It's such an honour to have been nominated for the open water swimmer of the year.
To view the nominated men and women for the 2008 open water swimmer of the year visit www.10kswimmer.com you will see daily updates and this years nominees along with lots of other interesting open water swimming views, stories and information.
Anyone wishing to vote for me that would be great, thank you very much - Penny
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
New Zealand - Lake Taupo is next
Now we look to our next swim which is completely different to any other we have done before.
Chris and myself along with Julie Bradshaw have put together two teams of six swimmers to swim a triple crossing of Lake Taupo on the North Island of New Zealand.
Lake Taupo is around 40.2 kilometers long therefore a similar distance to the English Channel, we expect to take over 30 hours to complete the swim which will be a world first, each swimmer swimming one hour at a time under the 'English Channel' rules.
Chris and I are arriving in New Zealand in time to see the New Year in, whilst other swimmers are arriving shortly after.
The swim is being coordinated by the great Philip Rush who organises the Cook Strait swims in NZ. Due to often unpredictable weather in NZ we have a swim 'window' of between the 3rd and the 8th of January 2009.
The swimmers on the two teams are;
Women's team;
Julie Bradshaw - England
Michelle Macy - USA
Barbara Pellick - Australia
Penny Palfrey - Australia
Heather Osborn - NZ
Lucy Roper - England
Mixed team;
Mark Cockroft - NZ
Dougal Hunt - Australia
Steve Junk - Australia
Chris Palfrey - Australia
Stephen Spence - Australia
Chris and myself along with Julie Bradshaw have put together two teams of six swimmers to swim a triple crossing of Lake Taupo on the North Island of New Zealand.
Lake Taupo is around 40.2 kilometers long therefore a similar distance to the English Channel, we expect to take over 30 hours to complete the swim which will be a world first, each swimmer swimming one hour at a time under the 'English Channel' rules.
Chris and I are arriving in New Zealand in time to see the New Year in, whilst other swimmers are arriving shortly after.
The swim is being coordinated by the great Philip Rush who organises the Cook Strait swims in NZ. Due to often unpredictable weather in NZ we have a swim 'window' of between the 3rd and the 8th of January 2009.
The swimmers on the two teams are;
Women's team;
Julie Bradshaw - England
Michelle Macy - USA
Barbara Pellick - Australia
Penny Palfrey - Australia
Heather Osborn - NZ
Lucy Roper - England
Mixed team;
Mark Cockroft - NZ
Dougal Hunt - Australia
Steve Junk - Australia
Chris Palfrey - Australia
Stephen Spence - Australia
Diary of 1.95 crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel by Chris Palfrey
Thursday, 25th September, 2008.
Rise and shine at 3.40am for the flight to Los Angeles, with daughter, Nicole.
We take the 5.55am Townsville to Brisbane flight (1 ½ hours), and transfer to the international terminal.
At noon, we board the Brisbane to LA flight (13 hours).
We touchdown at LAX at 7.45am on Thursday, having crossed the international date line (California is 17 hours behind Australian Eastern Standard time).
After clearing customs and security, we proceed to pick up our hire car. It’s a red Chevy. A bit like a PT Cruiser only bigger. The sort of car you would drive if you were having a mid life crisis.
At 9.30am, we leave the hire car depot and onto the notorious LA freeways. First the 405 heading north, and then onto the scenic 101 coastal route, which twists its way along the coast to San Francisco. Our destination is Santa Barbara, a small city of 100,000 people, 150 klms up the coast from Los Angeles. Described in the tourist mags as the American Riviera, SB is a pretty place, lying right on the coast, with the scenic Santa Ynez mountains directly behind.
At 11.45am, we arrive at the hotel, one block from the beach and close to the marina. We meet up with Penny, who has been in town since Saturday 20th (she swims first, so has been acclimatizing) and Dan Boyle (our very good friend from New York City, who has flown to the west coast at his own cost, to help Penny with her crossing attempt, which is scheduled for Saturday 27th.
Penny and Dan have been training together at the local beaches since Monday, and have been watching the weather closely. It has been ideal for the last two days but according to the forecast, will start to deteriorate sometime Friday morning and will probably be unswimable on Saturday. Penny and Dan both think we should head out a day early and ask my opinion.
There are a couple of obvious problems with this. Firstly, we had already paid for our charter boat (non-refundable), and second, Neil Vaughan (another good friend of ours from Perth) has added a big dog leg to a business trip to help us with the swim. He doesn’t fly into SB until tonight so we would leave without him. But English Channel graduates (like Penny and Dan) know better than most, that in an area where the weather is fickle, if you get the chance to go, you do just that, or run the very real risk of missing out on your attempt altogether.
I digress a little at this stage to bring you up to speed with the proposed crossing.
Go to www.santabarbarachannelswim.com and click on the “Map”.
There are several islands off the central and southern California coast which could be considered swimable. The best known is Catalina, directly off Los Angeles.
For our crossing however, we had chosen the islands which make up the Channel Islands National Park, located south of Santa Barbara. There are four islands off the coast, giving numerous swimming options. From East to West, there is :
Anacapa to the mainland, 20 klms at its closest point.
Santa Cruz to the mainland. At 40 klms long, Santa Cruz gives many crossing options, but there are two generally recognized routes. Santa Cruz East, as I call it, is 30.6 klms to the closest point on the mainland, and Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara is 38 klms. Only a handful of people have completed these crossings.
Then you move up to the big time, serious marathon swims. From Santa Rosa to the mainland is around 45 klm (approx. distance only), and San Miguel to the mainland is maybe fractionally longer. Crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel from these two islands, had never been successfully attempted until this year.
There are also shorter, but still challenging, inter island crossings, as follows (distances are shortest direct routes) :
Anacapa to Santa Cruz (8.5 klms), only ever completed by Scott Zornig from LA.
Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz (9.6 klms), only ever completed by Penny and I.
San Miguel to Santa Rosa (6.2 klms), and yet to be conquered.
The weather in this part of California is generally fairly settled and stable during summer. The great thing about this, as compared to the English Channel, is that it is unlikely that the weather will scuttle your attempt. This is particularly so for crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel from Santa Cruz or Anacapa. But the western end of the channel is different. Winds are funneled off the coast from Point Conception into the western channel, creating what mariners refer to as “windy lane”.
To illustrate the point with hard data, click on the “Current Ocean Temperature” on the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association (SBCSA) website. Find the weather buoy options and key in 46053, which is the eastern section of the channel, off Santa Cruz. Then look at weather station 46054, in the western channel, off San Miguel. The wind here is always stronger and comes from an unfavourable direction, and the water temperature is always lower. Consider the conditions and how long you would be in the water and it is not at all surprising that no one has attempted the western channel crossings.
But having conquered the English Channel, Cook Strait and several other marathon swims, penny was not satisfied with the traditional routes. She wanted a first. But then in July this year, Marc Lewis from San Diego, put in a fantastic effort to swim from Santa Rosa to the mainland in a time of 15 hours and 46 minutes. So that settled it. Penny would attempt to swim from San Miguel to the mainland.
And hence Dan’s and her sense of urgency about the weather. At 1.00pm we phone Emilio, the president and founder of the SBCSA, voice our concerns and request a meeting. He tells us to come right over. We meet at his office to discuss the forecast. He agrees we should go early so we phone Travis Casper. Travis owns a Hunter 31 yacht which he charters out. Dan and Penny have already spoken with him and he is willing to assist us. Travis confirms the weather outlook and says he is ready when we are. We agree to meet at the marina at 3.00pm. Emilio makes one more call, this time to Dean White who is a very experienced skipper and knows the waters well. Dean works at UCSB and hastily arranges to skip work early. He races home on his pushbike to throw a few things together for the trip. He will be an invaluable and welcome addition to our crew.
We hasten back to the hotel. We have one hour for Penny to pack and recheck her swim kit, to prepare her carbo drinks, and gather together the other items required for up to 36 hours at sea. I had to unzip my suitcase from the flight and do the same. So much for a couple of hours snooze to get over the jet lag. Thank god for Dan who had to do all of the above, but still found time to go to the shops and buy food and drinks for all the crew.
At 3.00pm, we present at the marina to load the boat. Brooke (Dan’s partner) whilst flat out with her real job, has been helping us prepare and doing sundry ancillary tasks.
