Locals in bright-hued swim caps have been descending on the waters of Harrington Sound for the Round the Sound race for 22 years.But when it came to luring international swimmers to the open ocean event it took help from competitive swimmer and adventure traveller Randy Nutt.With his assistance over the past four years, the event has grown to include more than 160 swimmers from parts of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe.Last year they even had a 12-year-old girl from India take part in the local swim; it was her dream to compete in open water races around the world.International participants will go head to head with local swimmers next Sunday for Round the Sound 2012. The race allows swimmers of varying ages to test their mettle in distances between 0.8 kilometres and 10K.Organiser Patty Hill said she has been pleasantly surprised by how the event has grown under Mr Nutt, who runs Florida-based adventure travel company Aqua Moon Adventures.When he first advertised the Round the Sound event on his website Mrs Hill thought they would be lucky to attract 25 overseas swimmers — 99 turned up.“That was pretty awesome,” she said. “We were really excited about it and every year since then we have built on our members.“As of two weeks ago we had 155 swimmers registered from overseas. The majority are from the south east of the US, but some are from California, the UK and Canada. We have even had one from Germany.”Mr Nutt first heard about the event from a friend, Ralph MacIntyre, who had participated in it before and wondered if he’d be interested in helping build it up.He said he was immediately drawn to Bermuda but the people involved with the swim proved a real bonus.“They were wonderful people and I knew I could work well with them,” he said. “I took on the role of overseas event director to build the event, ensure the swimmers have an enjoyable swim and to act as host to them on Island.”Mr Nutt began Aqua Moon Adventures in 1977, with the goal of creating a company “dedicated to making every day count”.“I started it some 35 years ago as I began travelling and enjoying sharing adventure travel with others. The people I came across gave me more passion than I’ve ever known and they are the reason to keep organising events to this day.”Through the company, he creates, hosts and directs special events including some of the world’s most exciting open-water swimming competitions in exotic locations around the world.A typical event attracts people from four or five different countries and 20 American states — all with the goal of diving in and experiencing life at its fullest.Mr Nutt said a majority of his clients were masters swimmers between the ages of 40 and 59 years old. However, he has worked with everyone from age eight to 80.He said he was thrilled with the progress seen in the Round the Sound race since he got involved. “I am very proud that in a sluggish world economy we have grown this event every year we have helped, but we also know it can get bigger.”He said the most rewarding part of helping out was sharing travel stories and experiences with other adventurous people.“The people are the main attraction and to hold an event with wonderful people in a beautiful location like Bermuda is simply amazing. One of the challenges is that there are a lot of options out there for people to choose and the economy doesn’t help — the key is to give back more than you receive.”The Round the Sound race is this year presented by Aqua Moon Adventures, Dolphin Swim Team of Bermuda, Bermuda Open Water Swimmers and the Bermuda Department of Tourism.Safety has been amped up under the remit of Brian Frick. Swimmers must wear bright-coloured head caps to help track their journey from the Aquarium in Flatts to the finish line at the Palmetto Gardens condos.Organisers also have support from the St John Ambulance, the Bermuda Regiment and Marine Police.Mrs Hill said she got involved with heading the event as the former president of Dolphin Swim Team. Though only required to organise one year, she stayed on and has seen the event grow from strength to strength over the past eight years.“I enjoy it and it’s a really good event, a fun event and we are doing something really good for the community. We are helping charities and the volunteers we are drawing are from a large base of people you might not have met before.“Especially in these times when Government has had so many cuts and a lot of the charities are having a hard time fundraising, it makes us feel good to do something for the community.”More than $320,000 has been raised for charity over the years — this year’s funds will go to Bermuda Autism Support and Education.Prizes are given out to the top three swimmers in each age group; all participants are invited to take part in a barbecue after the swim.To register for Round the Sound 2012 e-mail info@roundthesound.bm.Useful website: www.roundthesound.bm