I know a man in his early 40s who is 10 years post-transplant and a woman in her mids who is 17 years post-transplant. As a result, I remain optimistic that I will be around for quite some time yet. As we neared the entrance to Aquatic Park, Zander and Riley surged forward with a new kayak escort while Mark kept his eye on me. Cramp spread suddenly from my left leg to my right leg.
Both legs locked and I knew I could not swim through it any more. I needed drinking water in a few seconds or I would be contorted in agony.
I signalled to Mark that I needed some help. He was next to me in an instant. The entrance to the Aquatic Park was only yards m away. The support boat powered up next to me, and I grabbed the rail at the back and hauled myself on to the back of the boat.
Julie thrust a bottle of water into my hand. I tilted my head back and drank the whole bottle in a continuous gulp. Almost instantaneously, the cramp that had hijacked and tormented the muscles in both my legs eased, then evaporated. I pulled on my swim cap back on, adjusted my goggles, and jumped off the back of the boat again into the water.
I had been out of the water for less than five minutes. This time, in contrast to our initial entry, the water felt deliciously warm and welcoming. By now, Zander and Riley were small dots in the distance, already on the beach.
I swam determinedly towards the shore, focusing on the finish. A giant sea lion turned lazily in the water about 20 yards 18m in front of me, reminding me of the jokes we had made about sharks before the swim.
People often wrongly associate the San Francisco bay with shark attacks, and this supposed danger was a frequent comment from our friends on hearing about our proposed swim. In reality, there have been no recorded shark attacks in the history of the bay.
The myth probably originates with prison guards who would tell inmates that the waters were shark-infested to deter escape attempts. The sandy shore was just in front of me. I tried to put my feet down, but it was still out of my depth. Two, three more strokes. I pulled forward, then stood up in the water and waded on to dry land.
I was struck by the silence and peace of this sunny Sunday morning. All of a sudden, I felt overwhelmed by a surge of energy, and I started to run across the beach towards my children, water gushing from my wetsuit. I was shivering wildly, but did not feel cold. I was hugely elated. Great job! You did it. We all did it! The swim had taken us just over an hour.
So where to go from here? Will we swim Alcatraz again next year? But perhaps there is another challenge to set our sights on? I read recently about another open-water swim that crosses the Dardanelles, a narrow strait in north-west Turkey, formerly known as the Hellespont. The English poet, Lord Byron, famously swam it in , the first swimmer to make the crossing in modern times, in honour of the Greek mythological figure, Leander.
It looks like a great swim, only three miles 4. I wonder when it would be a good time to mention this to Julie? Videos by Anna Bressanin. You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. I slowed down and stopped, panting heavily. I tried again, and I could feel the gritty bottom. They let me hold them for a few moments.
Like I said before, tough crowd. Francis, enjoy views of the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, and the yacht harbor. You'll bring your belongings on board and reboard at the finish so you can change on the boat before we head back to the wharf. When Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers escaped from Alcatraz in , it is thought that they may have headed to Angel Island. Unfortunately, they left at night so they missed the incredible scenery!
This is a fan favorite. Join us for a beautiful recreational swim that puts you right out in the middle of the bay. Upon entering the water you will make the 2 mile swim to Angel Island with the incoming flood tide behind you.
As Alcatraz is partly a bird sanctuary, boats, kayaks, and the people on them are prohibited from getting within meters of Alcatraz, especially from February through September which is breeding season. That challenge — attempted by thousands every year — is to try and swim the one and a half miles of frigid water from the island back into San Francisco. It told the true story of three men, Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin, who made it out of the prison in June and were never seen again.
Nobody knows for sure whether they made good their escape or drowned in the attempt. True stories like that, and other, embellished, tales of man-eating sharks and killer currents spread by prison guards as a deterrent, contributed to the mythology of unassailable Alcatraz and the impossible swim. More than half a century later much of the mythology survives, but anyone can try to educate their guesses on the mystery by having a go at the swim.
Pedro Ordenes is the head coach and founder of Water World Swim, which organises escorted monthly crossings. He has swum it himself a remarkable times. I met Pedro and his team at 6. Odyssey Alcatraz swims are approximately 2 miles long and can take anywhere between 20 minutes to over an hour based on your level of experience and the conditions. Swimmers are encouraged to wear a wetsuit due to the low temperatures, which can range anywhere from the high 40's to 65 degrees.
Are there sharks in the waters around Alcatraz? Are or were the waters around Alcatraz really shark infested? Yes there are species of bottom dwelling sharks like the Leopard Shark and Sand sharks in the bay - completely harmless to humans. The great whites are near the Farallon islands about 35 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. How deep is water around Alcatraz? With that said though, the water surrounding Alcatraz is on the deeper end of the scale, but still, it's just an average depth of 43 feet.
Is it safe to swim to Alcatraz? Approximately 2 mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. This swim is for relatively strong swimmers.
0コメント