What does a 500 lbs Sea Lion do?

Whatever it wants.

I was the first of our usual swim group to arrive at the club at 5:45 am. Mark was the next to show up. We met at the top of the stairs leading down to the beach. While we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive we heard some shouting down at the pier. It was still pitch black, we both had ear plugs and swim caps on so it was a bit confusing. Mark took a step out of the club, paused and listened. I made my way down to the beach to see what was going on. Russ, a club member, had been hit by a sea lion. He wasn't bitten, just bumped.

By the time I made my way back into the club there were 6-7 swimmers discussing whether we should go out at all. Vince, who swam the Maui Channel where the pilots are required to carry firearms due to shark threat, seemed unphased. Rebecca's vote was to hit the sauna. Mark seemed less enthusiastic than Vince but slightly more so than Rebecca. Mark said he and his wife Sunny encountered a sea lion a couple months back. He said the sea lion was all over Sunny but she wasn't injured. Finally, we all agreed to go out. The plan was to swim as close together as possible and head for the beach if anyone in the group got bumped.

As I waded slowly into the water I thought, "it is hard enough to get into the cold water at daybreak without wondering if a 500 pound sea lion is lurking just beneath the water." Just then 6 swimmers bolted past me. It was more like the start of a race than our usual slow, spiritual entry into the bay. Vince took the lead, as he usually does, and everyone else followed. I think everyone was afraid of being left behind and confronting the sea lion alone. It was my turn, so I dove in and muttered the usual expletive. Off we swam, faster than usual and in the tightest swim formation I've ever seen. We were literally shoulder to shoulder, finger to toe swimming. It was really cool.

Well, we made it back unscathed. Another exciting morning in the bay. Later in the sauna, we talked about the freak sea lion attack last week in Australia where a 13 year girl was left with a broken jaw and three less teeth. We also recalled the less frightening week last year when a baby sea lion attacked 14 swimmers in Aquatic Park. The poster above hangs in the Dolphin Club. Its meant as a joke, but then again. . .

Missed the century mark but Swam with a baby whale

I waded into the bay Sunday afternoon with the goal of swimming 100 minutes. I had a really off day. My swim stroke was a mess. I wasn’t feeling very good. There was a bug going around the office last week and I was sure I had contracted it. The water was 50 degrees (a couple of degrees colder than normal) and the wind was whipping.

At 80 minutes, I was done. At this point in the swim, I couldn’t have imagined swimming another 20 minutes. Cold and tired, I headed in to the warmth of the club. One lesson I learned during Ironman training is to let tough days like this go. . Some days are good. Some are bad. It is just training.

Now for the fun part of the story. . .

I stopped at the opening of Aquatic Park to admire the bridge and wave to some tourist. As I turned to head back toward the shore, I heard a faint but distinct high pitched screech underwater. I pulled up immediately and scanned the surface of the water. Nothing. I quietly treaded for a bit and removed one ear plug. I then slipped under the water and listened. The high pitched screech rang out again, louder, clear as day! Again, I scanned the surface and saw nothing. I was certain it was a whale, but at the same time I knew it couldn’t be a whale. The thought spooked me and I sprinted back toward the beach.

Later, on the beach, I ran into a woman who was a member of the South End Rowing Club. She said SERC held an Alcatraz swim event the previous day and during the boat ride out to Alcatraz they saw a baby whale that had apparently gotten lost and swam into bay.

Alcatraz Swim Escape Attempts

Official records indicate no prisoner ever successfully escaped from Alcatraz. There are five prisoners listed as "missing and presumed drowned," but no record of an inmate who reached land without getting caught. Thirty-six inmates tried to escape in 14 different attempts during Alcatraz's 29-year history.

Here's a summary of the swim related escape attempts. I just copied and pasted these for the blog. The John Bayless attempt description is funny to me. The bay is cold, but surely worth the swim. Didn't John know how good the restaurants were on the other side?

"16 December, 1937 - Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe may have escaped. Officially, they are listed as missing and presumed dead. Currents in the Bay were very strong that night.

15 September, 1941 - John Bayless gave up shortly after noticing how cold the water of the Bay was. John even tried to escape from the courtroom during his trial.

14 April, 1943 - James Boarman, Harold Brest, Floyd Hamilton and Fred Hunter took two officers hostage while at work in the industries area. All four of them climbed out a window and made it to the water's edge. One of the hostages was able to get help and alert other officers to the escape attempt. Hunter and Brest were both apprehended, Boarman was shot and drowned, his body was never recovered. Initially presumed drowned, Hamilton was discovered alive two days later back in the very same industries area where the escape attempt began.

7 August, 1943 - Huron 'Ted' Walters disappeared from the prison laundry building. He was caught at the shoreline.

23 July, 1956 - Floyd Wilson was discovered at the shoreline after several hours of hiding.

29 September, 1958 - Aaron Burgett and Clyde Johnson overpowered a correctional officer and tried to swim from the island. Johnson was caught swimming, Burgett's body was found floating in the bay two weeks later.

11 June, 1962 - Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin disappeared from their cells and were never seen again. They are officially listed as missing and presumably drowned. This is the attempt made famous by the Clint Eastwood movie, Escape from Alcatraz.

16 December, 1962 - John Paul Scott and Darl Parker were the last prisoners to try to escape. Parker was discovered on a small rock near the island and returned. Scott, who had tried to swim towards San Francisco, was pulled out to the sea by the strong currents. He was found suffering from shock and hypothermia near Fort Point and was taken to the Presidio Army hospital before he was returned to the Rock."