Having stowed and secured all the gear, we cast off from the dock at 3.35pm. On board is Travis and Dean (skippers), Emilio (observer), Dan and myself (handlers) and Penny (swimmer). Ahead of us is 79 klm motoring in a westerly direction to Cuyler Harbour at San Miguel. The prevailing wind is westerly, and you guessed it, we were motoring straight into a 15 knot headwind. We were told to expect at least 12 hours steaming, so we settled in and tried to rest as best we could (sleeping was impossible).
From time to time, Emilio, Dan or I would sit and make small talk with Travis or Dean who took turns keeping watch. The headwind kept up throughout the night, it became cold after the sun set, and in the early hours of the morning, a thick fog descended upon us. At its worst, we estimated visibility to be less than 50 metres. At this point I had a really bad feeling about the swim.
Friday, 26th September
Whilst the boat was equipped with radar, the fog and headwind forced the skippers to slow down. And it wasn’t until 5.30am that we were told we were close to our destination. Penny made her final preparations whilst we were still underway, bouncing around in the darkness. She ate, drank and applied sunscreen. We arrived at Harris Point, the most northerly point of San Miguel, at 6.00am, after 14 ½ hours steaming. Not the best preparation for a major marathon swim. We apply the liberal quantities of lanolin, Penny thanked all the crew, clambered into the inflatable boat, and was ferried by Emilio to her starting point.
At 6.13am, in the darkness, Emilio runs into a kelp bed which stops the boat dead. They are 50 metres from the cliffs of Nifty Rock, so Penny says this will do. She jumps straight into the kelp, swims to the cliff face (there is no way of exiting the water to start from dry land).
At 6.15am she yells to Emilio to start the clock and she’s off. She swims past the rubber duckie towards us on the yacht (about 300m offshore). We link up with her, get on course and start to settle in. Emilio catches up to us a couple of minutes later and informs us that he was untangling kelp from the outboard’s propeller. We head toward the coast (which we won’t be able to see for another 3 hours) some 24 plus nautical miles away, on a compass bearing of 20 degrees. We soon notice there is a current pushing us sideways (eastwards) but we hold our course.
Soon after we get underway the sky becomes lighter and the wind drops to a very light westerly breeze. The sea flattens out and there is only a light westerly swell. The sun slowly rises and it appears that we have good weather ahead. It looked anything but that a few hours before so we thank the weather gods.
We have arranged to feed Penny half hourly with warm carbohydrate drinks and gels. The drink stops are no more than 20 seconds.
For the first 2 hours she holds 80 strokes per minute and is swimming slightly quicker than 4 klm per hour. From the 2 ½ to 9 hour marks of the swim, she is like a machine, holding a stroke rate never under 78 per minute. Her rating dropped to 76 for an hour or so, partly as a result of a westerly sea breeze (crosswind) which made conditions sloppy between the 7 ½ to 10 ½ hour marks. But as the sea breeze eased off for the last hour of the swim, she picked up her rating to 77 to 78 strokes per minute. On the boat, we all wondered how she could hold that pace for so long and where her energy came from. Travis in particular, was used to taking people out on pleasure cruises and had never been on a marathon swim. He probably thought we were looney to even contemplate such a swim, as private recreational boats rarely venture out to San Miguel on account of the weather conditions.
Between feeds and relaying information, there was lots to keep us entertained. Firstly, there was a seagull which seemed fascinated by the swimmer and tagged along with us, continually taking off and landing just in front of Penny for about 20 minutes. At one point, it tried to land on her swim cap, which had us all laughing.
Between 7.30 and 9.00am, we saw three separate pods of common dolphins with at least 50 in each group. Some came to within 200 metres of the boat and delighted us with their flips and other antics. And then there were the numerous seals which came right up to the boat, and which Penny could see underwater.
The western channel near San Miguel, is well known for a healthy population of great white sharks and so we had a shark shield (a device which emits a signal to repel but not harm sharks. See www.sharkshield.com.au ) ready to deploy and an action plan to keep Penny out of harms way. We didn’t see any great whites, but we did see three blue sharks during the crossing.
I saw the first one at about the 5 ½ hour mark. At first I thought the gray object which broke the surface was the snout of a seal, just popping its head up for a look see. But there was something else on the surface a little over a metre away, and if it was a seal, it seemed to be going backwards. I then realized I was looking at the dorsal and tail fins of the shark, which was leisurely cruising along the surface soaking up the glorious day. It was no more than 40 metres away and showed no interest whatsoever in either boat or swimmer. It slowly moved away after a couple of minutes. The second and third shark encounters occurred at about the 6 ½ and 8 hour marks. Again they were just cruising along and our paths and theirs just happened to cross. It was hard to tell how big the first two sharks were, but not so with the third, as it crossed our bow, no more than 10 metres ahead. Looking down, I would say it was very close to 3 metres long (allowing for magnification of the water). Whilst we were ready to pluck Penny out of the water, none of the sharks seemed the slightest bit interested in her.
Following the old adage, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you”, we held off telling her about the sharks until the day after the swim, when we were visiting the local wineries. It made for a good story as we sampled the local produce.
Dan and I (handlers) were kept busy with making drinks, keeping watch, giving encouragement and relaying information. Dan was also busy sending a receiving text messages to and from various people in the USA and Australia. The swim was largely uneventful for us on the boat, until the 7 hour mark, when we had a major problem.
At 1.15pm, we were just about through the northbound shipping lane, and had just finished the half hourly feed. The feed involved passing her a cup attached to a rope. She drank, dropped the cup and swam on, whereupon we pulled the rope in to retrieve the cup. But on this feed, the rope broke and the cup drifted off. My first instinct was to race to the stern and jump in the rubber duckie to fetch the cup. I started the 3 hp outboard and Emilio cast me off. I put the engine into gear. Nothing. I put it in neutral and back in gear. Nothing. I looked down at the propeller which was absolutely choked with kelp, and wondered how Emilio had ever got back to the boat. It took me a minute to clear the kelp. Back into gear. Still nothing. The strain on the small engine had broken the sheer pin. There were no oars/paddles in the duck and the yacht was now 150 metres away. Oh dear.
I did the only thing I could think of and hung off the front of the duck, paddling two arm butterfly style as hard as I could. But after a few minutes, I was making no headway into the gap between us. Meanwhile, back on the boat, they came up with a way of rescuing me and the duckie. They dropped the kayak in the water and Dan stayed alongside Penny whilst the yacht came back for me. As the guys pulled alongside, one of them said “that was close” and pointed behind me. A fully laden container ship was passing 250 metres astern of us. I had no idea it was there.
At about this time, two other things were happening. The current, which had been pushing us from west to east for the first 6 hours of the swim, was starting to change direction. We had been taken about 3 nautical miles eastward (towards Santa Barbara) and now we were being carried slowly westward. Also, at around noon, a westerly (crosswind) sea breeze started to develop. It never got over 10 knots, but did make conditions a little sloppy for a few hours.
The decision was made to keep the kayak in the water as it was easier to keep alongside Penny at her speed. Dan paddled with her until 8 ½ hours and then I took over until the finish.
Not long after the 8 hour mark, we passed the “Heritage” oil platform (one of many along this part of the coast) to our right. We had first seen the rig 3 hours earlier, so it was a relief to finally leave it behind. We now had 7 nautical miles (about 13 klms) to go, and the features and landmarks on the coastal hills were becoming more defined. The last 3 hours of the swim were uneventful. The sea breeze, which had made the going a little uncomfortable, eased off during the last half hour of the swim.
Our landing point was an area called Gaviota (the locals also referred to it as Holister Ranch). The hilly coastline was sparsely populated and the well to do residents accessed the outside world via a private road. The rail line linking LA and San Francisco ran right along the coast, and we landed on a tiny beach, at the mouth of a creek, directly below a railway bridge.
Penny’s time for the 24 plus nautical mile (approx. 45 klm) crossing was 11 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds. Considering the magnitude of her achievement, she was in very good shape at the end. Back on the boat, we hosed her down, wiped off what little grease hadn’t already worn off and she changed into warm clothes. We then had to motor along the coast for an hour to reach a pier where Brooke and Neil were waiting to take her back to Santa Barbara. Dan went back in the car, whilst I stayed on the boat to help with the clean up. Travis, Dean, Emilio and I arrived at the marina in Santa Barbara at 2.00am on Saturday after 35 hours at sea.
So Penny achieved her first. Whilst we were quite lucky to have very good weather, it was a huge swim (definitely one of the toughest successful marathon swims completed anywhere in the world this year). And only time will tell how great the swim was. First someone has to emulate the feat. But locals think her time will stand for many, many years.
