Farallon Islands swims

david_barra

Joe Locke is scheduled to splash at 3:30 AM pacific time...
Good luck Joe!

evmo

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Go Joe!

Umbra1

Looks like Joe has taken advantage of the ebb from the toilet bowl known as San Francisco Harbor and appears to be about 1/3 of the way to the Farallones in 1 hour, e.g. 10 miles or more of the 31 to go!! Wow. Now all he as to worry about is getting hypothermia in waters that are 50 degrees F.

Umbra1

(He got in at 3:19 A.M. Pacific time starting at the bridge.. You can follow his swim on "spot" here:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=028rJIL3vij25n6Va5HrVCiMNGCXpGIDi

Umbra1

Note that distance covered per every "spot" (10 minutes) has been halved now that he is in open ocean and out of the ebb flow. Not sure of time for flood to begin (which can start to send him back toward the bridge) unless he is far enough away so that it is too weak to affect his course.

Umbra1

Below, pic of Joe Locke after a training swim.




And his goal, the desolate Farallone Isle!

Umbra1

And now, 4 hours after start his "forward" progress is lowered and being pushed considerably south of the Farallones by a strong southerly component of tidal flows. It appears that what he has "gained" on the ebb from the bridge, he is losing by being forced south of his goal. Hmmmm. And probably getting cold, now.

evmo

Here's a video of Ted Erikson's (a.k.a. @SdogV ) swim from the Farallons (9/16/1967) in 14hr 38min - a record that still stands.

Umbra1

(4) Now 7 hours into swim. Appears to be an additional southerly drift between "spots" # 33-35 and # 40-41. Uncertain whether caused by boat heading or open water tidal flow change..? Half of ~31 mile distance covered, but may require some northerly swimming in next hours.. Must be getting colder, too. Brrrrrrr.

Umbra1

Joe @ 7hrs into swim. Wide shot and close-up.

Umbra1

Just discovered Joe was pulled a 6:32 hours into swim.@ 47 degrees.

It is impossible to survive a 3 degree DROP when starting at 50 F. That is exactly what happened to me in 1966 attempt; Started swim at ~51-2 F, dropped as nite fell to below 50 and I went completely hypothermic. (reported "dead")

I hope he pulled with "some" life left..

BTW, if swimming in the reverse direction, a start a 47 would have encountered "warmer" water like 50 (ha!) and it MAY have been possible to continue..

In short, water temp drops during a swim are a killer for a swimmer. Body temp can not adjust thermodynamically.

Condolences.

david_barra

Just got home from a 60 minute 47 degree swim at Brighton Beach... damn! that was cold.
Big respect to JL for the effort! (any bets whether he'll try again? lol)

evmo

A video of Joe's swim:
http://gallery.me.com/vitobialla#100182

A brave attempt!

ForeverSwim

A truly amazing effort; such a beautiful picture posted above!

david_barra

JC Malick will splash tonight (tomorrow AM)
Good Luck J.C. !

Umbra1

Jason should be ~ 1 hour into his Farallon swim attempt. Checked "spot". Just one marker...??

rosemarymint

Jason was pulled about four hours in after the cold zapped him. Night Train guys said he started swimming a stroke they'd never seen before. I chatted with JC a while ago and he's in good spirits. He's a tough dude, so I'm sure the Farallons haven't seen the last of him.

AquaRob

since this is the kind of crowd that would dig it, here's my experience from the boat on JC's Farallon adventure http://robaquatics.com/2012/05/jc-takes-on-the-farallones.html

david_barra

AquaRob wrote:

since this is the kind of crowd that would dig it, here's my experience from the boat on JC's Farallon adventure http://robaquatics.com/2012/05/jc-takes-on-the-farallones.html

Great read! thanks

evmo

Joe Locke is charging hard on his 3rd Farallon attempt. Water a bit warmer this time - 51F (10.5C). He's about halfway across, but is now pushing against the flood has lost the benefit of the ebb and is pushing across some cross currents.

