This morning under foggy skies 15 sunrisers and I jumped at the Bay Bridge. Alice, Michelle and I missed the boat (no pun intented) and got a ride from our swim commissioner to the start. However, getting in the water from the Embarcadero involved a climb down algae covered steps and sliding into the water getting scraped along the way by barnacles. Alice and I swam stroke for stroke for the 56 minutes it took up to get back to the opening to the cove. Along the way we encounted a large red ship and a ferry that sped between us and the rest of the swimmers.
At the opening, Joe Butler (in a zodiac) and I continued with the ebb tide towards the Golden Gate Bridge. We found ourselves almost amongst the start of a regatta and then right next to a capsized sailboat from the day before. We didn't see the baby gray whale that was sighed off of Chrissy Field on Thursday.
I wanted to stay in the water for 2 hours today. The temperuature is still just a brisk 53 degrees. I swam towards Anita Rock (a shipping channel marker just West of Chrissy Field) and rounded it to start back swimming against the ebb tide. The sky was gray, the same color as the water and it was starting to drizzle.
From the water I saw kids playing on the beach in front of Chrissy Field. I thought "what are those kids doing playing on the beach on a day like this?". Then I remembered what I was doing and thought that they might be thinking the same thing.
It was difficult to make progress against the 2.25 ebb, but I made it back to the St. Francis Yacht Harbor and Joe pulled me out of the water out of 2 hours and 10 minutes of swimming. I was alright and didn't start shivering until just before we docked the zodiac at the club. I didn't feel too bad, but was looking forward to a long shower and sauna.
Thank you to Bill Wygant for getting me to the start. Thanks to all of the pilots for keeping us safe on a busy day in the bay. And to Joe Butler for staying out in the cold and missing the club breaksfast to help me get more milage in.
2 comments:
Looks cold. Glad you stayed in so long, though! How did you guys miss the boat? Were you totally scared about the boat going between you guys and the rest of the group? What about being right there at the start of the regatta? Sounds kind of scary to me...
GREAT JOB, JESSIE!!
Great Job!!! Wow, I can't even imagine 1 hour in that cold water, let alone 2 hours and 10 minutes. I'm so proud of you!!!!
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