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I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes
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 2007-04-26 12:46 PM |
Veteran  112  Gardner KS (near Kansas City) |  Subject: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokesI have heard everything from "warming up and getting hot" in the wetsuit right before jumping in, to bringing a bottle of cold water to pour down your wetsuit -, then swim t oexit early and run a little more up the beach, to "hell no dont do it" - Now I wnt to hear from the best - I am an average swimmer - have done plenty of Oly distance tri's and an HIM - but so I do not end up in Japan, let me have the scoop! Edited by Darr 2007-04-26 12:47 PM |
| 2007-04-26 12:54 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes Definitely not the best, but did the swim the last two years. 1. Wear a neoprene cap or (what I did) wear two swim caps. It's really not that bad once you get used to it. 2. Hold your goggles while jumping off the ferry. Don't want to lose them 3. Sighting - both my swims were to Aquatic Park with a small opening to hit, if you're going to Chrissy Field, less of a current issue, and you can use the current to your advantage (assuming it's an outgoing tide). The current will be stronger the closer you are to shore, so you want to aim to hit the beach to the left (again, if outgoing tide) so that you can ride the current to the beach. If you're a strong swimmer, you can take a straighter line, but just be careful. You'll always be faster on land than in the water so the sooner you get to dry land the better. 4. Listen to the pre race directions, they'll tell you which buildings to site off. Likely you will site to one point for a while, then another as you get closer, etc. 5. Make sure to turn around and look at Alcatraz about half way across, not many people get to see that view |
 2007-04-26 12:57 PM in reply to: #777768 |
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| 2007-04-26 1:42 PM in reply to: #777768 |
Pro 3705   Vestavia Hills | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes Knowing that the swim not only offered spectacular view but was a pretty cool sight in and of itself. Was thinking of bringing a disposal waterproof camera to take pictures during the swim ... but not sure how I would swim with it? Any ideas?
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| 2007-04-26 1:44 PM in reply to: #777768 |
Coach 9167  Stairway to Seven | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes I showed up at in San Fran on a Tuesday to enjoy the city, relax a bit and do Pedro's Thursday night swim clinic. It is at the St. Francis yacht club which is just up from Chrissy field. There were about 75 of us. We walked up to the end of the jetty (??) got in and swam the last 1/2 mile or so to the exit. This let me get used to the temp of the water (COLD), swim with a group of people, get used ot the current, see the exit & practice gettingg out on the mossy steps. This made the actual swim sooooo much easier as I was not freaking out about any of that stuff. When it was "GO" time, I ddn't even feel the water temp. In fact, I was hot. I sighted with the "slowskis" and did fine, got to ride the current in to teh finish. I stopped about 4 times and just spun in circles to see the golden gate bridge, the island, downtown and the finish area. It was totally cool. If you're feeling game, take a waterproff disposable camera with you and take pics. swim with a buddy and take pics of each other. It's a priceless experience and worth the cost of the whole trip...that swim made my tri! I also read both of the small books out there on the Alctraz swim, one is by Pedro (Ordonez?) and the other by Gary Emich. The two of them trade off for the most swims from alcatraz without a wetsuit. If Gary does a swim, pedro has to do another one to keep the record even & vice versa...those guys know what they are talkingg about. I liked Gary's book better (A pirate swims at 40 or somethingg like that). he gives good tips for swim sighting & stroke rhythm that were helpful. (7 strokes, sight, 7 strokes, sight, etc...) it worked for me. |
| 2007-04-26 1:50 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Got Wahoo? 5423 San Antonio | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes Hey, sharks are no joke... isn't that the great white attack capital of the world? brrrrrrrrrr  |
| 2007-04-26 2:10 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Veteran 112 Gardner KS (near Kansas City) | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes Thanks to all, I too am considering a waterproof camera. found one yesterday, will try it during a srpint may 6, I plan to use a strap over my head and shoulder, let it float behind me a bit, if I keep slapping it then maybe I wont take it with me, but I am so pumped up for it, very high on the "cool" factor - swimming in the bay a few days before sounds like a great idea - I have been in that bay once, 20 yrs ago, although I was somewhat "lubricated", or maybe I should say "spiked with antifreeze" |
| 2007-04-27 12:58 PM in reply to: #777936 |
| Champion 5575 Butler | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes Darr - 2007-04-26 2:10 PM Thanks to all, I too am considering a waterproof camera. found one yesterday, will try it during a srpint may 6, I plan to use a strap over my head and shoulder, let it float behind me a bit, if I keep slapping it then maybe I wont take it with me, but I am so pumped up for it, very high on the "cool" factor - swimming in the bay a few days before sounds like a great idea - I have been in that bay once, 20 yrs ago, although I was somewhat "lubricated", or maybe I should say "spiked with antifreeze" I would suggest trying the camera thing in pool first to get used to it/fine tune. Nothing New on Race(swim) day. |