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Go Joe!

jcmalick

Valiant Effort by THE Joe Locke! When USS Iowa is halted in the bay and Joe warriors out, you really know a man's metal!

david_barra

@jcmalick So, I have to ask: why the early season rush? Is it an attempt to get to the Farallons before the "fish" arrive?

jcmalick

@david_barra For the most part yes...winds also become a major factor in June and July so Swells become outlandish...August-November is when we sing "Here come the Men in Grey (Not Black)"! So it's a trade-off...cold water and "calmer" seas or warmer water (mid to upper 50s) and a descendant of Jerry Garcia (the shark attacked by an Orca off the islands a few years ago).

Sharko

My fellow Sharks et al,

Joe Locke is making good progress swimming from the Farallons to San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge)...been swimming for about 5 hours ..they say 53f at the Devils Teeth...Can track him on http://nighttrainswimmers.org/

or here http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=028rJIL3vij25n6Va5HrVCiMNGCXpGIDi


Sharko

david_barra

Badass!

gregoc

Wow, he is kicking it! Looks like starting at the islands and swimming in to SF is the right direction. It only can get warmer, right? Go Joe!

oxo

go Joe!

I suspect he is past buoy 46026:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46026

and heading to 46237:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46237

smith

Any communication with crew personnel at all??

On the tracker, it looks like he's making great progress.

Sharko

Sharko here,

Simon Dominguez on the pilot boat reported an hour or so ago that Joe is a machine....water is going from 53f to 58f which is the right direction for this swim...

ChickenOSea

Thanks for the update!!! Very exciting!

jcmalick

Go Joe! Definitely gonna join the ranks of Ted Erikson and Col. Stewart Evans!

oxo

If I'm reading it correctly, the tidal currents are about to change in Joe's favor:

http://tides.mobilegeographics.com/locations/5545.html

with the most recent 'realtime' data lagging by a few hours (for 1hr@6km, most recent is 01:00UTC)

http://www.norcalcurrents.org/COCMP/centralcoast.html

1mph = 45cm/s

evmo

Update from the boat: he's been pulled.

Sharko

10 hr 54 minutes a hell of an effort in those temperatures

oxo

Nice work Joe. Glad to have read that you've been recovering at home and not a hospital -- those temps can be unforgiving.

evmo

Interesting...

https://www.facebook.com/bruckner.chase/posts/10152910009580455

jcmalick

I don't agree with the touching of the land as the swim starts or finishes from a buoy (maybe it should finish by touching another man-made structure such as the spansion of the bridge or finishing on land), but from all accords, evidence of a neoprene cap is non-existent! Ask Ted and he will tell you that he did not use one (he had a neoprene flap on his neck however from what I understand) and ask Col Stewart's family and they will tell you he did not use one either. All other rules are justified and by English Channel Standards...regardless this is a hardcore swim and is not taken lightly!

jcmalick

Joe definitely did not have a neoprene cap. I was just referencing what the Federation allows. When I gave it a go last May, I wanted to go with the standard rules as well and only wore one silicone cap, a square cut bathing suit, and unfortunately dark tinted goggles! ) I don't know the full history of the swimmers in 1966 (the likes of Ike Papke) but they too went "traditional". I Agree @OWSmile...Joe is incredible and keeps going further and further with each go! There is no doubt that he will nail this on his next attempt!

evmo

I hope whoever achieves the first solo success since Ted Erikson will do it without neoprene. Given that the federation currently cannot claim any solo successes, I would say the policies regarding swimwear are not yet set in stone.

Sharko

This swim has some special problems....Water temperature is very cold most of the year at the Farallons with the best temperatures usually occurring after the White Tippers come back from vacation in Mid July according to the naturalist I met with....the other is where do you land...if you land at Bolinas Point you avoid the extreme currents of the San Francisco Bay and you wind up swimming about 21 miles in a straight line....if you land at Pt Bonita the swim distance is 26 miles. It is over 30 miles to walk up on the beach at Aquatic Park and into the South End Sauna and if you don't hit the tide right you will be affected out say 5 miles from the Pt..that is why it is much easier to go to Bolinas....If all of the attempts are going to be done early because of the fear factor then probably the shortest distance will give the opportunity to more swimmers making for a real "Farallons Channel Swimming Association" or "Bubble Cap Channel Swimming Association".... Note both of the successful swims were done in Late August and in September...A successful solo, without neoprene but bubble ok, will require a good weather day and water temperature the body can tolerate for say 12 to 15 hours....my bubble cap is off to the one that does it...I think it is possible to slip in north of Pt Bonita and use the N to S pump action to round the Pt even before the flood starts....a lot of cold water training, logistics & luck...

oxo

@Sharko - thanks for adding pertinent details.

