OCEANSIDE - More than 400 people turned out on a sultry Monday morning to swim a one-mile loop around the Oceanside Pier. View A Video

Initially, conditions looked ideal for the 78th annual Labor Day Pier Swim, which was hosted by the Oceanside Swim Club. The sky was clear, the waves were tiny, and 50-year-old Karen Sing of Vista was pleased.

"I"m not in the mood for getting thumped," said Sing, who has participated in the pier swim events for years.

"You never are," one of her friends shot back.

But about an hour later when Sing's heat started, the surf had reached the 3- to 4-foot level, and she got pounded both on the way into the surf zone and on the way out, she said. Conditions were bad enough that 47-year-old Anthea Beletsis of Cardiff told the lifeguards she couldn't continue after tangling with a series of waves at the starting line.

"I just couldn't get out (of the surf zone)," said Beletsis, who has competed in at least five previous pier swims.

There were a few folks who found things pretty tame. Point Loma resident Andy Hewitt, 44, said he has done the English Channel, the Catalina Channel and the Manhattan Island Marathon swim - each of which is more than 20 miles in length.

He's done Oceanside's event five times and pronounced Monday's weather "the best weather I've ever seen out here." He and other regulars told stories of the year that the fog was so bad they couldn't see the pier.

In recent years, the event has attracted about 350 swimmers, but over its 78-year history there have been times when the competitors have numbered more than 500, club President Ed Payne said. Organizers registered 406 swimmers this year.

Payne credits this year's larger turnout to three factors: "aggressive advertising," plus the decision to cut the entry fee by $10 to $40 per person, and the wonderfully warm weather.

Organizers didn't have firm fundraising figures late Wednesday, but Payne estimated they made about $16,000.

For the second year in a row, La Jolla resident Ben Weston, 26, placed first out of all the men competing. His time was 15 minutes, 38 seconds. Last year, he did it in 16 minutes, 37 seconds.

This year's top female finisher was 17-year-old Christina Boring of San Clemente with a time of 15 minutes, 47 seconds. Only Weston and one other man placed ahead of her.

"She crushed the competition today," Payne said.

When she'd emerged from the water, Boring was simply thrilled not to be third. She's finished third all three of the other times she's competed, she said.

"She swore she wasn't going to get third this year," her mom Jennifer Boring said, beaming.

Last year, her time was 18 minutes, 21 seconds.

Breathing heavily and washing salt out of their mouths with bottled water, Weston and other early finishers said this year's waves were great because they helped push swimmers toward shore during the final moments of the race.

"In fact, that made the difference," he said.

The top place holders don't get a cash prize, but they do get bragging rights and a nice plaque, Payne said.

- Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.