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Strait of Juan de Fuca (Détroit de Juan de Fuca)
malinaka
Seattle, WACharter Member
This July, I'll be attempting to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In brief, the swim is a cross from Vancouver Island, BC to Washington state with a minimum straight-line distance of 11.6 miles (18.7km), water temperatures rarely above 52F (11C), ships, orcas, ocean swells, an international crossing, and and some strong currents. I'll be following the SBCSA Rules for an unassisted swim.
This is the first big swim I've planned on my own and wow has it been an experience. There is a long-winded write up coming in installments at http://forums.usms.org/blog.php?36101-andrewmalinak, where I'll attempt to cover the historical, technical, and legal aspects of the swim, and occasionally talk about my feelings.
This is the first big swim I've planned on my own and wow has it been an experience. There is a long-winded write up coming in installments at http://forums.usms.org/blog.php?36101-andrewmalinak, where I'll attempt to cover the historical, technical, and legal aspects of the swim, and occasionally talk about my feelings.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
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If anyone out there knows of any other successful crosses I've missed, please let me know. Same goes for unsuccessful attempts. I just can't believe merely three people have tried this swim since 1958.
Spreadsheet summary and primary sources available upon request.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
If I may ask, why did you decide on SBCSA rules for your swim?
1) I didn't want to write a set for scratch knowing that what I planned would fit into rules already established elsewhere
2) SBCSA is the closest (geographically) major swim sanctioning body
3) I like the provision about not drafting
4) The rules were easy to find, read, and download from their website (very important)
I found establishing the rules ahead of time has helped me focus on some of the smaller details, and also make sure the whole crew is on the same page with what I expect from the swim.
I should note: no sanctioning body has approved this swim and there will be no official, sanctioned CBCSA observer on board. However the rules will be read on the boat ride out in the presence of the entire crew and adhered to in full. Take that for what it's worth.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
Nanaimo Ocean Swim - http://www.viendurance.net/nanaimo-ocean-swim/
There is a gale warning in effect for tonight, and high winds forecast to blow straight down the Strait every afternoon through Monday, so I'm expecting some lovely swells to be present. The weather has been gorgeous (if you like blue sky and sun) in Seattle for weeks now, and ironically that is driving this strong diurnal wind pattern.
If you are interested in the planning process for this swim, there are 7,800 words for you to read on USMS Forums.
Also, forum member @CaitlinRosen will be on board live-tweeting from @ andrewswims, and I'll be trackable by my fancy AIS unit (MMSI 367575160) on VesselFinder.com.
Here's hoping the wind dies down.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
Wishing you great good luck! I will be following as I can though may be in transit for a good portion
...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
This morning I was copied on an internal memo from the Sector Puget Sound VTS Director to his staff and the Canadain VTS staff saying the following: "Although this swim attempt is potentially dangerous, Mr. Malinak has complied with all requirements of USCG/CCG and has gained the approval of the District Commander for this event." I'm extremely excited to see this all come together so well. To get acknowledgement of the risk in the same sentence as approval for the swim makes me beyond happy.
I hope you'll all find some of the planning useful in your future endeavours.
Splash time is now 0800PDT to give the wind a chance to calm down.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Seattle-man-set-to-attempt-historic-dangerous-swim-217180681.html
Isn't @malinaka swimming this now?
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
According to his FB, looks like he did it! Congrats Andrew @malinaka !!!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Absolutely, congrats! Sounds like a very challenging swim! Would love to hear from him how it went down!
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150906/NEWS/309069980
NICE!! =D>
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
Above, my first public announcement of this swim. Below, the result of that announcement...
My plan to wait until September for the water to warm up didn't pan out too well: the water was 48-49. My plan to pick a date from a window also didn't go as expected, since the captain wasn't available on the day I wanted and we all had work on Tuesday, so I instead I chose a morning with 25kt winds and light rain.
In short, I loved learning from the mistakes I made the first time, not just in training and planning, but in immersion. By time this swim came around, the last minute details of a swim had become routine. Packing up a crew and getting everyone on the same page, from the Coast Guard to reporters, was something we'd done twice before this summer. Getting to the start, the big victory of my last attempt, went by in the blink of an eye. Once at the start, swimming through the kelp and climbing out on my starting rock was a breeze since I'd practiced it just the weekend before, only this time I was clothed.
In the beginning, it was cold, obviously. The weather was grey. The waves were frightening on such a small boat (I was glad to be off it). One of the crew vomited 17 times. The Coast Guard said "you two work it out" after notifying us of an impending collision with the 574ft bulk carrier Honest Spring. The border crossing came an hour late, and I added another half hour to my mental countdown clock. And finally, the shivering started.
Then the waves weren't as big, the sky lightened, and I could even see some blue. Then the water flattened out, and the water almost warmed as we neared the Elwha. The mountains still looked so far away, but then I remembered I wasn't swimming to the mountains. When I finally could see the ground, it occurred to me
that the last three years of work would be done once a few more sea shells passed by, an adventure that began a week after I moved to Seattle ending on that delta of stones and driftwood just ahead. Preparing for this swim has been my life for longer than I've called this city home and has led me to more places and adventures and friends than I could have possibly imagined. After a few months rest, I'll begin a search for a new adventure.
There is a thread on the forum about lessons learned from failed swims. I'm sure this is one of those lessons.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.
Yeah, the PNW weather wasn't very ideal...congrats! I knew you were going to make it this time.
I had this crazy dream last night that you had invented an obstacle course swim, of sorts, along a (dreamland) water front. It involved jumping from heights, swimming with huge fish, sliding down spillways, running from place to place and swimming through huge fountains. I was following wet footprints to the next spillway, conferring with a couple other swimmers as to how we were going to safely climb to the top of it...then I woke up. Darn! I think I took too many trips down the water slide at Colman during the last week.
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
What a cool dream! I see a new swim / run challenge emerging! (Oh and throwing in Parkour ... brilliant!)
Congratulations, @malinaka ! Awesome swim!
@wendyv34, It's a wimpy short distance, but the swim portion [link youtube] of the Military Pentathlon might be right up your alley!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Yeah! Like that, only lots, lots longer!
Reminds me of that time when the pool covers blew up and twisted into a big pile...
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
fabulous swim @malinaka
Or SwimCross, @wendyv34
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Does anyone have a link to his blog that works? I'm very curious in reading more about this experience. @malinaka
@musclewhale89 Here you go!
It is on the Wayback Machine