SANDPOINT - There are no buoys needed for the Long Bridge Swim, one need only to swim a straight line along the iconic bridge for 1.76 miles from the south shore of Lake Pend Oreille to the soft sand at Dog Beach.

Spokane swimmer Alex Martinek did just that in lickety split fashion, flirting with the course record in winning the 21st annual Long Bridge Swim in 34 minutes, 6 seconds on Saturday amid idyllic conditions in Sandpoint.

But there's a reason it's called a swim and not a race, and to find the true essence of the event, you had to go back more than 700 swimmers to find Sandpoint's Donnavan Leavitt, joined for the first time by 11 year-old son Hayden. Keeping a decade-long tradition alive and well, Leavitt and family were the last to enter the water at the start line.

The final thing he did before entering the water was thank the family whose front yard serves as the launch pad for more than 700 swimmers annually.

"Thanks for letting us use your yard, you're awesome," said Donnavan, just one of the many homespun stories that make the open water swim so unique. "When we first started it 10 years ago we sucked, and let the speedy people go first. Now we pass people, but we still start last."

Martinek, 24, claimed his third straight win after going out out fast with 16-year-old Wes Youngblood, who was vacationing in Sandpoint from North Carolina. The pair quickly built a sizable gap on the field, staying within a couple feet of each other for most of the swim.

Martinek finally pulled away from the teenager in the final quarter mile and just missed the course record by 43 seconds. His time was 4:27 faster than last year, when he described the conditions as nasty. He didn't know how close he was to the record until he saw the running clock at the finish.

"I was kind of pissed about that. I might have been able to suffer a little more to get that (record)," said Martinek, who wore a wet suit and held a brief conversation with Youngblood after the race. "You would have kicked my ass if you had a wet suit. I know I sat on your feet a little bit."

Youngblood, whose family planned a vacation from North Carolina to visit family in Sandpoint around the swim, marveled at the venue, unlike any course he's ever seen at home.

"Usually in North Carolina, we have to swim in circles," Youngblood said. "Here, it's a straight line, and the water is really clean."

Samantha Hammerly of Coeur d'Alene, a former Post Falls High swim coach, was the first female to reach shore in a tidy 40:14, nearly a minute faster than her nearest competitor.

The 25-year-old was all smiles after finishing the race for just the second time and learning she was the fastest female.

"I'm excited, I didn't realize I did so well," claimed Hammerly, calling the swim an awesome community event. "It was extremely calm. A few years ago, it was whitecaps."

It's always great to see middle of the pack finishers hit land and sprint to the finish, driven by a pride that makes them fight for every second. Others are in no rush at all, often driven simply by the goal of finishing.

Among the earlier finishers was 71-year-old Don Henry, who came from Marysville, Wash., to compete. So how does a 71-year-old finish 141st in a field of more than 700 swimmers, nearly all his junior? How does someone swim 1.76 miles in under 56 minutes, beating his age by a whopping 15 minutes?

"Total immersion swimming," he said, adding that he loves the point-to-point style course. "You don't have to go around any buoys, and you can see spectators the whole time."

Another person racing not just the clock, but his age, was race director Jim Zuberbuhler, who staved off father time once again, clocking in at 55 minutes and change after recently turning 57.

"I try to swim my age, and I was concerned," recalled Zuberbuhler, who as always had high praise for the scores of volunteers that help make the event. "This has been the best year ever, with more than 250 volunteers."

Zuberbuhler's 5 year-old daughter Sierra delivered the line of the morning at the pre-race safety meeting, after her dad used the mic to ask her if she had any advice for the swimmers.

"Move your arms and legs on the lake so you don't sink," she said, drawing a chorus of laughter.

It's all part of the loose and fun atmosphere that draws people from all over the country, this year from as far away as Brazil.

Bill Woodward of Spokane only had to travel about 70 miles to finish the race for the fourth time.

"The community atmosphere," he said of what he loves most about the swim. "Everybody is so upbeat, everybody participates."

For complete results, visit www.nomadzracing.com.

Top 25 finishers

1, Alex Martinek, 34:06. 2, Wes Youngblood, 34:35. 3, Ty Gruwell, 36:50. 4, Bob Schlemmer, 37:17. 5, Ryan Driscoll, 37:21. 6, Dylan Schanz, 37:26. 7, Tristan Whiting, 38:28. 8, Larry Krauser, 38:41. 9, Brent Harvey, 39:14. 10, Nicholas Brown, 39:21. 11, Marcos Donolo, 39:23. 12, Lawrence Kough, 39:40. 13, Mathew Wintzer, 39:58. 14, Samantha Hammerly, 40:14. 15, Christopher Hartman, 40:47. 16, Sarah Nicholls, 41:05. 17, Kelli Cummings, 41:24. 18, Mikayla Davis, 41:33. 19, George Jensen, 41:38. 20, Marcus Gentry, 41:45. 21, David Lien, 42:13. 22, Amanda Meredith-Dunlop, 42:25. 23, Jeff Rigg, 42:40. 24, Rachel Berg, 42:52. 25, Micah Hudlet, 42:54.