determined.
5:00-7:00 Sunset meet and greet with appetizers and drinks provided!
Day two:
8:30 Meet at the hotel lobby for a 20 min walk to Porto Pico where we will begin the instructional portion of the camp with Faster Freestyle Workshop to be held in the quiet bay near the small port.
9:00-10:00 Each person will get a “before” video analysis of your current stroke
10:30-11:30 Faster Freestyle swim clinic with step-by-step stroke progression
11:30-12:30 Walk to nearby pizzeria/bakery for a causal lunch (we provide)
12:30-1:30 The second clinic of the day is a super fun, fast paced Open Water Skills and Drills
1:00-2:00 Easy 1k open water swim (or more) from the Porto Pico lido to test out your new stroke
Evening open for you to enjoy
Day three:
8:30-9:00 walk (30 min.) or taxi to nearby Cittadella Siracusa Sport 50-meter pool
9:00-10:15 Faster Freestyle swim clinic with a review of what you learned the day before and moving into new areas of instruction
10:15-11:30 Multi Stroke (back, breast and fly) swim clinic
11:30-1:00 Walk to a (no host) lunch at nearby cafe overlooking the sea followed by short walk to Zen lido our amazing open water swim venue
1:00-2:30 A gorgeous 2k+ swim from Zen exploring two sea caves and a cool inlet!
6:00-7:30 Sunset walking tour of historic Ortigia Island guided by Valerie Vancherie
Day four:
Camp #1 participation in a 2k open water race south in Avola - schedule Soon!
camp #2 Day trip North to Acitrezza and Catania - please see below
Camp #2 proposed schedule:
9:00 meet up for one hour drive north to the town of Acitrezza
10:00-12:00 3k Swim around the Isola Cyclops…it really is amazing!
12:00-1:00 lunch (provided) at our favorite cafe
1:00-2:00 drive to Catania
2:00-5:00 self guided tour of Catania to explore history, culture and the markets
5:00-6:00 return to Ortigia
Day five: private lesson day
8:30-11:00 or 2:00-5:00 This is the day reserved for your one-on-one private lesson with video analysis. Once you have schedule your lesson, make a plan to go explore Siracusa’s Roman ruins or take a half day guided tour.
Afternoon and evening open for you to enjoy
Day six:
8:30 meet to taxi or walk to our swim destination
9:00 3-4K swim around the “buffalo” and numerous sea caves and coves.
12:00-1:00 Lunch (provided) and a walk back to hotel
Afternoon and evening open for you to enjoy
Day seven:
9:00-11:00 Today we will swim around (and back) Castello Maniace. 2k swim each way (4K total) with unsurpassed views of the castle on every breath!
6:00-8:00 Farewell dinner at Karlyn’s favorite restaurant!
Day eight:
Check out of hotel.
How to get to Sicily!
Due to the ever changing world conditions, please WAIT until three to five MONTHS prior to your camp to book your flights.
The beautiful island of Sicily is located in the Mediterranean Sea, separated from the mainland of Italy by the 2k Straight of Messina and located at the “toe of the boot.”
Getting to this part of the world is easy and transportation options are many. The Faster Freestyle Swim Camp will be held on the Island of Ortigia, which is adjacent to the main city of Siracusa.
Sicily has two major airports, Palermo (PMO) and Catania CTA), that are located on opposite sides of the island. We recommend Catania/CTA as the best arrival option for both ease and convenience.
Once you are at CATANIA AIRPORT, take a free five-minute shuttle to the train station, buy a $8 ticket at the kiosk to Siracusa (south). Then, it’s a one hour train ride south to Siracusa/Ortigia and approximately a 1 mile cab ride (or walk) to our accommodation!
Flying from USA: Getting to Catania (CTA) is going to require a stopover, no matter what US city you depart. British Airways connect in London Heathrow (LHR) sometimes requiring an overnight stay. Both Lufthansa and Alitalia stopover in Paris (GDG). If you fly a major US carrier such as American, United, Delta, your best bet is to fly to ROME (FCO), and then book a flight on low-cost carrier such as Ryan Air to Catania. Bringing luggage will cost extra on Ryan Air, but in the end it might be worth it. Many US flights land in the morning so it’s easy to catch a midmorning flight and arrive in Sicily by midday.
Flying from Canada: British Airways and Lufthansa offer direct flights to Europe with a connecting flight to Catania. BA stops in London Heathrow and Lufthansa stops in Paris. Word of warning! When booking a British Airways flight, please make sure your check WHICH London airport your connecting flight departs. BA will offer an option of flying into London Heathrow (LHR) but departing out of London Gatwick (LGW) requiring a one hour bus ride across the city. It’s totally doable if you have enough time, but that particular flight may cheap for a reason.
Flying from Europe: There are so many options that it’s best to post this link to Flight Connections. For ease and convenience, make sure to fly into CTA Catania and not Palermo.
