Swim across Lake Tahoe
slowmo
Member
So I have made up my mind to swim across lake Tahoe. I'm thinking next Aug/Sept so any and all information reguarding this swim would really be appreciated. I just did an 8hr swim this past Fri and really enjoyed myself which leads me to the next question, pace. I know everyone has there own pace but for swims of this length I would think you would like to keep a certain pace due to water temps and such not. I happen to fall in and around 2-2.2mph, I'm just not sure what my stroke count is but during my swim I was told that I looked smooth right up until the end. Thanks!
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We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I had some issues last year with my stomach getting upset but some solid food really helped me out. I'm going to start maing my plans in Sept for next summer, will have talk it could be fun doing a joint take off if we could pick a date that worked.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
http://remote.ucdavis.edu/tahoe_lake_advice.htm
Lake Tahoe Surface currents:
http://terc.ucdavis.edu/news/LakeSurfaceCurrents.pdf
You rock, oxo, thanks! bookmarking that site now.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqXKME4KvWs
P.S. the celebratory Coors at the stateline (7.5 miles in) ended up just being a sip!
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
We didn't finish the length crossing but I am safe and sound after this : http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/569165398 (terse detail about team observation of MSF rules in Garmin comments).
My deepest gratitude for coach and crew - exceptionally experienced personally as cold/Marathon swims and crew. Also my new to OW piloting exceptional local pilot was a great asset as well, helping read the weather, stepping up to manage multiple aspects of the boat rental, and causing exceptionally minimal frustration for me on the attempt.
Too early to consider if I will make another attempt later this season or just later. Gory details later. Resting comfortably now feeling deep gratitude for all the support I've received (including the Lake granting me permission for a relatively easy crossing after prior assisted widths were met with Force 4/5 winds) and dolphins who came in to within 50 of me while I gazed in awe -- a first for me to see them while swimming in Monterey Bay.
Observer data to follow, may cross post into the lessons learned thread.
http://www.jenschumacher.org
I'm prepping to attempt a Lake Tahoe swim in just over a week (September 15th), and while just about everything has come together in terms of organization, finding a full crew has been difficult. As has been said before, there's nothing "solo" about a solo-swim.
I currently have three crew members. One member (and the owner of my boat) has completed the swim twice himself. The other two are experienced ultra-distance athletes, although neither are swimmers. What I'm really in need of right now, is someone (or two) that can handle a kayak.
All the equipment is already on the boat, so I'm really just in need of another body or two.
My crew and I are planning on driving up from the SF Bay Area on the morning of Sunday, September 14th. We're anticipating a midnight launch (weather forecast permitting), and I'm expecting about a 12-13 hour swim (finishing between 12:00 and 1:00 pm Monday afternoon).
The plan right now is to carpool up on Sunday, and come back on Tuesday after everybody has had some recovery time. Our vehicle is a Chevy Tahoe (how appropriate), which can seat seven - so we can take extra crew with us.
If anybody is available to help out, or if you know somebody who can, please, please send me a message.
I've learned a ton about organizing personal swims doing this... but I think the biggest thing I'll take away is: It's never too early to start planning.
Thank you in advance to anybody/everybody who might be able to help or advise!
-Michael
Pilot: Tom Linthicum
Nutritionist: Clyde Butt
Kayaker: Ryan Thompson
Pilot/Nutritionist/Kayaker: Phil MacFarlane
With out each and every one of these fine gentlemen my swim would not have happened. The fact that it went so smooth and that I didn't have to think about anything but swimming is a credit to the fine job they did. Thank you guys so very much!
Thanks!
The boat captain I used is Geoff Hanlon. I don't think he is escorting swimmers any more, but when I asked he said to have you contact him and he would check to see if he could get someone for you. He is located in South Lake Tahoe.
Geoff Hanlon
tahoefishhound AT gmail DOT com
530-559-7243
If you go and are in need of lodging, eating and swimming hole recommendations let me know and I will direct you.
Have a great swim. Swimming the length of Lake Tahoe is one of my favorites.
Tom Hecker
mobile: +1 858-395-9853
janettaplace AT yahoo DOT com
Not necessarily a need for experienced captain. After all you are going from point A to point B what could happen? (I've heard that before!) It is helpful having someone on the boat that knows the lake. The person with the most experience of the swims on the lake is Ken Harmon. You may want to talk to him. Or any recent swimmer on their experience.
