From the SF Gate: "...At age 63, Phillip Coulston had made it to within 100 yards of the shore after swimming nearly all the 1.5 mile triathlon leg from Alcatraz to San Francisco on Sunday, authorities said. ..." [Link]
This really sucks for the family; I wish he never swam it.
I have swam from Alcatraz Island to Aquatic park 5-times this decade while competing in the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim. It's the hardest open water race I have ever done. Why people pick this race as their first ever open water race astonishes me. I blame the "Dog Swims Alcatraz Channel" or the "7-Year-Old Swims Alcatraz Channel" articles as the reason why people think it's a "cakewalk."
It's not the distances that's hard, it's the concentration, and the prediction as to how to work the tide. For newbies, swim to the left. For veteran's swim for the left wall at the entrance to Aquatic Park. Also; before you even get there, swim a 1500 LCM in a masters swim meet so you can practice a pace you can maintain in race conditions.
Dave Horning makes it clear in the Alcatraz Sharkfest home page that: "...This swim is not for novices. This event is for experienced open-water swimmers only. You should be able to swim one-mile comfortably in a pool in under 40 minutes...."
Even still, people are not getting it for we have had two Alcatraz deaths in one year. In fact, my friend Scott, who volunteers himself as a rescue kayaker assists at least 5 swimmers a year. Some of his stories are extraordinary. Like the swimmer who was just three hundred yards away from the finish but was to frightened to go on. Or the newbie who jumps off the boat, hits the icy water, floats to the top and sees how far 1.5 miles is and says, "I'm done, rescue me."
Having said that, if you can swim a mile in under 35-minutes, or two minutes per hundred and you are not a novice to open water swimming; (at least three under your belt), I recommend you swim an Alcatraz open water swim. This is the one I will be doing next year with my SCAQ friend Anthony. It's quite a rush!: [Link]
3 comments:
It's sad that the swimmer died. I found on the web that he actual did 36 minute/mile in the Lake Del Valle 1 Mile Non-Wetsuit in July 2008. I would say he swam pretty fast for his age group, and maybe he was pushing too hard once he was inside the Aquatic Park Cove. Most people swam hard to get to the finish line toward the end, and so did I. I came in at 48 minutes (1.5 miles logged), and the boat that carried him was right in front of my face when I got out of the water. That scene is still in my mind. I have swam Alcatraz more than 30 times since a year ago, and I agree with you that the race should probably not be the first Alcatraz that people should do. There are Alcatraz "crossings" and "escorts" or "expeditions" offered that would allow people to take time and enjoy the Bay with no competition. People thinking of swimming Alcatraz should consider those as training, and they can still brag about the fact that they swim Alcatraz. On the event day, the water was actually pretty flat with wind at about 3-4knots, and the water temperature was about 61-62F. Toward the end, the ebb tide started, so it was a little choppy, but the condition was still perfectly nice for swimming. We never know when our time is up, either swimming, running or even sitting still in front of the TV or working in the office or getting into airplane or car crash. It did sound like he went to heaven in a relaxing way when he turned flat to rest. My condolences to the family and his close friends. Peace. --AL
I feel bad for the guy. However, if you are taking rests in an open water race, you're race is finished. People rest when they are stressed. To rest during the race as many times as he did, he was in distressed and he should have signaled but he as in the moment and he continued on.
I would have to agree with Tony about racing well within your limits in open water. Everybody has bad days but running into difficulty over a kilometer from land is quite a different thing from a bad day in your local pool. In these popular, well attended races the fact that assistance may be problematical needs to be recognized. Practically speaking a swimmer should consider him or herself on their own during the race. Drowning is not a pleasant way to go
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