Ocean Project

MolaMola's friend is doing an interesting experiment in So Cal. Check out her blog.

Winter Alcatraz - Rokky's account

Rokky is saddened that she cannot use the blog but alas, we have no photo to illustrate our very own Flipper’s Extreme Alcatraz Swim. Flippy slid into the water crested with whitecaps under the watchful eye of Leslie of Swim-Art and two kayakers. Joining her were two veteran Alcatraz swimmers, Alan, who was too scared to take photos, and Gary of SERC on his 700+ Alcatraz swim along with a birthday boy of 54 years. Rokky got caught in an eddy due to her legendary navigation (lack of) skill and a bout of seasickness and therefore was pulled back into the boat until we got close to the opening. However, the intrepid Flipper battled the waves for TWO HOURS (yes, two hours it was). Her strength and courage were phenomenal as she honed into the Jeremiah O’Brien with a strong ebb tide at her face. In a nanosecond of faltering, Leslie gave her encouragement by stating that she was doing quite well and Dave, in a kayak, stayed along side until the final triumphant landing on the beach.

So you see, Babes, this was no mere winter Alcatraz swim- this was woman challenging waves, tides, cold and fatigue in her quest to conquer the bay. And that she did with glory.

Unfortunately, dc did not consider this effort as a qualifier for Alcatraz on New Years Day. But as Flipper stated, “I have proven myself worthy”. And, by the way, the veteran Gary told us it was one of his 5 worse starts for an Alcatraz swim.

So as we gather together tomorrow evening to celebrate the winter solstice and a full lunar eclipse, I am sure you will see a happy little dolphin welcoming both the longer days of sunshine as well as brightening the shadow of the moon.

And Rokky will continue in her efforts to overcome navigational challenges and motion sickness.

To thee, Flipper, I salute!

Winter Alcatraz - Flipper's story

Ride out in small boat hiding from fumes and spray. Bump bump bump. We are going fast. Good. Less chance to get cold.
Can't get tea open. Ask sandy for help. She is already seasick and waves me off. Ok then. No tea. Suck on luna moon. Dry mouth. Gonna be fun.
Alan standing surveying scene. Quiet. Serious. I look at him questioning. White caps he says. I don't get it. We arrive. 3 min to jump. Try to get clothes off. Boat pitching and rolling. How to get in. Wind pants too tight too hard in rocking boat. Note that for next time. Hurry don't be last. I am last.
Slide in sort off. Boat yaws on top of me. Push off. Swim or be swamped. Wetsuit pulls tight. Ignore it and swim. Get away from boat. Swim. Swim. Swim. Forget everything but that. Swim. Green water. Grey sky. Up. down. Water water everywhere. Water in your face. Water up your nose. Water down your throat. Alcatraz. Gotta love it.
Breathe right and breathe water. Pull. Pull. Breathe left. Only left. No glide. Breathe every stroke. Swim up suck in air before the wave. Wave hits. Ignore it. Focus.
Keep going. Sprint 50 yd. Repeat. Hit some sea weed. Hit some hair stuff. Icky icky. Please don't let it be a dead body.
Swim. Swim swim. Stop and take stock. And repeat. check boat. Check kayak. Wait for pod. No pod. Swim for alans kayak. Repeat above a ton of times. Apppach jeremiah obrien. Hit ebb. Swim 100 strokes hard. Rest. Hey its a sprint session. Aim at bay bridge to keep line on obrien. Repeat. Again and again. Obrien now a 45 degrees to dock. Ebb in full blast. Think. Stop and think. Will I be thwarted again. No answer. Humph. swim. Green water beautiful. Sky seems lighter. At Least no sun in eyes. Swim swim swim.
Get nudged toward ebb by something. Go vertical. Is it a shark. No can't be. Must be blasted seal. Where is that boat?
Oh look ferries are working. Wide around swim. Cool. I have the bay to myself. Incredible. Swim breathe left. Missing breakfast. Just keep going. Hey you are doing great. Riiiight. So near yet so far. Well I am not cold so I guess I will swim some more.
Hey the kayak is going to take you. Keep going. Legs cramping. Right shoulder finished. Need to breathe right. Not allowed by mother nature. Going going going. 50 yd sprints become 25 yds. Still not cold.
Miraculously hit opening. Kayaker hits me with paddle. Apologies. Sure. Can I make it in. Yes just swim I am told. Whatever.
Inside cove. Make for dc. Cannot hold line. Joke around with kayaker. Make for beach at top speed. Such as it is. Standing. Waves little ones. Whoop it up at beach. Kayak guy tells me it was the worst alcatraz he had piloted and that I did well. I am happy happy happy. Get out. Hands and feet frozen. Tourists gawk. Don't care. Consider going back in and swimming around boat launch to club. Bad idea. Not sure would make it. Hurry to dc on land. Not cold. Run into Leslie, get hug and kudos. Get member to let me in gate so don't traipse sand in club house. Grab some dude to get me out of wetsuit since hands don't work. Now cold.
Head upstairs to warmth. Please don't let me collapse on stairs especially after a wetsuit swim. Hit locker room. Grab shower stuff and suck down cliff shot in shower. See sandy. You are so covered in sand she says. She must have come in earlier. Nice job I think of her swim. I got hypothermic she says. Well go back in there I tell her about the sauna.
The end.
So there you go. Not a pool swim.

