It took Joey Pek less than an hour to swim four miles in his first open-water competition. However, it cost his family five weeks of vacation time. “A trip that was originally two weeks turned into five weeks,” said Katy Pek, Joey’s mother, while laughing.

Joey Pek, a 17-year old Dexter High School senior, was one of more than 1,100 people to compete in the annual Bosphorus Cross-Continental race in Istanbul on July 17. He finished in 53 minutes and 31 seconds, eighth overall and first among Americans.

When he was finished, Pek had literally swum from Asia to Europe. The 6.5K race is roughly four miles long and starts on the Asian side of the Bosphorus River with the finish line in the European side.

“I had no idea where I finished,” he said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up and try to figure out where I finished.”

The race was first conducted in 1989 and is organized by the National Olympic Committee of Turkey. The race has grown in 20-plus years to include gondola and canoeing races. The spectacle is treated as a major sporting event with live coverage on television and major sponsorship from Samsung.

“This race is geared toward Turkish people of all ages,” said Jeff Pek, Joey’s father. “People go to accomplish something for themselves.”

Swimmers from more than 40 countries showed up this year. Not everyone was up to the task, however.

There were cut-off points that swimmers had to reach by a certain time or else they would be pulled out of the water. Joey Pek wasn’t one of them, thanks to the amount of time his family invested in preparation.

Swimming in open-water can be difficult when compared to the controlled environment of a pool, the Peks said.

Nature can also get in the way and form obstacles along the way. Winds can change and form waves and if the swimmer does not know the proper route, they can get caught outside of the current causing even more stress.

Not only can weather and other swimmers be an obstacle, but dolphins live in the waters and could be seen jumping while the swimmers covered the route.

The Peks decided to better investigate how to properly navigate the potentially rough waters.

“The more information we learned about it, the more we were OK with it,” Katy Pek said. “It wasn’t scary in a safety sense.”

Jeff Pek said one man who had competed in the event before was particularly helpful. He offered advice and guidance. He was one of many Turkish people who helped the Peks enjoy their extended stay.

Because the family was in Istanbul for so long, Joey had not swum much and he worried about his endurance. The family sought out a pool they could use to help Joey build his strength. Once they found a pool, the people in charge would open it up during non-business hours so Joey Pek and his brother, Andrew, could swim without people getting in their way.

Jeff Pek said the man in charge of the pool refused to accept any payment; he simply wanted to be hospitable to a foreign family.

“They thought it was great that this American kid was here to participate in the event,” Katy Pek said.

Joey Pek and his parents stumbled upon the race while planning a vacation to visit family that lives in Turkey. Because he was so interested in participating, the family made arrangements to extend their stay.

Joey Pek has been swimming for about seven years and has been a part of the Dexter swim team since his freshman year. He competes in the 500- and 200-yard freestyle races, the longest distance races in high school competition.

He isn’t sure if he is going to continue swimming in college. If he goes to a Division-I school, Joey Pek isn’t sure he can keep up with their speed.

Now that he has finished his first open-water race, Joey thinks he might start swimming in other events. No matter where they lead him in the world.

“I want to go back, but I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance,” he said. “It was a great experience for me, and I really enjoyed it.”