Kevin Haugh: New Year's Day Alcatraz Swim

The New Year’s Alcatraz swim has the reputation as the coldest and most dangerous swim of the year. The temperatures of the air and water are both below 50 degrees. Since the event must occur on New Year’s Day the conditions are always unpredictable. A 1.5 mile, no wetsuit, qualifying swim is required to participate. I swam the qualifier in December, but until I jumped off the deck of ‘Lovely Martha’ on New Year’s morning I hadn’t completely committed to attempting this swim.

All New Year’s Eve I hedged my bet. “Well, there is a swim tomorrow (sip), but it’s pretty early (sip). . . I may do it, but (sip) it depends. . . Hey, this champagne is pretty good. . ” At midnight we took the kids out on the deck, shouted “Happy New Year!” and watched the fireworks over the bay. A cutting cold wind ushered the kids back into the house and I thought, “I'll just sleep in. . . I’ll set my alarm just in case, but there is no way. . .”

New Year’s morning came quickly. My alarm rang out at 5:30 a.m. I sat up, silenced the alarm, and pulled a blanket around my shoulders and stared at the clock. The house was cold and quiet. 10 minutes passed. I was so tired I didn’t have any coherent thoughts of ‘should I stay or should I go’ – I just sat there.

A few hours later I was aboard the ‘Lovely Martha’. It was a long, windy, cold ride out to Alcatraz. When we reached the island a horn sounded and folks cheered “Happy New Year!” and hurled themselves over the side of the boat. As I peered over the rail and into the grey waters of the bay, I paused to observe the chaos. White splashes, muffled shrieks, audible gasps of air, wide bulging eyes framed by swim goggles, cheers from the pilots, the smell of sea air. . . then without any forethought I was in the water. It was like some invisible force pushed me over the edge.

Survival instincts took over and I swam hard toward San Francisco. I soon found myself in a pod of swimmers. Rather than the usual bumping and clawing for position, they were chatting it up. . “Hey Joe!” “Happy New Year!” “Isn’t this great!” “2009 baby!” “I heard there is a keg on the beach.” I pulled through and spun on to my back. “Happy New Year’s fellas!” Four red faced swimmers smiled back. I took in the panoramic view of San Francisco bay and turned back into the water.

I heard the cheers on the beach long before I touched sand. It was raining now. The spectators wore winter coats, hats, gloves and huddled under shared umbrellas. I stumbled once, regained my balance and headed toward the stairs of the club. I was aware of the pats on my back put couldn’t feel them. There was a bottle of whiskey in the sauna and indeed a keg of beer on the beach. It was an awesome way to start 2009!