Saturday, 4th October
It’s 2.00am at the Santa Barbara marina. Here we are again, heading out to the Channel Islands for my crossing of the channel. We had originally planned to go the day before but weather forced a postponement. Once again we were on Travis’ yacht, with he and Dean as skippers, Emilio as observer and Penny as my handler.
I am inexperienced with marathon swimming in cold water, so I had two options to choose from for my crossing. Anacapa (the smallest and eastern most island in the group) to Oxnard is 20 klms. Fractionally longer than Rottnest, I was pretty certain I could complete this crossing without difficulty. But having swum Rotto 8 times and comfortably completing 2 other decent marathon swims this year, I thought a longer crossing would give a greater sense of achievement.
The next longer swim was from San Pedro Point (at the eastern tip of Santa Cruz) to Oxnard on the mainland. At 30.6klms, it was the same distance as Catalina (off LA) and only 3k’s shorter than the English Channel. The clincher for choosing this route was the possibility of clocking the fastest crossing (currently held by our friend Ned Denison from Ireland, at 10 hours 27 minutes).
The forecast was not ideal, but as we arrived at the island in the half light there was hardly any breeze and only a slight swell. We were a little behind schedule, so I was politely told to get my finger out. 15 minutes later, after applying liberal quantities of woolfat, I was swimming the 50 metres from the yacht to the island for a wall touch (no chance of exiting the water due to sheer cliffs) and off.
I started at 6.45am. The 64 F degree water didn’t feel at all cold to start with. Whether it was the adrenalin, the grease or a bit of both, I’m not sure.
My stroke rate was 70 initially, but soon settled down to 68, which is what I hoped to maintain for most of the crossing.
One thing I have learned from Penny is to break a marathon swim down into manageable parts or milestones, which can be ticked off as you go. I used the shipping channels for this purpose. I asked the crew to tell me when we had entered the southbound lane, the separation zone and the northbound lane. Once through the shipping channel, I was over half way to my goal.
Like Penny, I fed every half hour on carbo drinks and gels, keeping the stops as short as possible.
I was making good time in the favourable conditions and reached the half way point (just over 15 klm) in a fraction over 4 hours. Though a bit cold, I felt good and was on track to comfortably break the record for this crossing. But after crossing the shipping lane, my progress seemed to slow markedly. I don’t know why as I felt ok, but the miles seemed to take much longer to tick by.
At around noon and 5 hours into the swim, the breeze started to pick up. Like Penny’s day, it was a cross wind, and it never got over 10 knots so wasn’t a big deal, but the breeze, combined with a cool, dull, cloudy day, was making me colder.
Not long after passing the “Gail” oil rig, I saw some pretty neat marine life. Penny had previously held up the “dolphins” sign twice before but I didn’t see any. On this third occasion though, she no sooner held up the sign, before I had at least a dozen of them swim beneath me. They were only in view for a few seconds, but my ear to ear grin took ages to disappear. Not long after that, a lone seal did a few acrobatic flips directly below me.
The wheels started to fall off after 7 ½ hours. Normally, I hold a pretty straight line and stay right next to the support boat, but I regularly started to find myself drifting off to the left. And on the boat, they noticed my stroke rate slowing. After holding 68 for almost 6 hours, it dropped to 66. And by 8 hours, it dropped to 64. When they informed me of this, I picked it up to 66 for a short time, only to slow again. I was annoyed at myself for slowing down. In Manhattan and Tampa Bay (both 8 hour plus swims), my rating hardly ever dropped below 68. But I seemed to be lacking the energy to pick up the pace.
Reading Ned Denison’s (Irish marathon swimmer) account of his crossing, he spoke of a face on current (and colder water) in the latter stages of the swim, which slowed his progress to a crawl. Whilst I wasn’t aware of any current, for the sake of my ego, I would like to say I was subjected to something similar. For the first 15k had taken 4 hours and the next 10 k had taken another 4 hours (which is extremely slow for me).
Just after 8 hours, Penny informed me that I had 3 miles to go and that there was a “big, fat beach” directly ahead. I was pleased with the news, but was now suffering a bit and knew I didn’t have the swim in the bag just yet.
I only remember patches of the last hour. I was swallowing a bit of water, which I never normally do. I asked Penny to hop in and pace me at around 8:45. She did so for 45 minutes and then got out because she was cold (from swimming at my slow pace). Then she paddled next to me in the kayak for the rest of the journey.
The crew were getting concerned about my welfare. My back was blue from the cold. And they said I was swimming in circles. I think that was an exaggeration. I would say more like zig zags. And they said later, that I wasn’t responding to their communications. The truth is, I’m half deaf at the best of times and had silicone putty stuffed very firmly in both ears. So I had hardly heard a thing all day. But had I have heard them debating whether or not to pull me out, I would have told them (with respect) to bugger off.
After 9 hours, they dropped my feed intervals down to 20 minutes and gave me warmer drinks. They lied that I had picked up my stroke rate (to give me confidence) but it didn’t make any difference. By 9 ½ hours, my rating had dropped to 62.
Not long after this, they made the decision to pull me out. Penny, still kayaking beside me, touched me, which disqualified me according to channel swimming rules.
I didn’t stop. I wasn’t even aware that she touched me. A few minutes later, I stopped in surprise when a swimmer appeared right in front of me. It wasn’t Penny. After a few seconds, I realized it was Emilio. It took a few more seconds to I realize that that was the end of my swim.
It was 4.40pm, I had covered 29 klms., and only had 1 mile (1.6 klm) to go. They pulled me out after 9 hours 55 minutes. Bugger!
The boat came alongside. They got me out, dried me off, put me in a recovery suit and wrapped me in blankets, scarf and a beanie. Having stopped, I now started shivering in a big way. It didn’t take long at all to motor into Channel Islands Harbour at Oxnard. I was able to walk unaided to where we had left the car, although I had to stop to throw up half way down the jetty. My stomach musn’t have digested any of the sports drinks and salt water for the last couple of hours.
Penny and I set a number of goals for each major swim we do (an idea we got from Penny Lee Dean’s book). The first and most basic is always to finish. So I was disappointed with the final result.
I think I could have finished the swim. Emilio said at the pace I was going, it might have taken me another hour. It’s a question of what damage (if any) I might have done to myself by doing so. Ned Denison had 5 hours in hospital after his swim. I only had a mere 15 minutes of shivering.
But one thing an open water swimmer should never do, is criticize the support crew for making a decision in the best interest of his/her welfare. Their decision was final and I respect it totally.
I could come up with a few good excuses for not making it, but they count for nothing. At the end of the day, if you really want to achieve something, and at first you don’t succeed, you don’t find excuses, you assess what didn’t work and you find solutions. I take away from the Santa Barbara, some valuable lessons which hopefully will lead to success in a couple of cold water marathon swims we are planning in 2009.
Sunday, 5th October
The day after my swim was excellent. We crawled out of bed at the crack of 9.00am, and went to Butterfly Beach for a swim/paddle with the Ocean Ducks (locally open water swimming group who meet every Sunday). After that, we met up with Amber and Mitch (our friends from up the coast) for lunch and ice creams.
And in the late afternoon, we attended a meeting of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association. In addition to Emilio and the local board members, Ned had flown in for the meeting, and Scott Zornig (who has done a number of interesting solo and relay swims) had driven up from LA. The main focus of the meeting was how to improve the service and experience offered to potential swimmers. At the dinner afterwards, Scott’s friend Jim Fitzpatrick joined us. At age 53, Jim had just swum from Catalina to Orange County, the first person to do so. The distance was similar to Penny’s cfrossing. We had a great time swapping yarns with these world class endurance athletes.
Unfortunately, that was the end of our stay in California, and we had to fly out the next day. It’s strange that neither Penny or I had any desire at all to visit America, until we were accepted to swim Manhattan in 2007. And now we have been there four times. We really like the people, and they love aussies and are genuinely interested in us and our country. There is lots to see and do and some excellent swims of different shapes and sizes, so I’m sure we’ll make several more visits and hopefully add to our growing list of American friends.
References :
www.santabarbarachannelswim.com
www.nycswim.org
www.distancematters.com
www.sharkshield.com.au
Rise and shine at 3.40am for the flight to Los Angeles, with daughter, Nicole.
We take the 5.55am Townsville to Brisbane flight (1 ½ hours), and transfer to the international terminal.
At noon, we board the Brisbane to LA flight (13 hours).
We touchdown at LAX at 7.45am on Thursday, having crossed the international date line (California is 17 hours behind Australian Eastern Standard time).