Back to Joe's swim, I've a question of curiosity that I was hoping someone with local knowledge would address. I had read somewhere that due to the currents, there was no possibility of actually completing the swim given the start time.

On the other hand, the COCMP surface currents, which are observations not forecasts, show the surface currents changing in his favor right around 9pm PDT on the 10th (4am UTC on the 11th) and staying that way for the next 4+ hours.

Here is a map of the COCMP observations:

http://www.norcalcurrents.org/COCMP/centralcoast.html

and here is a timezone converter for PDT and UTC:

http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

Sharko

I am not a tide current expert...but know from experience that when there is a tide change...it starts along the two shorelines first...so it can still be ebbing in the shipping channel while along the northerly and southerly shorelines it will start flooding...I will see if I can get a graphic of these currents as it is really mystifying based upon so many factors.....my contention is that a swimmer needs to get out of the shipping channel until a real flood starts and my supposition is that the swimmer head north of Pt Bonita and then ride a prevailing N/S current to Pt Bonita and if it is still ebbing it will be easier to swim near shore as the flood will be starting there first...There are graphics of the currents in the bay...I just need to find them

oxo

I'd be interested in the charts.

'... starts along the two shorelines first ...' that makes sense considering inertia (not a dominating factor along the N/S Beaches). In fact that may explain all of it, I imagine, since the offset would induce large-scale, weakly predictable eddies in the channel until the flood is well underway. In this sense, Joe was ahead of his time.

Sharko

Just a note on the Farallon swims....I remember speaking to Fred Rogers many years ago about his swim from the Farallons in, I think 1955....around the time he swam the legnth of Tahoe....I don't think Fred should be forgotten and someone should do some research on Fred....there are a few old timers that will know

oxo

Article about Fred Rogers by Steve Yingling on 2003-10-28 in the Tahoe Daily Tribune

Google cache shows it intact ...

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:H0eoqzArZuMJ:www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20031029/SPORTS/110290043

and a little bit more about Fred Rogers in another Steve Yingling article on 2005-08-11

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:53O3tkDxaMgJ:www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20050812/SPORTS/108120048

jcmalick

Very confusing. DID Fred indeed swim the distance between island and mainland as the article indicates or was the first crossing by Col. Evans? I wouldn't think there would have been such a scrambling in 1966-67 to be the pioneer if this in fact happened.

evmo

Sharko wrote:

I remember speaking to Fred Rogers many years ago about his swim from the Farallons in, I think 1955....around the time he swam the legnth of Tahoe....I don't think Fred should be forgotten and someone should do some research on Fred....there are a few old timers that will know

This issue (and its resolution) was recently discussed on the South End email list. Phil Cutti found this in the San Jose Mercury News:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_5572398

But, in 1968, Rogers went to extremes to take on a challenge - he tried to swim from the Farrallon Islands to Stinson Beach. He has a framed black-and-white photo to prove it. He also has newspaper clippings of his mother, Matilda, standing holding a pair of binoculars on Stinson Beach. She's crying.

Rogers was unable to complete the trip. One of the support boats got lost in the fog, the tide changed and Rogers was repeatedly stung by jellyfish. He was pulled out of the water a mile and a half from Stinson Beach after spending more than 18 hours in the ocean. Rogers was more mad than sad, especially when a newspaper article detailing the swim insisted Rogers "cried in terror."

Seeing this, Rogers confronted the reporter, pointed at his own eyes and sternly asked, "Do you see any tears?"

AnthonyMcCarley

Swim of the year is about to begin - Craig Lenning

http://nighttrainswimmers.org/live-tracking/

gregoc

Damn, I had a lot of work to do today. It looks like I'll be sitting in front of my computer instead. Good luck to Craig.

david_barra

Badass!

ssthomas

I love Craig. :-)