Training continues. . . my goal is to break the CENTURY mark (100 minutes) in the bay this Sunday. Thanks for checking in!

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

"And the sign said, 'long hair freaky people need not apply'" - The Five Man Electrical Band ('72) Actually, that isn't what this sign said. I just had that song running through my head all day. Click on the image to see what the sign at the Dolphin Club really says.

Nobu and I joined the Dolphin Club tonight. We attended the monthly board meeting and were surprised at the turn out. It was an unlikely band of like-minded folks. The room was split evenly between those interested in swimming and those interested in rowing. As I listened to each of the 11 new members introduce themselves, it was apparent that each shared a love of the sea and San Francisco.

I introduced myself as a friend of Jon Nakamura who swims with the crew at 6 am. The reaction in the room was a bit of a surprise. I surmised that, even among the membership of the Dolphin Club, the 6 am swimmers are viewed as a bit crazy.

The president of the club described swimming in the bay as a "spiritual experience." Another said he felt reborn after each swim. An older fellow, drinking a martini in front of a remarkable view of the sun setting on the Golden Gate, simply said "its f*#@n cold." I'd say they all hit the mark.

At the close of the meeting we got a tour of the club. I learned that the club has a full kitchen and a boat building shop. I also realized it was the first time I had seen the Dolphin Club beach in daylight. Here are a couple of pictures I took. In the background of the first picture you can see the "Cathyer" that I described in an earlier post. The second picture is Aquatic Park and the Golden Gate. Click on these images, they are really nice!

Kobold Report!

After 7 weeks of training, my Kobold is performing flawlessly. It has been on my wrist for every training swim and has been the subject of many compliments around the office. It truly is an amazing timepiece.

When there is chop in the bay, my swim stroke is anything but graceful. It is more like a violent punch into freezing cold water than a swim stroke. I am averaging about 6 miles a week now. That is more than 10,500 yards. I cover 25 yards in about 8 strokes. Thus, my Kobold endures 3,500 'violent punches' every week.

It has been in the 50 degree waters of the bay, covered with sand and salt, spent hours in chlorinated pools and has been in and out of hot tubs and saunas. Despite this abuse, my Kobold is running at +2 seconds a day and could pass as new. So far, the score is Kobold 1, Alcatraz 0.

Click on the photos to view full size images, it is the only way to appreciate the craftsmanship of Kobold.

No Glow Sticks Needed! Sea Lion Encounter!

Nobu and I met in front of the Dolphin Club at 5:45 this morning. The usual group of 4-5 Dolphin Club swimmers didn’t make it this morning. Finally, a member with whom we had swam with before, Vince, appeared out of the darkness and admitted us to the club.

After a quick change we discussed the route and headed down to the beach. It was 6:00 by the time we entered the bay and the shore was light enough to swim without glow sticks. It seemed like a milestone of sorts but the cold was sobering.

Vince led us around the cove and into the harbor. There is a new boat called the "Cathayer" in the harbor, so we swam around it to check it out. She is a beautiful ship, I hope to take pictures and post some next week. At 6:30 Vince headed back to the club.

I’ll be out of town this weekend, so this morning was my planned long swim for the week. Nobu was feeling strong so we decided to swim another loop around the cove to check out the Golden Gate Bridge. The sky was bright orange and the bridge was an amazing sight!

At one hour, Nobu headed back to the club. I was really tempted to join him as the cold was starting to take hold. However, I decided to head out, alone, for 30 more minutes. I swam parallel to the beach and decided swimming alone feels much colder than swimming with a friend. Just as that thought crossed my slow and cold noodle, a huge sea lion popped up right in front of me!

I don’t know how big it was, but the head was enormous. I was a bit apprehensive and felt really vulnerable. I treaded water for a bit and recalled that you should never look a strange dog in the eyes because a dog perceives direct eye contact as a challenge.

I slowly and deliberately looked away from the seal lion toward the open bay. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the huge bulging eyes of the sea lion follow my gaze and look out to sea. I couldn’t help but look back toward the beast. As I did, it turned back toward me and blinked its huge eyelids in slow motion.

Again, I looked away, this time toward the beach. Again, the sea lion also turned and looked in the same direction. The interaction was hilarious and suddenly the sea lion seemed as cute as a puppy. I smiled, put my head down and swam around my new friend toward the end of the beach. It followed me for a while and then disappeared.

I managed 90 minutes in the bay this morning. The last ten minutes were torturous, but the third leg of the swim was well worth the opportunity to share space with a seal lion.

In my defense, the sea lion I met this morning was a bit more imposing than the stock image I posted above. Although, I guess, he did look more like this photo after we got acquainted.

Have a great weekend!

Rain, runoff and weight training

We had some rain this morning in San Francisco. Swimming in the rain is fine, but after a heavy rainfall, the run off does pollute the bay. Personally, I prefer to wait one tide cycle before hitting getting back into the bay after rainfall.

Not so with the folks at the Dolphin Club. The topic came up in the sauna last week and they told me the tale of a winter morning, following three days of rain, when debris in the surf accumulated to the point where they could not enter the bay from the shore. Call it a morning, shower and sit down for pancakes at the local restaurant? Nope. Not to be denied, they traversed a pier and jumped into the bay further out!

When I choose not to swim in the bay, I do fatigue induced training in the pool. Basically, I lift weights to exhaust my arms prior to swimming. The idea is to simulate the effect of the cold. Otherwise, swimming in the pool doesn’t really help condition me for swimming in the bay. At the start of the masters swim program I can barely lift my arms. This is exactly what it feels like 1 hour into a bay swim. It is great mental preparation and there is no risk of getting sick from run off pollution!