After clearing customs and security, we proceed to pick up our hire car. It’s a red Chevy. A bit like a PT Cruiser only bigger. The sort of car you would drive if you were having a mid life crisis.
At 9.30am, we leave the hire car depot and onto the notorious LA freeways. First the 405 heading north, and then onto the scenic 101 coastal route, which twists its way along the coast to San Francisco. Our destination is Santa Barbara, a small city of 100,000 people, 150 klms up the coast from Los Angeles. Described in the tourist mags as the American Riviera, SB is a pretty place, lying right on the coast, with the scenic Santa Ynez mountains directly behind.
At 11.45am, we arrive at the hotel, one block from the beach and close to the marina. We meet up with Penny, who has been in town since Saturday 20th (she swims first, so has been acclimatizing) and Dan Boyle (our very good friend from New York City, who has flown to the west coast at his own cost, to help Penny with her crossing attempt, which is scheduled for Saturday 27th.
Penny and Dan have been training together at the local beaches since Monday, and have been watching the weather closely. It has been ideal for the last two days but according to the forecast, will start to deteriorate sometime Friday morning and will probably be unswimable on Saturday. Penny and Dan both think we should head out a day early and ask my opinion.
There are a couple of obvious problems with this. Firstly, we had already paid for our charter boat (non-refundable), and second, Neil Vaughan (another good friend of ours from Perth) has added a big dog leg to a business trip to help us with the swim. He doesn’t fly into SB until tonight so we would leave without him. But English Channel graduates (like Penny and Dan) know better than most, that in an area where the weather is fickle, if you get the chance to go, you do just that, or run the very real risk of missing out on your attempt altogether.
I digress a little at this stage to bring you up to speed with the proposed crossing.
Go to www.santabarbarachannelswim.com and click on the “Map”.
There are several islands off the central and southern California coast which could be considered swimable. The best known is Catalina, directly off Los Angeles.
For our crossing however, we had chosen the islands which make up the Channel Islands National Park, located south of Santa Barbara. There are four islands off the coast, giving numerous swimming options. From East to West, there is :
Anacapa to the mainland, 20 klms at its closest point.
Santa Cruz to the mainland. At 40 klms long, Santa Cruz gives many crossing options, but there are two generally recognized routes. Santa Cruz East, as I call it, is 30.6 klms to the closest point on the mainland, and Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara is 38 klms. Only a handful of people have completed these crossings.
Then you move up to the big time, serious marathon swims. From Santa Rosa to the mainland is around 45 klm (approx. distance only), and San Miguel to the mainland is maybe fractionally longer. Crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel from these two islands, had never been successfully attempted until this year.
There are also shorter, but still challenging, inter island crossings, as follows (distances are shortest direct routes) :
Anacapa to Santa Cruz (8.5 klms), only ever completed by Scott Zornig from LA.
Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz (9.6 klms), only ever completed by Penny and I.
San Miguel to Santa Rosa (6.2 klms), and yet to be conquered.
The weather in this part of California is generally fairly settled and stable during summer. The great thing about this, as compared to the English Channel, is that it is unlikely that the weather will scuttle your attempt. This is particularly so for crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel from Santa Cruz or Anacapa. But the western end of the channel is different. Winds are funneled off the coast from Point Conception into the western channel, creating what mariners refer to as “windy lane”.
To illustrate the point with hard data, click on the “Current Ocean Temperature” on the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association (SBCSA) website. Find the weather buoy options and key in 46053, which is the eastern section of the channel, off Santa Cruz. Then look at weather station 46054, in the western channel, off San Miguel. The wind here is always stronger and comes from an unfavourable direction, and the water temperature is always lower. Consider the conditions and how long you would be in the water and it is not at all surprising that no one has attempted the western channel crossings.
But having conquered the English Channel, Cook Strait and several other marathon swims, penny was not satisfied with the traditional routes. She wanted a first. But then in July this year, Marc Lewis from San Diego, put in a fantastic effort to swim from Santa Rosa to the mainland in a time of 15 hours and 46 minutes. So that settled it. Penny would attempt to swim from San Miguel to the mainland.
And hence Dan’s and her sense of urgency about the weather. At 1.00pm we phone Emilio, the president and founder of the SBCSA, voice our concerns and request a meeting. He tells us to come right over. We meet at his office to discuss the forecast. He agrees we should go early so we phone Travis Casper. Travis owns a Hunter 31 yacht which he charters out. Dan and Penny have already spoken with him and he is willing to assist us. Travis confirms the weather outlook and says he is ready when we are. We agree to meet at the marina at 3.00pm. Emilio makes one more call, this time to Dean White who is a very experienced skipper and knows the waters well. Dean works at UCSB and hastily arranges to skip work early. He races home on his pushbike to throw a few things together for the trip. He will be an invaluable and welcome addition to our crew.
We hasten back to the hotel. We have one hour for Penny to pack and recheck her swim kit, to prepare her carbo drinks, and gather together the other items required for up to 36 hours at sea. I had to unzip my suitcase from the flight and do the same. So much for a couple of hours snooze to get over the jet lag. Thank god for Dan who had to do all of the above, but still found time to go to the shops and buy food and drinks for all the crew.
At 3.00pm, we present at the marina to load the boat. Brooke (Dan’s partner) whilst flat out with her real job, has been helping us prepare and doing sundry ancillary tasks.
Having stowed and secured all the gear, we cast off from the dock at 3.35pm. On board is Travis and Dean (skippers), Emilio (observer), Dan and myself (handlers) and Penny (swimmer). Ahead of us is 79 klm motoring in a westerly direction to Cuyler Harbour at San Miguel. The prevailing wind is westerly, and you guessed it, we were motoring straight into a 15 knot headwind. We were told to expect at least 12 hours steaming, so we settled in and tried to rest as best we could (sleeping was impossible).
From time to time, Emilio, Dan or I would sit and make small talk with Travis or Dean who took turns keeping watch. The headwind kept up throughout the night, it became cold after the sun set, and in the early hours of the morning, a thick fog descended upon us. At its worst, we estimated visibility to be less than 50 metres. At this point I had a really bad feeling about the swim.
Friday, 26th September
Whilst the boat was equipped with radar, the fog and headwind forced the skippers to slow down. And it wasn’t until 5.30am that we were told we were close to our destination. Penny made her final preparations whilst we were still underway, bouncing around in the darkness. She ate, drank and applied sunscreen. We arrived at Harris Point, the most northerly point of San Miguel, at 6.00am, after 14 ½ hours steaming. Not the best preparation for a major marathon swim. We apply the liberal quantities of lanolin, Penny thanked all the crew, clambered into the inflatable boat, and was ferried by Emilio to her starting point.
At 6.13am, in the darkness, Emilio runs into a kelp bed which stops the boat dead. They are 50 metres from the cliffs of Nifty Rock, so Penny says this will do. She jumps straight into the kelp, swims to the cliff face (there is no way of exiting the water to start from dry land).
At 6.15am she yells to Emilio to start the clock and she’s off. She swims past the rubber duckie towards us on the yacht (about 300m offshore). We link up with her, get on course and start to settle in. Emilio catches up to us a couple of minutes later and informs us that he was untangling kelp from the outboard’s propeller. We head toward the coast (which we won’t be able to see for another 3 hours) some 24 plus nautical miles away, on a compass bearing of 20 degrees. We soon notice there is a current pushing us sideways (eastwards) but we hold our course.
Soon after we get underway the sky becomes lighter and the wind drops to a very light westerly breeze. The sea flattens out and there is only a light westerly swell. The sun slowly rises and it appears that we have good weather ahead. It looked anything but that a few hours before so we thank the weather gods.
We have arranged to feed Penny half hourly with warm carbohydrate drinks and gels. The drink stops are no more than 20 seconds.
For the first 2 hours she holds 80 strokes per minute and is swimming slightly quicker than 4 klm per hour. From the 2 ½ to 9 hour marks of the swim, she is like a machine, holding a stroke rate never under 78 per minute. Her rating dropped to 76 for an hour or so, partly as a result of a westerly sea breeze (crosswind) which made conditions sloppy between the 7 ½ to 10 ½ hour marks. But as the sea breeze eased off for the last hour of the swim, she picked up her rating to 77 to 78 strokes per minute. On the boat, we all wondered how she could hold that pace for so long and where her energy came from. Travis in particular, was used to taking people out on pleasure cruises and had never been on a marathon swim. He probably thought we were looney to even contemplate such a swim, as private recreational boats rarely venture out to San Miguel on account of the weather conditions.