| 2007-04-27 1:35 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Nor*Cal | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes It's not the sharks you have to worry about. It's the biting sea lions. If you get a chance to do a practice swim at Aquatic park, don't be surprised to see a couple of sea lions already swimming there. They are are not afraid of the swimmers and are mostly curious. If you're doing the Escape from Alcatraz tri, you'll be plenty hot in your wetsuit on the ferry ride to the drop off point. The best advice I got was learning the sighting points for the swim. They'l point them out at the pre-race meeting. I'd also suggest taking a tour of Alcatraz island a couple of days before the race. You'll be able to get a good view on the boat and from the island what your swim will be like (look for the St. Francis yacht club. that's your target swim destination). -ak- |
| 2007-04-27 4:01 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Expert 739 Flower Mound, TX | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes Another simple question: How hard is it to get off course and then have to fight the current? One guy tried to tell me that if this happens you'll have to get picked up by a boat and then dropped back into the current. (Not sure, I believe this) Another guy said that there are a lot of kayaks and it's actually pretty hard to get off course? For those of you that have done it, what is your opinion? Thanks, -David
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| 2007-04-27 5:45 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Expert 782 Wandering through AZ | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes They will have plenty of kayakers to guide you in if you're doing the Escape. It's really hard to get too off course at that race. I agree with the earlier posts that if you just listen to the pre race instructions about where to sight, then you'll be fine. Last year they gave us 3 options for sighting in case fog rolled in and we lost one or two of them. I had to use all 3, so my only advice is to get to know the landmarks and get a good look at them from the ferry before jumping in. As for the cold, I was fine in a full long sleve wetsuit. You'll have plenty of time to get warmed up in the ferry with all the packed-in bodies around you and a full wetsuit. No neoprene cap required unless you're the type who chills easily. |
| 2007-04-27 10:13 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Coach 9167 Stairway to Seven | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes There are tons of kayaks, but honestly, when you'r ein the water, you can't see any of them, at least I couldn't. I was swimming my own swim. Even though there were probalby more people in the water at once than any other swim I've done, we were staggered enough that it wasn't crowded at all. I used the "slowski" sighting, then the fog rolled in, by that time I used the golden dome (forget what art museum that was), then I was close enough to see/hear the finish line. Shooting for st. francis yacht club if you're slower than 2:00/mile is probalby not a good idea, but they go over all of that. if you miss the current, they told us to just swim to the beach in crissy field, get out on the sand and run back up on the sand. they specifically said NOT to fight the current. As it was, I overestimated the current, and thus, got to shore early and cruised in on the current. Havingg done the preswim a few days before, I knew exactly what buoys to look for to not get washed into the rocky shore before the landing. Sounds scarey, but just listen to all the advice and you'll be fine. |
| 2007-04-27 10:34 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Champion 8903 | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes One of the recent tri magazines (Triathlete or Inside Tri) just had a good article on this. The #1 piece of advice was to go to the pre race meeting and listen to the RD regarding tides and currents and what to sight on. That way you wont waste energy swimming back against the current if you try to swim the tangent straight across. Sorry I don't have the info on the exact article.
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| 2007-04-28 9:14 AM in reply to: #777768 |
| Nor*Cal | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes These are some pictures from last year. It's difficult to explain without a diagram, but despite the saying "the shortest distance is a straight line", that's the *wrong* thing to do in this swim. You'll definitely be swimming in the bay current that if you attempted to swim a straight line from the drop-off to shore, the current would carry you past where you need to end up. The good news is that the you're actually swimming with the current, not against it. So you'll have to sight much further up and adjust as you get closer to shore. |
| 2007-05-07 9:28 PM in reply to: #777768 |
| Expert 968 Wellington, North Island | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes I'm getting into SF Thursday afternoon and had planned to jump in for a bit on Friday morning to get the feel of swimming in the cold water and what the current was like, but it sounds like the Pedro swim clinic would be much more useful. I just looked up "Alcatraz Pedro's swim clinic" in google and found a Waterworld Swim company with an Escape from Alcatraz last mile swim clinic on Thursday night so I hope that's the one that was referenced before. Thanks for the tip on that. I think it will really calm me down race morning since I'm already freaking out about the swim. |
| 2007-05-08 12:23 AM in reply to: #792369 |
| Coach 9167 Stairway to Seven | Subject: RE: I Need tips for the Alcatraz swim -no shark jokes kmarzano - 2007-05-07 8:28 PM I'm getting into SF Thursday afternoon and had planned to jump in for a bit on Friday morning to get the feel of swimming in the cold water and what the current was like, but it sounds like the Pedro swim clinic would be much more useful. I just looked up "Alcatraz Pedro's swim clinic" in google and found a Waterworld Swim company with an Escape from Alcatraz last mile swim clinic on Thursday night so I hope that's the one that was referenced before. Thanks for the tip on that. I think it will really calm me down race morning since I'm already freaking out about the swim. Yes that's the one. It's at St. Francis, or at least it was last year. There were about 70 people, it was a lot of fun! |
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