There were a few downers, the primary one being lack of GPS. The boat captain, who was new to Tahoe, and my crew were eyeballing it, and the SPOT Tracker later showed we did a little extra swimming. I mentioned this to Gerald afterward, and he said he did have another boat with GPS, and may be adding GPS to his other boats in the future. The second, unforeseen downer was that that boat had to go in before dark as they didn’t want to moor it overnight due to the wind. We were about an hour out from shore when the boat had to go in, and we had a kayak, so I did have someone to kayak me in the rest of the way. Gerald was apologetic about that too.
That said, I would recommend SWA without reservations, just making sure the GPS is covered somehow, and that the boat will remain the entire way.
If looking for a place to say, I rented this cabin, which was about 10 minutes away. It was perfect for me and my crew, http://www.vrbo.com/350559.
Good luck.
Hi folks - first time posting here. Reading through everyone's comments on what worked and didn't work in their swims was very helpful. Here's my contribution following an unsuccessful crossing of the lake at the end of July, 2015.
Prep
Training was based on a set of recommendations from @SuzieDods (thanks again Suzie!)
March: Two, 4 hour swims, one on Saturday, the second on Sunday x 2
April: 6 hour in the ocean at Aquatic Park
May: 6 hour in fresh water at Lake Del Valle
June: 10 hour in fresh water at Lake Del Valle
Along with 2-3 days each week with the fine folks on the Temescal Masters team.
The Swim
We started from Camp Richardson at 4:45am. The water was in the mid 60's with winds predicted to be in the 8mph range. Things started out perfectly smooth until the sun started coming up - and with it came the winds. Lots of winds. They started out of the east, but quickly spun around from the north, with sustained speeds in the mid-20's and gusts over 30mph.
At that speed there's not only waves but waves with whitecaps, which made things both exciting and frustrating. The winds died down for a bit around mid-day and there was even a delightful hour or so with a tailwind. They picked back up in the afternoon and stayed up for several hours. For a while there, I was only able to make forward progress by swimming two feet off of the pontoon boat which was positioned to block the wind coming from the NNW.
Around 5ish they died down when we were about a mile from the opening to Crystal Bay, giving me the hope that the fabled southerly evening winds would come and blow me the last few miles into Incline Village.
Instead, a new round of 20+ mph winds arrived out of the northeast. Putting the boat in front of me wasn't an option since the wind was coming straight down the line. I fought it for the next hour, but given my proximity to the eastern shore, I could not only tell I wasn't making any headway, I could watch myself being blown backwards when I stopped for feedings.
After sharing some very enthusiastic words with the winds, I decided to call it at the 17 mile mark after 15 hours of swimming. Once on the boat it still took us the better part of an hour to make it the last few miles to the dock at Incline.
All things considered it was a good swim, my longest to date, and while I could have kept swimming I don't mind losing to Mother Nature (she's got a size advantage). In addition, I've now got four more trained crew members for whatever the next big swim happens to be.
Tips for Future Swimmers
If you have an opportunity to team up with folks who have led this swim before - Jamie Patrick or the guys Suzie mentioned from South End - then by all means go for it! It's certainly possible to do it yourself, but having experienced pro's would take a lot of the logistical strain off of you and your crew.
If you're the DIY sort, then here's some things that might help you on your way.
Pontoon Boat Rental
http://tahoeboatrentals.com/
We used Lake Tahoe Boat Rentals and they were fantastic. They've worked with Jamie before so they know the drill and were nice enough to give us an off-day, swimmer discount. They dropped the boat off for us in the evening at the Incline Village boat launch and had one of their guys come down in the evening to pick up the boat when we were done. Loading and unloading was super easy - the boat can be pulled straight up onto the beach.
The pontoon boat ran great and the crew was quite happy to discover a privacy shade for taking bathroom breaks (bring your own toilet). There wasn't a GPS or marine radio on ours and we weren't able to get our cigarette lighter attachments to work, so be sure and plan to bring your own guidance, coms, and power.
Incline Village
If you're staging a car on the north shore be sure and ask the parking attendants near the boat launch where to leave them so they don't get towed. On their recommendation we left ours one block north of the launch across from the parking lot.
Camp Richardson Marina
http://www.camprichardson.com/the-resort/marina
We docked the boat for the night at the Camp Richardson Marina because a) it's where the start of the swim was and b) they were the first marina we could find that allow people access to their boats in the early hours of the morning. You should make reservations ahead of time on the off chance that there's some big boating event taking place that weekend.