Between feeds and relaying information, there was lots to keep us entertained. Firstly, there was a seagull which seemed fascinated by the swimmer and tagged along with us, continually taking off and landing just in front of Penny for about 20 minutes. At one point, it tried to land on her swim cap, which had us all laughing.
Between 7.30 and 9.00am, we saw three separate pods of common dolphins with at least 50 in each group. Some came to within 200 metres of the boat and delighted us with their flips and other antics. And then there were the numerous seals which came right up to the boat, and which Penny could see underwater.
The western channel near San Miguel, is well known for a healthy population of great white sharks and so we had a shark shield (a device which emits a signal to repel but not harm sharks. See www.sharkshield.com.au ) ready to deploy and an action plan to keep Penny out of harms way. We didn’t see any great whites, but we did see three blue sharks during the crossing.
I saw the first one at about the 5 ½ hour mark. At first I thought the gray object which broke the surface was the snout of a seal, just popping its head up for a look see. But there was something else on the surface a little over a metre away, and if it was a seal, it seemed to be going backwards. I then realized I was looking at the dorsal and tail fins of the shark, which was leisurely cruising along the surface soaking up the glorious day. It was no more than 40 metres away and showed no interest whatsoever in either boat or swimmer. It slowly moved away after a couple of minutes. The second and third shark encounters occurred at about the 6 ½ and 8 hour marks. Again they were just cruising along and our paths and theirs just happened to cross. It was hard to tell how big the first two sharks were, but not so with the third, as it crossed our bow, no more than 10 metres ahead. Looking down, I would say it was very close to 3 metres long (allowing for magnification of the water). Whilst we were ready to pluck Penny out of the water, none of the sharks seemed the slightest bit interested in her.
Following the old adage, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you”, we held off telling her about the sharks until the day after the swim, when we were visiting the local wineries. It made for a good story as we sampled the local produce.
Dan and I (handlers) were kept busy with making drinks, keeping watch, giving encouragement and relaying information. Dan was also busy sending a receiving text messages to and from various people in the USA and Australia. The swim was largely uneventful for us on the boat, until the 7 hour mark, when we had a major problem.
At 1.15pm, we were just about through the northbound shipping lane, and had just finished the half hourly feed. The feed involved passing her a cup attached to a rope. She drank, dropped the cup and swam on, whereupon we pulled the rope in to retrieve the cup. But on this feed, the rope broke and the cup drifted off. My first instinct was to race to the stern and jump in the rubber duckie to fetch the cup. I started the 3 hp outboard and Emilio cast me off. I put the engine into gear. Nothing. I put it in neutral and back in gear. Nothing. I looked down at the propeller which was absolutely choked with kelp, and wondered how Emilio had ever got back to the boat. It took me a minute to clear the kelp. Back into gear. Still nothing. The strain on the small engine had broken the sheer pin. There were no oars/paddles in the duck and the yacht was now 150 metres away. Oh dear.
I did the only thing I could think of and hung off the front of the duck, paddling two arm butterfly style as hard as I could. But after a few minutes, I was making no headway into the gap between us. Meanwhile, back on the boat, they came up with a way of rescuing me and the duckie. They dropped the kayak in the water and Dan stayed alongside Penny whilst the yacht came back for me. As the guys pulled alongside, one of them said “that was close” and pointed behind me. A fully laden container ship was passing 250 metres astern of us. I had no idea it was there.
At about this time, two other things were happening. The current, which had been pushing us from west to east for the first 6 hours of the swim, was starting to change direction. We had been taken about 3 nautical miles eastward (towards Santa Barbara) and now we were being carried slowly westward. Also, at around noon, a westerly (crosswind) sea breeze started to develop. It never got over 10 knots, but did make conditions a little sloppy for a few hours.
The decision was made to keep the kayak in the water as it was easier to keep alongside Penny at her speed. Dan paddled with her until 8 ½ hours and then I took over until the finish.
Not long after the 8 hour mark, we passed the “Heritage” oil platform (one of many along this part of the coast) to our right. We had first seen the rig 3 hours earlier, so it was a relief to finally leave it behind. We now had 7 nautical miles (about 13 klms) to go, and the features and landmarks on the coastal hills were becoming more defined. The last 3 hours of the swim were uneventful. The sea breeze, which had made the going a little uncomfortable, eased off during the last half hour of the swim.
Our landing point was an area called Gaviota (the locals also referred to it as Holister Ranch). The hilly coastline was sparsely populated and the well to do residents accessed the outside world via a private road. The rail line linking LA and San Francisco ran right along the coast, and we landed on a tiny beach, at the mouth of a creek, directly below a railway bridge.
Penny’s time for the 24 plus nautical mile (approx. 45 klm) crossing was 11 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds. Considering the magnitude of her achievement, she was in very good shape at the end. Back on the boat, we hosed her down, wiped off what little grease hadn’t already worn off and she changed into warm clothes. We then had to motor along the coast for an hour to reach a pier where Brooke and Neil were waiting to take her back to Santa Barbara. Dan went back in the car, whilst I stayed on the boat to help with the clean up. Travis, Dean, Emilio and I arrived at the marina in Santa Barbara at 2.00am on Saturday after 35 hours at sea.
So Penny achieved her first. Whilst we were quite lucky to have very good weather, it was a huge swim (definitely one of the toughest successful marathon swims completed anywhere in the world this year). And only time will tell how great the swim was. First someone has to emulate the feat. But locals think her time will stand for many, many years.
Saturday, 4th October
It’s 2.00am at the Santa Barbara marina. Here we are again, heading out to the Channel Islands for my crossing of the channel. We had originally planned to go the day before but weather forced a postponement. Once again we were on Travis’ yacht, with he and Dean as skippers, Emilio as observer and Penny as my handler.
I am inexperienced with marathon swimming in cold water, so I had two options to choose from for my crossing. Anacapa (the smallest and eastern most island in the group) to Oxnard is 20 klms. Fractionally longer than Rottnest, I was pretty certain I could complete this crossing without difficulty. But having swum Rotto 8 times and comfortably completing 2 other decent marathon swims this year, I thought a longer crossing would give a greater sense of achievement.
The next longer swim was from San Pedro Point (at the eastern tip of Santa Cruz) to Oxnard on the mainland. At 30.6klms, it was the same distance as Catalina (off LA) and only 3k’s shorter than the English Channel. The clincher for choosing this route was the possibility of clocking the fastest crossing (currently held by our friend Ned Denison from Ireland, at 10 hours 27 minutes).
The forecast was not ideal, but as we arrived at the island in the half light there was hardly any breeze and only a slight swell. We were a little behind schedule, so I was politely told to get my finger out. 15 minutes later, after applying liberal quantities of woolfat, I was swimming the 50 metres from the yacht to the island for a wall touch (no chance of exiting the water due to sheer cliffs) and off.
I started at 6.45am. The 64 F degree water didn’t feel at all cold to start with. Whether it was the adrenalin, the grease or a bit of both, I’m not sure.
My stroke rate was 70 initially, but soon settled down to 68, which is what I hoped to maintain for most of the crossing.
One thing I have learned from Penny is to break a marathon swim down into manageable parts or milestones, which can be ticked off as you go. I used the shipping channels for this purpose. I asked the crew to tell me when we had entered the southbound lane, the separation zone and the northbound lane. Once through the shipping channel, I was over half way to my goal.
Like Penny, I fed every half hour on carbo drinks and gels, keeping the stops as short as possible.
I was making good time in the favourable conditions and reached the half way point (just over 15 klm) in a fraction over 4 hours. Though a bit cold, I felt good and was on track to comfortably break the record for this crossing. But after crossing the shipping lane, my progress seemed to slow markedly. I don’t know why as I felt ok, but the miles seemed to take much longer to tick by.
At around noon and 5 hours into the swim, the breeze started to pick up. Like Penny’s day, it was a cross wind, and it never got over 10 knots so wasn’t a big deal, but the breeze, combined with a cool, dull, cloudy day, was making me colder.
Not long after passing the “Gail” oil rig, I saw some pretty neat marine life. Penny had previously held up the “dolphins” sign twice before but I didn’t see any. On this third occasion though, she no sooner held up the sign, before I had at least a dozen of them swim beneath me. They were only in view for a few seconds, but my ear to ear grin took ages to disappear. Not long after that, a lone seal did a few acrobatic flips directly below me.