fly is in the air

Awesome video!

DC Life

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Babes n Bobs seek acute mountain sickness

Vangie's Virgin Swim at Dolphin Club

Suzie's Catalina Adventure

Check out the video.

Suzie and Ranie

This week has been very eventful for friends of lane 6. Ranie successfully swam the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco, a distance of 8 to 13 nautical miles. She swam in super rough water, with dolphins escorting her part of the distance. Check out her story here.

And Suzie Dods swam 21 miles from LA to Catalina in 19 hours yesterday.

With both these women turning 50 this year, it looks like life begins at 50!

No Moon Swim?

Hello Lane 6 Babes--I have threatened in the past to expose the true goings on of those infamously decadent Moonlight Swims and now you will hear all about it.
Last night, Sunday, brought around the first available evening closest to the latest full moon and the lunatics gathered at the Dolphin Club. Surprisingly there were few Dolphins present for the swim. But the Menlo Masters crowd held the day.
It was a beautiful evening with warm water (about 55) and a very slight current. It was flat with not too much wind. There were few clouds and no fog! The view was incredible!
We had some old regulars there, Sergei and Matthew, Flipper and Tiny Seal. Matthew's wife, MC, also joined us from Montreal and took a virgin plunge into the bay with much enthusiasm! We had a new Dolphin Club member, Ashley, who showed us some excellent swimming. Also joining were a couple of other Dolphins, Athena and a young guy whose name I cannot remember! And we were so very happy to be joined by Loretta whom we are working hard on to join us for a swim but who watched the fun with much interest and helped us celebrate our wonderful after swim dinner! And joining us as well from Bangalore was (forgive me on this name....) Depatangan.
When we arrived at the club we were all a bit confused because there was a birthday in progress and we were not sure whether the swim had occurred without us! But no, it was simply the birthday with no takers for the moonlight swim. Upstairs Gretch was chairing a photo judging contest for her Ecology class and was joined by Robin and Colin and the DC Log editor. It was great to see Gretch and she also joined our dinner. We were so happy to have her with us and catch up on her adventures!
Now the swim is a special sort of thing that despite all reports does NOT have a course designed by me nor do I provide any kind of safety!! The swimmers are on their own and typically "pod-up" and strike out as their hearts desire! Requisite costume includes glowsticks worn as ears in the style of Disney or around the neck native style. Bracelets are definitely in vogue both in the water and after the swim! Wetsuits are optional. Hot hats are definitely necessary!
A few of the girls struck out to the flag, Ashley, Flipper, Athena and MC. And then the gents, the Seal followed along a little while and took a more leisurely route that focused on the fun of the moment and chasing moonbeams closer to the boat launches. The gals overtook the flag without much ado and made a quick sprint for the return.
On the way back we rallied about halfway and made for the beach in a raucous crowd of swimming. NO, there were no other signs of wildlife in the water as any wise bay life had beat feet for quieter pastures.
Now the real highlight of these evenings is NOT the swimming though that is quite a nice little rush that will set your heart thumping. The real heart of the evening is the culinary adventure! And what a show stopper this was! Interestingly, not one meat dish was there. It was completely a vegan faire!
We had a wonderful curry and rice dish from the Seal, fab Tempeh and other vegan samplings from MC and Matthew, wine, a bit of a quinoa salad courtesy of Whole Foods, sliced fruit, potato salad, muffins, puppy chow (yummy!) and other delectible treats!We held our feast upstairs around the big old wooden table, savoring every morsel and chatting late into the night until we were essentially kicked out by Fred!! The time flew by so quickly no one had any idea that our late evening dinner had become a midnight banquet!!
For anyone who has not enjoyed the Moonlight Swim I encourage you to try it out if not for the swimming then definitely for the eating and the company. This evening was such a pleasant one and enjoyed so much by all that we look forward to the next with much anticipation!! And I do not know about anyone else but I am looking into my cookbooks already for inspiration for the next one!
So come one, come all. A fine evening beside the water cannot be beat!