Once we arrived with the boat we were able to re-fuel (get there before 6pm), picked up a buoy near the dock, and grabbed a parking pass to leave in our car. There seems to be a paucity of cabs in South Lake, so be sure and figure out how you're going to get from Richardson back to wherever you're staying.
If you dock at Camp Richardson during business hours they'll have a boat to ferry you out and back to your buoy. If you get there at 3:45am, you'll need to make your own way out to your boat. We used our kayak to get there, but given how low the water is we could have just walked over.
There's a pair of bathrooms on the east side of the main building that were unlocked and heated, which make for an excellent place to get into swim gear, get covered in desitin / sun screen, do a gut check, etc.
Kayak Rental
http://daygoadventures.com/
You'd think renting a kayak in Tahoe would be a piece of cake. Turns out that most of the places we went to had some restriction or another that didn't work for us - don't allow overnight rentals, don't allow the kayaks to go more than 200 yards from shore, etc.
We eventually came across Anthony at Day Go Adventures who was awesome in several ways. First, they gave us a great rate and were happy to let us take them out overnight. Next, they specialize in Hobie peddle-powered kayaks, which turned out to be fantastic. My kayaker was initially appalled at the idea, but after spending 15 hours on one in rough water she was sold (literally, she bought one last week). Finally, Anthony picked up the kayaks from our place in South Lake the day after the swim. One less thing to do after a very long day!
As an added bonus: from under the water, the peddle drives make it look like you're being followed by a happy little dolphin - a surprisingly soothing experience when you're swimming as fast as you can to not go backwards.
House Rental
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6121364
We stayed on the South Shore in a 4 bedroom place we found on AirBNB. It worked out great and the folks who own it were very helpful.
Emergency Map
I put together a map of various emergency rooms and exit points. You'll want to double check that the locations and numbers are accurate before you use it.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=z5MCEz8pJu8I.kZsPTFOrwUG8
Tahoe Buoy Data
http://laketahoe.jpl.nasa.gov/field-data/tahoerawdatagrph
As mentioned above (thanks @oxo), NASA maintains a set of buoys in the lake that continually monitor a bunch of different weather conditions. They've made the data searchable online, which can be super useful to see exactly what the weather was doing before, during and after your swim.
A few notes:
You know you're doing it right when you can see why July 28th was a bad day to be swimming south to north.
Finally: Drink Water!
Between the altitude and the drought, Tahoe is DRY! I came in a few days early to acclimate and the morning after I got into town I woke up completely parched. The day before the swim I was downing Gatorade by the gallon just to keep from feeling dried out. It worked, and by the morning of the swim I was feeling fine.
Hope this helps, stay safe out there, enjoy the ultra-blue water, and have fun!
Anyone swimming Tahoe this year?
I live close by in Reno, and am new, never seen or done a marathon swim. (I'm adding open water to my pool swimming this year.)
I would love to see a long swim in action - and help if needed! I'm a fast learner and hard worker. Just no experience (yet).
"Not all who wander are lost." --J.R.R. Tolkien
Hi, @Swimmer! The USMS 1-3 Mile Open Water Nationals are in Donner Lake in Truckee in August. That's just one swim that stood out in my mind. You can check the swim calendar for Northern California in the MSF website for more ideas!
http://marathonswimmers.org/swim-calendars/northern-california
@Swimmer....Contact Tom Linthicum at this e=mail tom Linthicum (tomlinthicum@hotmail.com)....he is a Lake Tahoe Swimming veteran ...he will be piloting many swims in Lake Tahoe this year and would welcome your help....he would likely recommend a width from Cave Rock to Emerald Bay for a new swimmer with the length to follow.
"I never met a shark I didn't like"
I'm swimming Length of Tahoe weekend of July 8,9,10 with Tom Linthicum as my pilot. Would be happy to have your help!
@bluemermaid9 Thanks for that link - it's great! I'm already signed up for Berryessa and hope to choose 2 more this year.
@Sharko Thanks for the contact info - I emailed him!
@Chrisgreene Drat! Of course that is my major vacation weekend this summer - cruising to Alaska! Thanks so much for the offer and I would've loved to help out.
"Not all who wander are lost." --J.R.R. Tolkien
Are you available the 5-7? I could use a crew member then if you are!
And @Chrisgreene assuming all goes to plan on my swim, hopefully I can join you on your swim or at least see you off/cheer you in, etc.