The wheels started to fall off after 7 ½ hours. Normally, I hold a pretty straight line and stay right next to the support boat, but I regularly started to find myself drifting off to the left. And on the boat, they noticed my stroke rate slowing. After holding 68 for almost 6 hours, it dropped to 66. And by 8 hours, it dropped to 64. When they informed me of this, I picked it up to 66 for a short time, only to slow again. I was annoyed at myself for slowing down. In Manhattan and Tampa Bay (both 8 hour plus swims), my rating hardly ever dropped below 68. But I seemed to be lacking the energy to pick up the pace.
Reading Ned Denison’s (Irish marathon swimmer) account of his crossing, he spoke of a face on current (and colder water) in the latter stages of the swim, which slowed his progress to a crawl. Whilst I wasn’t aware of any current, for the sake of my ego, I would like to say I was subjected to something similar. For the first 15k had taken 4 hours and the next 10 k had taken another 4 hours (which is extremely slow for me).
Just after 8 hours, Penny informed me that I had 3 miles to go and that there was a “big, fat beach” directly ahead. I was pleased with the news, but was now suffering a bit and knew I didn’t have the swim in the bag just yet.
I only remember patches of the last hour. I was swallowing a bit of water, which I never normally do. I asked Penny to hop in and pace me at around 8:45. She did so for 45 minutes and then got out because she was cold (from swimming at my slow pace). Then she paddled next to me in the kayak for the rest of the journey.
The crew were getting concerned about my welfare. My back was blue from the cold. And they said I was swimming in circles. I think that was an exaggeration. I would say more like zig zags. And they said later, that I wasn’t responding to their communications. The truth is, I’m half deaf at the best of times and had silicone putty stuffed very firmly in both ears. So I had hardly heard a thing all day. But had I have heard them debating whether or not to pull me out, I would have told them (with respect) to bugger off.
After 9 hours, they dropped my feed intervals down to 20 minutes and gave me warmer drinks. They lied that I had picked up my stroke rate (to give me confidence) but it didn’t make any difference. By 9 ½ hours, my rating had dropped to 62.
Not long after this, they made the decision to pull me out. Penny, still kayaking beside me, touched me, which disqualified me according to channel swimming rules.
I didn’t stop. I wasn’t even aware that she touched me. A few minutes later, I stopped in surprise when a swimmer appeared right in front of me. It wasn’t Penny. After a few seconds, I realized it was Emilio. It took a few more seconds to I realize that that was the end of my swim.
It was 4.40pm, I had covered 29 klms., and only had 1 mile (1.6 klm) to go. They pulled me out after 9 hours 55 minutes. Bugger!
The boat came alongside. They got me out, dried me off, put me in a recovery suit and wrapped me in blankets, scarf and a beanie. Having stopped, I now started shivering in a big way. It didn’t take long at all to motor into Channel Islands Harbour at Oxnard. I was able to walk unaided to where we had left the car, although I had to stop to throw up half way down the jetty. My stomach musn’t have digested any of the sports drinks and salt water for the last couple of hours.
Penny and I set a number of goals for each major swim we do (an idea we got from Penny Lee Dean’s book). The first and most basic is always to finish. So I was disappointed with the final result.
I think I could have finished the swim. Emilio said at the pace I was going, it might have taken me another hour. It’s a question of what damage (if any) I might have done to myself by doing so. Ned Denison had 5 hours in hospital after his swim. I only had a mere 15 minutes of shivering.
But one thing an open water swimmer should never do, is criticize the support crew for making a decision in the best interest of his/her welfare. Their decision was final and I respect it totally.
I could come up with a few good excuses for not making it, but they count for nothing. At the end of the day, if you really want to achieve something, and at first you don’t succeed, you don’t find excuses, you assess what didn’t work and you find solutions. I take away from the Santa Barbara, some valuable lessons which hopefully will lead to success in a couple of cold water marathon swims we are planning in 2009.
Sunday, 5th October
The day after my swim was excellent. We crawled out of bed at the crack of 9.00am, and went to Butterfly Beach for a swim/paddle with the Ocean Ducks (locally open water swimming group who meet every Sunday). After that, we met up with Amber and Mitch (our friends from up the coast) for lunch and ice creams.
And in the late afternoon, we attended a meeting of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association. In addition to Emilio and the local board members, Ned had flown in for the meeting, and Scott Zornig (who has done a number of interesting solo and relay swims) had driven up from LA. The main focus of the meeting was how to improve the service and experience offered to potential swimmers. At the dinner afterwards, Scott’s friend Jim Fitzpatrick joined us. At age 53, Jim had just swum from Catalina to Orange County, the first person to do so. The distance was similar to Penny’s cfrossing. We had a great time swapping yarns with these world class endurance athletes.
Unfortunately, that was the end of our stay in California, and we had to fly out the next day. It’s strange that neither Penny or I had any desire at all to visit America, until we were accepted to swim Manhattan in 2007. And now we have been there four times. We really like the people, and they love aussies and are genuinely interested in us and our country. There is lots to see and do and some excellent swims of different shapes and sizes, so I’m sure we’ll make several more visits and hopefully add to our growing list of American friends.
References :
www.santabarbarachannelswim.com
www.nycswim.org
www.distancematters.com
www.sharkshield.com.au
So here we are two months after returning from the USA, i really did intend on keeping up with this blog site more often, I will have to try to keep up.
Chris has written his report on the swim which i will attach very soon.
For my two bobs worth i had a wonderful time, I thoroughly enjoyed my entire swim yew all 11hrs & 29 minutes worth in the Santa Barbara Channel from San Miguel to the main land.
I loved the training at Butterfly Beach and the township of Santa Barbara, the friends we spent time with and the new ones we made there. Some trips are just too short.
Unfortunately as far as Chris' swim is concerned we couldn't have left him in the water any longer in fact some more experienced handlers than i think we should have pulled him sooner, they are very probably right. - Penny
Chris has written his report on the swim which i will attach very soon.
For my two bobs worth i had a wonderful time, I thoroughly enjoyed my entire swim yew all 11hrs & 29 minutes worth in the Santa Barbara Channel from San Miguel to the main land.
I loved the training at Butterfly Beach and the township of Santa Barbara, the friends we spent time with and the new ones we made there. Some trips are just too short.
Unfortunately as far as Chris' swim is concerned we couldn't have left him in the water any longer in fact some more experienced handlers than i think we should have pulled him sooner, they are very probably right. - Penny
Monday, September 8, 2008
Santa Barbara again
In less than two weeks i will return to Santa Barbara to attempt a crossing from one of the islands to the mainland. Chris will follow a few days later to assist with my swim and then prepare for his own swim the following weekend.
We are looking forward to returning to Santa Barbara, the friends we made last time we were there and the charming town.
We're also looking forward to reuniting with our friends from New York, Dan and Brooke.
Neil will again join us from Australia to paddle the kayak and assist with the swim.
Emilio and Dean will also be a key factor in the direction of our swims.
Nicole my daughter is also looking forward to seeing Will (Emilio's grandson) and his friend Augustine again and i believe is in the process of making lots of plans.
Good fun all round - just can't wait.
We are looking forward to returning to Santa Barbara, the friends we made last time we were there and the charming town.
We're also looking forward to reuniting with our friends from New York, Dan and Brooke.
Neil will again join us from Australia to paddle the kayak and assist with the swim.
Emilio and Dean will also be a key factor in the direction of our swims.
Nicole my daughter is also looking forward to seeing Will (Emilio's grandson) and his friend Augustine again and i believe is in the process of making lots of plans.
Good fun all round - just can't wait.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Manhattan Island 2008
We arrived in New York city late Wednesday evening, after a meal and an early night we were keen to fit in as much as possible with our friends Dan and Brooke on Thursday morning.
First we needed to swim so we met Dan and Brooke at their health club and turned our arms over easily for half an hour.
Then it was off for lunch before driving to New Jersey to be the first of Dan’s passengers in his new four seater plane.
He took us across the Hudson to the southern end of the bay, we flew over the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson at 1000 feet (not very high) it was an amazing way to see NYC with a low clearance above the George Washington Bridge before returning to the little airport. It was one of the best things I have done in my life!
Friday we walked around the World Trade Centre, we had been there last year and were keen to see the progress made.
The afternoon was taken up with the swimmers briefing at Governors Island.
We were back at the hotel room when Brooke suddenly became unwell.
Dan and Brooke left our room and the following morning we had a note under our door, Brooke was sick, Dan would now handle me on my swim and Dan’s friend Abe would do the honours for Chris. Dan had done well to organise everything for us without any stress.
We made our way to South Cove the start and finish area of the swim, after the usual nervous pre-race routine we were in the starter’s hands.
