Alcatraz Crossing

On Saturday I did my 5th Alcatraz crossing.  It was my first crossing of 2009 – earlier this year I had a shoulder injury that kept me out of the water.  In 2008, I swam from Alcatraz 4 times.

I did the crossing with Water World Swim.  We met at 6:45 Saturday morning, climbed aboard the Dauntless, and headed to Alcatraz.  Even though this wasn’t my first crossing, I was a bundle of nerves on the boat.  The conversations around me were an absolute surreal blur, only partly due to the ear plugs I had in to prevent the icy water from entering my ears.  Soon the boat stopped near the island and the swimmers jumped into the water.  When I jumped I rapidly went down in the water.  It’s always shocking to jump in – the sudden bracing cold, the noise of the water, and you can’t see anything in the murky water of SF Bay.

I surfaced quickly and began to swim.  Swimming is such a solitary activity; it’s a time in which I live in my mind.  Not only that, but being in the middle of SF Bay makes one feel even more alone.  That said, I wasn’t alone.  I could see some of the other swimmers to my right.  They were moving faster than me and soon they were in front of me.  I kept them in sight for a while, but eventually I could no longer see them.  I worried that I was falling behind.  I could see the Dauntless occasionally.  We had a number of kayakers on this crossing, and I could see various kayakers much of the time I swam.  That was reassuring.

Sighting always proves challenging.  To my left the sun was rising, turning the water golden, in a beautiful display of nature.  It was a breathtaking sight…  I was headed for Aquatic Park, straight ahead.  The opening of Aquatic Park’s cove is flanked by Muni Pier and a seawall.  When I would raise my head to look forward I often could not see much, as waves would obscure my view.  Other times I could see the buildings along Fisherman’s Wharf, but unfortunately the buildings didn’t seem to be getting closer.  This caused a mild panic and I tried to swim faster.  I’m not sure why, maybe due to nerves, but I felt like I wasn’t moving.  I wasn’t alone – that nagging panic and self-doubt were my constant companions.

Eventually I saw the cove’s opening.  There were kayakers on either side of the opening, and, in what felt like super-slow-mo, I swam through the opening.  Once in the protective cove of Aquatic Park, the water became smoother.  I had less than a quarter mile left to swim.  As I swam toward the beach, the sun completely blinded me.  I knew the beach was straight ahead and so I kept swimming hoping that in my blinded state I wouldn’t swim into a boat or another swimmer.  When my hand hit sand I knew I had arrived.  At the beach.  I slowly stood, stopped the timer on my watch (49 minutes), and I walked out of the water.  As usual there were tourists standing by the beach and, as usual, they stared as I came out of the water.  This scene, in which I feel like I’ve played a role numerous times, causes a mix of conflicting emotions.  Happy and satisfied that I completely the swim, but conspicuous with tourists staring as I come of the Bay.

There were a couple of other swimmers on the beach who had also swam from the Dauntless.  There were 13 swimmers that jumped and there were now 3 of us on the beach.  I wasn’t sure if the rest had already gone home.  I turned and looked back toward Alcatraz.  I saw the Dauntless near the opening of Aquatic Park, so apparently I wasn’t the last swimmer to arrive.  (As it turned out, I was actually in the middle of the “pack”.)  I pulled off my 3 swimming caps and, in my dripping wetsuit, I began walking to the pier where the Dauntless was to return.  I must have been a sight – walking down the street in my wetsuit, my eyes ringed by goggle marks.  When I arrived at the pier the boat still had not returned.  I stood shivering on the pier for what felt like years and eventually the Dauntless returned.  I got my gear bag and headed to the South End Rowing Club to take a warm shower.

Overall it was a satisfying experience.  My shoulder, which I had worried about, didn’t hurt during the swim.  I also was pleased that I didn’t have to be repositioned in the water.  (When a swimmer drifts off course, they are picked up by the Dauntless and repositioned in the water.)  Before the swim, I had worried that I’d be cold in the water.  My hands and feet were a little numb while I swam, but I wasn’t particularly cold in the water.  I had felt fine in the water, managed to keep the panic under control, and successfully made it to shore.