Stop me if you've heard this one...
A grasshopper walks into a bar...
https://elainekhowley.com/
Elaine, that would be great! Are you 5th or 6th depending on the weather? When we get closer to the date, let me know when you'll be starting. I get in on the 7th and I'd like to cheer you on as well. At least as you finish!
@emkhowley I can help out if you launch on the 5th. I'd love to! I think I sent you an email, along with Tom Linthicum. Hope I got the address right. Good luck with preparations!
"Not all who wander are lost." --J.R.R. Tolkien
Hey Guys,
This forum is a wealth of great information! I'm a Dolphin Club member and regularly swim in the SF Bay. I'll be in Tahoe for 5 days this week and was wondering if there was anywhere near incline to train (loops, out and backs, etc) that are safe, relatively easy access, and don't require a pilot. Any help would be much appreciated and thanks, in advance!
Not sure about Incline proper, but there's a long flat stretch of sandy shoreline at Kings Beach, a few miles west of Incline on the CA side. It's about 1 km long, and you can swim back and forth parallel to shore.
Further around on the Nevada side is Sand Harbor, where the Trans Tahoe Relay starts.
Always be wary of boats, anywhere on Tahoe.
An entertaining 2006 SF local news segment on the King of Lake Tahoe, Tom @Reptile Linthicum. His first (of three) Tahoe length swims was 11 years ago.
(h/t @CathyInCA)
I love this interview but especially the interviewer. He is so obviously not a swimmer but did his research, asked great questions. Where is he now? Thanks for posting this.
Love this segment of Reptile. Look how YOUNG he looks and he's actually wearing clothes. I can't believe how many times he mentioned SERC! Gotta love him!
Hi guys - new member and first time poster. My daughter and I are planning a "short" crossing of Tahoe from, Emerald Bay to Zephyr Cove, on July 30th. I have open water experience up to Ironman distance (2.4 miles) and several 2 mile races, but my daughter only competitive pool swimming. My question is, is one kayak escort enough for this swim with two swimmers? I will make sure the escort has a radio with proper emergency channels and food for us. Thanks for your replies. Love the web site.
Looking at the route on a map, it seems to be an 8 mile swim with the closest shore about 3 miles away at the midpoint. I think a boat would be prudent.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
Way too much boat traffic on Tahoe to only have a kayak escort. You should definitely have a boat as well as the kayak.
Can it be done? Of course! Is it a good idea? Probably not. Always consider the worst-case scenario on a swim, and how long it would take to get to shore/safety in the event of a problem. So, with a single kayak and two swimmers, 3-4 miles offshore on the middle.... probably a couple hours to get to land.
There are some crazy boaters on Tahoe, and they aren't expecting swimmers out in the middle. Kayaks have better visibility than swimmers, but less than boats.
Yea, I have come to the sobering conclusion that if I can't find a friend with a boat to help out, we may not be doing the swim. One, or even two kayaks just aren't going to cut it. Thanks for helping me open my eyes.
Looking for a kayaker to help out on July 10th swim across Lake Tahoe. I'm doing the viking, Tom is my pilot and I have 1 kayaker, but I'm looking for another one? Any interests? Are you thinking of doing this swim, by kayaking you can see how everything works.
Swimming is my happy place
Well, we did it. A friend with a boat was nice enough to escort my daughter and I on our swim. The route ended up being from the far side of Baldwin Beach over to Nevada Beach, just shy of seven miles (which was far enough for me). Thanks for all the good advise. I don't know that I will ever do any swims farther than this, but if I ever decide to, I know where to come for advise. You can check out the video of our swim on U-tube at Abner's outdoors.
I ready for another Tahoe swim!
Best Regards,
Tom Linthicum
Lake Tahoe Marathon Swim Federation
925-787-8291
I'm always ready for another Tahoe swim! :-)
I hope this is an okay thread to post in, but where do people train up in tahoe? I am heading up to tahoe on aug 2 for an aug 6/7 length crossing and have no idea if there are acceptable lake beaches to train at or pools, etc. Any recommendations appreciated!
@abbygirlrose I usually go in at either Camp Richardson or Pope Beach early in the morning. Camp Richardson charges $10 for parking and the have hot showers by the boat ramp. You can swim south to Pope Beach from there staying close to the shore. Pope Beach has a mile of beach protected from boat traffic.
Another great spot is Tupac Beach in South Lake Tahoe. Free parking if you get there early