new cold water record

Check out this video.

i would happily trade 1 year of old age in exchange for this experience :-)

Parkside Fun

Hello Lane 6 and friends--Today's grey skies did nothing to dampen the spirits of those who swam the Parkside mile in San Mateo. As usual it was a well run, early season swim and had what will surely be remembered as some of the warmest water we will see this year. There was no chop, no wind and only minor currents to speak of. The buoys were generally visible though due to positioning the yellow buoys provided some confusion near the end. And the coffee was hot Starbucks, free and there were wonderful complimentary snacks.
Menlo competitors were Flipper, Rocky, Jana Matena and Sandy Dutro, while the Seal served as ground crew and official photographer. Flipper and Rocky both improved upon last year's times by a good margin and were quite pleased. Jana and Sandy D. took first in their age groups so that was very happy for Menlo and a great way for them to start their open water season! Go Menlo!
The swim started with a water start and required squishing along the muddy bottom to get out there. It was pretty uneventful to the first and second buoys. The challenge of course was the long stretch along the length of the lagoon. For the slower swimmers there was a tug to the center by what was probably an ebb and so the third buoy was one that had to be watched for.
About halfway to the far end of the lagoon the age group future olympians came plowing by and gratefully did not swim over us.
The last 2 buoys at the far end were really not too difficult to sight or find but coming back to the finish there was a slight head on current so that was a bit difficult. And interestingly the finish buoy seemed actually very close to the mid way yellow buoy so that required some extra sighting.
I found the swim to be pretty uneventful except that my goggles leaked and fogged so badly that at the end I could not see. I talked to a 76 year old swimmer after the race who does not wear goggles at all and I wonder if that might be an option when the goggles fog up! Her sight seemed fine!
Anyway it was a fun morning and a great way to start the Masters open water season. Hope to see everyone at Santa Cruz for sure if not sooner!

Senior Games at Stanford

It was not a dark and stormy night. No indeed, it was a cold and windy morning at the Aquatics Complex at Stanford. I brought my umbrella and debated rain pants as the sky threatened to open up. I was not completely unhappy that I had missed the cutoff to sign up. I remembered freezing the last time I had competed there.
This year I had to park quite a distance from the complex. The games were getting more popular it seemed with each passing year!
Our Mavens were causing a ruckus in the water polo pool and I knew that there in the main pool would be the Senior Games swim events. So following the noise from the Mavens I knew I was going in the right direction toward the complex. Heading toward the entrance, the promenade was lined with some interesting booths, some promising to tell you how your cholesterol was and if you had the spit, one that would tell you about your DNA. It kind of gave you the feel of a circus but I wished that there were more booths--kind of like there are at the short course competitions in Pleasanton. Now that would be a real circus!
The flags were really whipping in the breeze as I made my way into the bleachers. I spotted Mimi Osborne there, reclining comfortably, completely prepared after years of cheering on her bbf. She was relaxed and hanging out, watching Dan and a host of other high powered senior athletes who call the Dolphin Club their club house and the bay their lap pool. As I sat there chatting with her for a few minutes I spotted our very own Ariel in the far lane getting ready to do a 50 free.
What was she doing? Not sure but she was there chatting up the officials, making sure all was in readiness. And as well, there was giving me a wave was her coaching staff, TS. I knew that Ariel would put in a good showing. She was definitely prepared and had a full entourage to support her. There was the whistle. Everybody up.
Strangely, in the next lane one of the ladies took off into the pool. False start. There seemed to be a huge sigh of relief as if all of the tension of waiting to start was released. Everybody shrugged it off and waited to get back on the mark.
The whistle blew again. The bleachers hushed. The tension was again palpable.
Up Ariel went on the block. Take your mark. Everyone bent low and stood as still as can be. The wind blew over the crowd as we waited in anticipation. Then there was the beep and they plunged into the water.
It was a good start and Ariel knew her pace. She held to it and did not miss a beat. She stuck the flip turn and stretched harder after the turn as she headed home. The competition faded and she just kept to her measured pace, swimming her race. Ariel took first in her age group. It was a personal best! 45 and change.
It was only one small part of what would be an incredible day for her:
1st in 50 free and personal best at 45.87
1st in 100 free and personal best at 1.43
1st in 200 fee at 2:57 (and included her "prairie dog" look as walleye dubbed it to check out the clock to confirm how many laps she had swum.)
2nd in 50 fly at 57 with no dq!
3rd in 200IM!
When I asked her what her secret was to keeping her edge and staying warm in miserable conditions she said... "Easy... The locker room has radiant heat and I just lie on the floor and soak up the heat!"
So there you have it from the Senior Games!! The secret to success? Swim your race and bask in the warmth between races!! Nice job Ariel!! You swam a ton of races and got medals in each. Cannot think of a more rewarding day!