We swam with our paddlers around the southern tip of Manhattan Island and headed up towards the Brooklyn Bridge where we met up with our boats. It was good to see Dan with his “Good Morning” sign.
The East river was rougher this year than last but Dan and my boat captain got me a good line and I was swimming well. The swim through the Harlem river was as last year fun to see the spectators lining the river banks and bridges, I really enjoy that when I swim, then it was another left turn into the Hudson which was much kinder to the swimmers this year than last, and the memories of our fantastic flight just two days before were still fresh in my mind.
After 7.35 hours of swimming I touched the finish, I had come second out of the 25 solo swimmers and first in the women just 5 minutes behind the first man to finish.
I was well pleased with my swim, Dan, my boat crew and paddlers did an amazing job all day out there helping me.
Chris came in 15th in a close finish with Ronan from Ireland; he too was well pleased with his swim.
Thankyou Dan, Brooke, and all who help us and organised the MIMS this year we had a wonderful time.
First we needed to swim so we met Dan and Brooke at their health club and turned our arms over easily for half an hour.
Then it was off for lunch before driving to New Jersey to be the first of Dan’s passengers in his new four seater plane.
He took us across the Hudson to the southern end of the bay, we flew over the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson at 1000 feet (not very high) it was an amazing way to see NYC with a low clearance above the George Washington Bridge before returning to the little airport. It was one of the best things I have done in my life!
Friday we walked around the World Trade Centre, we had been there last year and were keen to see the progress made.
The afternoon was taken up with the swimmers briefing at Governors Island.
We were back at the hotel room when Brooke suddenly became unwell.
Dan and Brooke left our room and the following morning we had a note under our door, Brooke was sick, Dan would now handle me on my swim and Dan’s friend Abe would do the honours for Chris. Dan had done well to organise everything for us without any stress.
We made our way to South Cove the start and finish area of the swim, after the usual nervous pre-race routine we were in the starter’s hands.
We swam with our paddlers around the southern tip of Manhattan Island and headed up towards the Brooklyn Bridge where we met up with our boats. It was good to see Dan with his “Good Morning” sign.
The East river was rougher this year than last but Dan and my boat captain got me a good line and I was swimming well. The swim through the Harlem river was as last year fun to see the spectators lining the river banks and bridges, I really enjoy that when I swim, then it was another left turn into the Hudson which was much kinder to the swimmers this year than last, and the memories of our fantastic flight just two days before were still fresh in my mind.
After 7.35 hours of swimming I touched the finish, I had come second out of the 25 solo swimmers and first in the women just 5 minutes behind the first man to finish.
I was well pleased with my swim, Dan, my boat crew and paddlers did an amazing job all day out there helping me.
Chris came in 15th in a close finish with Ronan from Ireland; he too was well pleased with his swim.
Thankyou Dan, Brooke, and all who help us and organised the MIMS this year we had a wonderful time.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz Inter-island Crossing
There are lots of records up for grabs in open water swimming. For any race or crossing, you can be the fastest, the slowest, the youngest, the oldest, or if you keep coming back, you may notch up the most number of crossings.
By definition though, all records are made to be broken, except for one. To be the first person to swim a stretch of water is one record which can never be erased.
Penny and I had the opportunity to attempt a “first” not so long ago, out from Santa Barbara in California.
Our adventure started when we gained entry into the 2008 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS). (A 45.8km circumnavigation around Manhattan Island, on which New York City is situated). We both swam MIMS in 2007. It was such a unique and awesome race, we just had to go back. Particularly as it was to be held the day after the Independence Day (4th July celebrations).
We chose to stop over in California to acclimatise to the cooler water since the water is always warm here in Townsville (North Queensland) where we hail from.
Santa Barbara is a picturesque seaside town, 150klm up the coast from Los Angeles. We first heard about Santa Barbara from Ned Denison, an American friend of ours who lives in Ireland. Ned swam the Santa Barbara Channel in 2006 and raved about the marine life and the beauty of the Channel Islands. And Ned introduced us to Emilio Casaneuva, founder of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association (SBCSA).
Since the SBCSA is still in its formative stages, Emilio asked Penny and I for advice on a range of issues to help enhance the experience of swimmers wishing to attempt a crossing. And he did us the honour of inviting us to become directors of the association, which we gladly accepted.
The Channel Islands consist of, from west to east, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa. Unlike the English Channel or Catalina very few people have swum the Santa Barbara Channel.
A handful of people have swum from Anacapa and Santa Cruz, but no one has swum from Santa Rosa or San Miguel to the mainland. And until October, 2007 no one has ever swum between any of the islands.
Scott Zoring from LA, got his “first” by swimming the 8.5k approximately from Anacapa to Santa Cruz. Reading the report on his crossing, we thought “This is a bit of all right. Why don’t we have a go at one of the other crossings”. But I guess it is rare that you can be first to ever do a swim, without having to overcome a few obstacles. And we certainly had a few of them.
Of most concern to us was Scott’s reason for choosing the Anacapa – Santa Cruz crossing. Of Santa Rosa and (particularly) San Miguel, he said “there are more fatted Elephant Seals around those two islands than ants at a picnic. And I didn’t want to mistaken for one”.
Regular open water swimmers know the chances of a shark approaching and taking an interest in a swimmer are so remote as to be hardly worth contemplating. But when you are out beyond the shore break in unfamiliar waters, that creepy feeling occasionally overrides logic and makes one a little edgy. So what about swimming across a stretch of water known as a hang out for Great White Sharks?
Well I have to admit we were nervous about this swim. But Penny had a great idea.
We had heard about “Shark Shield”, and Australian company which makes shark repellent devices. We contacted the company, told them of our attempt, and asked if they would loan us two units for the swim. They readily agreed. They gave us two “Freedom 7” units which comprise a transmitter (the size of a small fist) and trailing behind this is and antenna which emits a signal that repels (but does no harm) sharks in a 3 – 5 metre radius.
There is a Velcro strap attached to the transmitter which allows you to attach the unit around your ankle. But we didn’t want the drag of towing the unit so instead we draped them over the side of our support boat, and this worked well for us.
The shark issue dealt with, the next obstacle would be the weather. The wind along the Southern California coast in summer is usually fairly predictable. There is normally very little breeze and gentle seas at night and in the early morning. But as the sea breeze comes in from mid morning, the sea (and swimming conditions) gets progressively sloppier.
The western Channel Islands (particularly San Miguel) are an exception to the rule. Winds tend to funnel off the coast around this area creating what mariners refer to as “windy lane”.
The distance from San Miguel to Santa Rosa is 6.2klm compared to 9.6kl from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz.
Because we were swimming MIMS only seven days after this crossing we favoured doing the shorter crossing. But since the sea conditions were a major factor for the crossing, it was decided that we would have a greater chance of success by doing the Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz crossing, as this offered more protection from the prevailing westerly breeze.
The other major factor on this swim was the water temperature. Two weeks before a very good swimmer we know attempted the crossing between Santa Rosa and the mainland. He lasted 21/2 hours in the 12 – 13 C water. F
For warm water swimmers like us, that was scary, and I in particular, doubted that I could endure the cold for the time it would take to complete the crossing (at home, the coldest the ocean gets in winter is 20 C.
Thankfully, southern California got some very warm weather in the week before our crossing. So hopefully, it would be a little warmer by the time we got our to the islands.
Our support crew for the attempt was small, but very competent. The boat skipper and navigator was Dean White. Dean was very competent and professional and we felt very comfortable with him in control. He and Emilio own the 30 foot sail boat “Olita” which was our main support boat and they both knew the local waters very well. Assisting Dean on Olita was Marianne. All three were open water swimmers, so they knew well, our needs and requirements.
The plan was to leave Santa Barbara harbour at 12.30am and motor out to Santa Rosa, a little over five hours steaming time. Conditions were good for the trip across the channel and we even managed a tiny bit of sleep.
Dawn greeted us as we anchored off Skunk Point at the eastern tip of Santa Rosa. We have had our fair share of rough weather and adversity in swims we have done, but on this day, fortune was smiling upon us. There was no wind at all and only a gentle swill. A light mist made the distant hills on Santa Cruz island look kind of eerie. But best news of all was the water temperature of 61 degrees F (16C) as measured by the onboard instruments. Our spirits lifted with all the good news.
There was a fair current running between the islands, so it was agreed to start at slack water which was at 7.30 AM. So we took our time having a light breakfast of cereal, a power bar and our carbo drink.
