In the wake of the canceled 36th Waikiki Roughwater Swim earlier this month, 45 dedicated swimmers decided to take matters into their own hands yesterday.

An improvised, nonsanctioned race was the solution, dubbed "Waikiki Roughwater Revisited" by participants.

It didn't matter that there were no official timers, buoys, or marked start and finish lines. For the racers, the swim lent some closure after the disappointment caused by the scrubbing of the annual race. On Sept. 4, race officials decided hazardous surf and currents could duplicate severe problems of 2003, when more than 260 people had to be rescued.

"We're all just here because we love the ocean," said race organizer Julie Yano, a member of the Team Jet training group. Yano used her contacts to e-mail other swim clubs a few days after the Roughwater Swim to see who else might be interested in holding a re-do.

It didn't matter that the 41-year-old hadn't been in a Roughwater event before.

"I think if you do something, you do it all the way," said Yano, who trained seven weeks prior to the arduous race. "There's no way I was not going to do that distance."

Concerns included the level of the tide and the presence of jellyfish, but the race was successfully planned around them.

A final obstacle was presented in Hurricane Jova, which narrowly missed the Islands to the east this week. But the skies were clear and the surf favorable, so Yano gave it the green light.

Members of O'ahu Club Masters, Waikiki Swim Club, Ironman New Zealand Training Group and more joined in. The swimmers didn't have official race identification on them, so a marker was used to draw numbers on arms and legs instead.

The race started and finished at the same beaches as the official Roughwater — San Souci and in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, respectively. The swimmers didn't go out as far, though, putting the distance at just under the sanctioned 2.4 miles.

The top finishers came in at around 54 minutes.

No one was sure exactly who made landfall first, but that didn't matter to the participants. They congratulated each other on Duke Kahanamoku Beach as surprised tourists looked on.

"I got a sense of accomplishment," said Ashton Srock, a 14-year-old from Kapolei who finished at the front of the pack on his birthday.

Five volunteers of Team Jet acted as mobile buoys as the swimmers progressed, and made sure help was available.

"I really wanted to do the official one, but I am very thankful for these (volunteers) who put this race together," said Jana Pittichova, a 33-year-old from Slovakia. She appeared to finish first.

Andrea Maglasang, a 25-year-old swim instructor, headed up the escort effort. She was impressed with the determination of the racers.

"The head swimmer, Jana, was going so fast that I had a hard time keeping up (paddling on my surfboard)," said Maglasang, who was signed up for the original race but decided to participate in a different way yesterday. "I'd rather be out there making sure everybody does OK."

In the end, many participants were glad they had finished the course after putting in long training hours.

"I'd consider the race a success," Yano said.