Pier 39 Reprise

Hello Babes and Bobs--After wrestling with my computer for most of the afternoon and firing Internet Explorer in favor of Mozilla I am finally able to post the tale of the Pier 39 swim a week ago Sunday morning.
I hemmed and hawed most of Saturday about the swim hoping that Tiny Seal would be too tired after rowing training to carpool that Sunday morning. However, she was not. Despite heavily hinting that you know you could always call me at the last minute if you don't want to go.... there was no call. So, I was up at 5am, practically blasphemy for a Sunday anyway, and on my way up to her place to car pool into the City.
I had swum on Friday, only 20-25 minutes to test my cold water readiness. And I decided that if I didn't get into any trouble out there and stayed on course I could probably last a good 40-45 minutes during the swim.
On Saturday, against my better judgement, we did a swimmers mile at Masters which went actually really well. I thought to myself... well, I shot the wad on this. If I can hammer out a good mile tomorrow, it will be a minor miracle.
Anyway, I went to my massage appointment later that day. My usual person was unavailable because her father had passed away and I got a new and surprising technician. This woman had been trained I think in Germany and so I thought hmmm.... now I will get to see what all of the kur-bad twitter was all about when I was over there. Well, I really had my muscles pushed around for 1 1/2 hours and was stretched and lectured about nutrition.
Not being one to waste advice I decided to give the advice about magnesium with my calcium a try.
Well, Sunday morning arrived with no cancellation call from the TS so I loaded up on supplements, protein powder and spirulina and headed up.
I was very early which suited me fine and I killed off my protein powder concoction drink and sat around waiting for the swim briefing. I had pulled number 19 and was hoping that would be a good lucky number for me. I was very nervous as I usually am and had my earplugs in and caps on before the briefing. I never have time to get them on correctly so I did them early. Of course I proceeded to get a headache but at least my head was warm.
The swim briefing told us that we should not get too close to the piers on the left and we should not get so far out we missed the opening. Always more of an art than a science, I asked for more clarity and got a little bit more precision to the distances. And if we could smell the sea lions we were definitely too close. No worries there. I was not even going to hug their pier. The briefers described a course that stayed 30-40 ft from the piers and breakwater on the left.
There were boats and kayaks stationed strategically wherever motorized craft could depart from their moorings and enter the bay. And of course we had our usual flotilla of oarsmen and women between us and the bay to keep any of the boats and ships from coming into us.
So we were off to Pier 39, kind of a cold hike. I had a set of long underwear and a light fleece jacket on as well as good heavy socks to try to keep my feet and ankles warm. I still found it cold on the walk. It was a solitary hike with most folks buddying up with old friends but I did not really have anyone to walk with but that was ok with me. I waved at the bakers at boudin and listened to a couple of guys yammer in front of me about I can't remember what.
When we got to Pier 39 we actually went to the small yacht harbor just beyond it, on the right. There we awaited the word to strip down and I finished off another bit of protein drink. I always do the calorie load thing as you can tell. But I get hungry out there.
Very soon we got the word--get down and get in, we need to beat a whale watching boat. And that is a motivator, I must say.
We tottered down the ramp, no sea gull poop to dodge this year and onto the catwalk which was really not very rocky this year. The bay was calm and quiet. As we neared the end I started to talk to a guy I knew from timing last year and told him he didn't really have to listen, just nod his head, that talking was how I coped and he seemed ok with that. There at the end of the catwalk there was just the water--green, flat and looking remarkably cold. Why do I do this? Why am I here on a Sunday morning at 7:30? I don't like cold water. I don't like getting up early. Just take a breath and jump. Just focus on the jump. Don't hold onto the googles. You don't want to sink like a rock. Use your arms so you don't sink too far. So ok, just take a breath and... It was an amazingly long second before I hit.
Was it cold? Oh yes indeed. I went under a couple of feet but nothing like a couple of the jumps on the Alcatrazes where you just drop. I was at water's edge, which helped with not sinking too far. I shot up out of the water so quickly and swam as quickly as I could, head out of water to the start. It was way cold!!
They started us very soon and I began to stroke out toward the bay. I was going to wait a few minutes and let everyone go by and then I just thought... why? I will be careful and these guys can just move. I accidentally ran into one guy a couple of times and apologized and then he was gone.
Coming out of the yacht harbor I hugged the breakwater on the left and tried to stay sort of close in--about 30 ft from the pier. When the pier disappeared I did not swim left and pick up the next pier, I just made for the end of the Jeremiah O'brien. There was no one around me. There was a big pod in front of me and I knew who was probably in there but I could not catch them. In fact, I made the decision not to even try. I remember thinking that I would never finish first and probably wouldn't finish last so I just decided to swim for the sheer pleasure of it and to watch the city go by with every breath. And it was glorious!
I did not smell any sea lions as I passed opening to their lair and prayed that they would not be curious enough about the swim to come out and investigate. Fortunately they did not.
As I approached the O'brien I just thought about what kind of pollutants were coming off of it and then tried to focus on the end. It is always a challenge for me to find the opening and then find the beach. Part of it is that my goggles usually get foggy and part of it is that I can't really see without my glasses so it is kind of an adventure in orienteering.
Anyway, Muni pier came up rather quickly and I had been pulled out into the bay so I stopped and took stock of my situation and made a 90 degree adjustment and went like mad toward the pier. That was my biggest regret that I had let myself be swept too far out there but it was the danger that my route had posed as I let myself go for points in the swim that were the shortest between points rather than focusing more on the distance to my left. Once the water takes you it is very hard to readjust unless you are aware for every second.
Amazingly, there was very little chop. It was almost lake like and I could see the pod in front of me turn on the jets as they approached the opening to the pier. I lost a little time trying to find out where I was and making the turn in.
I hugged the pier as rounded it into the cove. This may have been an error as there is a big eddy right close there but these things are always easier in hindsight. As I took a breath I could see a sea gull land on the pier and look down at me as if to say... what ARE you doing? Is this insane for a Sunday morning or what?
As I entered the cove I tried to stay near to the Balclutha and as I got to the end of it I relaxed and just swam. In a very few strokes I stopped since I could not see the club with the sun rising and my foggy goggles, peered through the bottom of my goggles and realized that I had been blown far to the right almost into an anchored sail boat. So it was a mad few strokes always hugging the left. I stopped a couple more times since I still could not see.
Once I got in between the boat launches I swam hard and just kept going until I hit sand. No running out of water for the DC. We swim and then get out at leisure. I thought I had finished the 1 1/2 mi course in 35 but it ended up being 32 and change but I got a big push.
Next stop was the sauna and a great breakfast with marvelous Indian rice soup made by Tiny Seal. And my thought in going up the stairs toward the showers was... What a terrific way to spend a Sunday morning! The very best way!! Ha! How being done changes one's perspective!!
We are so fortunate at DC to have the privilege to swim in the bay and we have so many terrific folks interested in supporting these swims. Without them they would not happen. I am so lucky and urge everyone to take advantage of our wonderful natural resources.
And next time you go touristing to Pier 39, take a look at the little yacht harbor on the right and consider a Sunday morning swim!

Feel For The Water! Advice & Tips to Improve Your Swimming.: Don't Forget To Breathe, Doctors Recommend It

Feel For The Water! Advice & Tips to Improve Your Swimming.: Don't Forget To Breathe, Doctors Recommend It

Very inspirational-I'm going to try this mantra. Maybe if I exhale, my body alignment will snap into place. I agree with John, I think I get too distracted by trying to improve everything at once and end up like a piece of flotsam in the lane.
Rokky

babes and bobs

New additions to the menlo brood:

Guppy (Vangie)
Albatross (Abhishek)

Rick gave his approval for his new moniker last night: Sea Gull. Quoting Rick: "Sea gulls eat a lot of trash, and i eat a lot of trash, so it is an apt name"

celebration

Yesterday, we celebrated three occasions with a bone chilling dip in the bay.

- Loretta turned 77.
- Flipper had a birthday last week.
- Marylou completed 26 years of sobriety. She claims it is more important than a birthday.

The gang is back in business.

Lou in New York Times

Check out this article on Lou!