Then it was on with the gear and grease. Any crossing of the Santa Barbara Channel is made under traditional, purist rules, adopted from the English Channel. This is so all swimmers have a level playing field and no one benefits from “fast” swimming costumes, or those which give thermal protection. We were allowed to wear a basic costume, goggles, one standard swim cap and ear plugs.
We also had to start and finish from dry land, above the water line. So Emilio ferried us to about 50m off the beach in his small, 3m inflatable. 16 degrees is a lot better than 12, but it was still cold for us, so we didn’t mess around. It was straight into shore and up the beach read to commence our Inter Island crossing.
We both raised our arms to give the signal to go and then we were off.
Since Penny is faster, she would swim next to Olita, which had all the navigation equipment and Dean and Marianne would keep her company. And Emilio in the inflatable would guide me across, by simply following Olita.
Once we settled into our rhythm, the time just flew by, as it does on most of our long swims. We saw quite a few jellyfish on the way across but received no stings. And whilst we saw lots of inquisitive seals before we hit the water (and our crew saw lots more whilst we were swimming), we weren’t lucky enough to have any swim with us.
We also didn’t see any big predators on our crossing, and so the Shark Shields probably weren’t necessary. However, they gave us great peace of mind, knowing they were close by, silently doing their thing. So all we had to concentrate on as swimming to the other side.
Penny and I swam pretty hard for the whole way, as the extra effort generates body heat to keep the cold out. At about the half way point, the fog lifted and the sun come out. And by the time we finished the crossing, the water temperature had climbed to 65 degrees F (18C).
Our target on Santa Cruz was Kinton Point, at the western end of the island. The presence of large masses of kelp signified that we were getting close tour landing, the current was working against us toward the end. Penny swam north of the point and into a large beach which she named Penny’s Beach. And I finished just south of Kinton Point in a tiny Sandy spot between two large rocky outcrops, which I called Chris’ cove. Not sure if the names will make their way onto the charts, but at least they will be etched in our memories.
To finish and achieve our goal was such a huge relief. Many hours of planing and dozens of emails had gone into putting this crossing together. And after we finished, it really felt like the swim was the easy part. Penny’s time for the crossing was 2 hours and 30 minutes and I did 2 hours and 52 minutes. The effect of the current meant that we did about 11 klms of real swimming.
Our team of Dean, Emilio and Marianne were excellent, and as any good open water swimmer knows achievements like this are not possible without a good support crew.
It had turned into a glorious day. Warm and sunny with a light westerly breeze starting to pick up. We were able to drift for a while and enjoy the coastal panorama whilst the crew had a dip.
If anyone is looking for a decent open water challenge, we would definitely recommend the Santa Barbara Channel, (and not just because we are on the board) since it is now on the marathon swimming scene, visitors receive great hospitality and assistance with organising their crossing. You can attempt the Anacapa crossing which is similar to Australia’s Rottnest Channel Swim, except a little colder. Anacapa would also be a perfect six hour qualifying swim if you are planning an English Channel crossing or want to enter the Manhattan Island Marathon. Then there is Santa Cruz to the mainland which is comparable, but maybe fractionally easier than the English Channel. And then there are still some firsts there for the taking.
At the time of writing no one has done the 6.2k crossing between the islands of Santa Rosa and San Miguel. And then, if you’re game no one has swum across the channel from either of those two islands to the mainland – exciting stuff.
Whilst Penny and I have got our first, we are always looking for new challenges. So we’re heading back to Santa Barbara in September when we hope to be the first Aussies and the first married couple to complete crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel.
By Chris Palfrey
References:
Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association: http://www.santabarbarachannelswim.org/
Shark Shield: http://www.sharkshield.com/
Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: http://www.nycswim.org/
Rottnest Channel Swim: http://www.rottnestchnnelswim.com.au/
By definition though, all records are made to be broken, except for one. To be the first person to swim a stretch of water is one record which can never be erased.
Penny and I had the opportunity to attempt a “first” not so long ago, out from Santa Barbara in California.
Our adventure started when we gained entry into the 2008 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS). (A 45.8km circumnavigation around Manhattan Island, on which New York City is situated). We both swam MIMS in 2007. It was such a unique and awesome race, we just had to go back. Particularly as it was to be held the day after the Independence Day (4th July celebrations).
We chose to stop over in California to acclimatise to the cooler water since the water is always warm here in Townsville (North Queensland) where we hail from.
Santa Barbara is a picturesque seaside town, 150klm up the coast from Los Angeles. We first heard about Santa Barbara from Ned Denison, an American friend of ours who lives in Ireland. Ned swam the Santa Barbara Channel in 2006 and raved about the marine life and the beauty of the Channel Islands. And Ned introduced us to Emilio Casaneuva, founder of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association (SBCSA).
Since the SBCSA is still in its formative stages, Emilio asked Penny and I for advice on a range of issues to help enhance the experience of swimmers wishing to attempt a crossing. And he did us the honour of inviting us to become directors of the association, which we gladly accepted.
The Channel Islands consist of, from west to east, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa. Unlike the English Channel or Catalina very few people have swum the Santa Barbara Channel.
A handful of people have swum from Anacapa and Santa Cruz, but no one has swum from Santa Rosa or San Miguel to the mainland. And until October, 2007 no one has ever swum between any of the islands.
Scott Zoring from LA, got his “first” by swimming the 8.5k approximately from Anacapa to Santa Cruz. Reading the report on his crossing, we thought “This is a bit of all right. Why don’t we have a go at one of the other crossings”. But I guess it is rare that you can be first to ever do a swim, without having to overcome a few obstacles. And we certainly had a few of them.
Of most concern to us was Scott’s reason for choosing the Anacapa – Santa Cruz crossing. Of Santa Rosa and (particularly) San Miguel, he said “there are more fatted Elephant Seals around those two islands than ants at a picnic. And I didn’t want to mistaken for one”.
Regular open water swimmers know the chances of a shark approaching and taking an interest in a swimmer are so remote as to be hardly worth contemplating. But when you are out beyond the shore break in unfamiliar waters, that creepy feeling occasionally overrides logic and makes one a little edgy. So what about swimming across a stretch of water known as a hang out for Great White Sharks?
Well I have to admit we were nervous about this swim. But Penny had a great idea.
We had heard about “Shark Shield”, and Australian company which makes shark repellent devices. We contacted the company, told them of our attempt, and asked if they would loan us two units for the swim. They readily agreed. They gave us two “Freedom 7” units which comprise a transmitter (the size of a small fist) and trailing behind this is and antenna which emits a signal that repels (but does no harm) sharks in a 3 – 5 metre radius.
There is a Velcro strap attached to the transmitter which allows you to attach the unit around your ankle. But we didn’t want the drag of towing the unit so instead we draped them over the side of our support boat, and this worked well for us.
The shark issue dealt with, the next obstacle would be the weather. The wind along the Southern California coast in summer is usually fairly predictable. There is normally very little breeze and gentle seas at night and in the early morning. But as the sea breeze comes in from mid morning, the sea (and swimming conditions) gets progressively sloppier.
The western Channel Islands (particularly San Miguel) are an exception to the rule. Winds tend to funnel off the coast around this area creating what mariners refer to as “windy lane”.
The distance from San Miguel to Santa Rosa is 6.2klm compared to 9.6kl from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz.
Because we were swimming MIMS only seven days after this crossing we favoured doing the shorter crossing. But since the sea conditions were a major factor for the crossing, it was decided that we would have a greater chance of success by doing the Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz crossing, as this offered more protection from the prevailing westerly breeze.
The other major factor on this swim was the water temperature. Two weeks before a very good swimmer we know attempted the crossing between Santa Rosa and the mainland. He lasted 21/2 hours in the 12 – 13 C water. F
For warm water swimmers like us, that was scary, and I in particular, doubted that I could endure the cold for the time it would take to complete the crossing (at home, the coldest the ocean gets in winter is 20 C.
Thankfully, southern California got some very warm weather in the week before our crossing. So hopefully, it would be a little warmer by the time we got our to the islands.
Our support crew for the attempt was small, but very competent. The boat skipper and navigator was Dean White. Dean was very competent and professional and we felt very comfortable with him in control. He and Emilio own the 30 foot sail boat “Olita” which was our main support boat and they both knew the local waters very well. Assisting Dean on Olita was Marianne. All three were open water swimmers, so they knew well, our needs and requirements.
The plan was to leave Santa Barbara harbour at 12.30am and motor out to Santa Rosa, a little over five hours steaming time. Conditions were good for the trip across the channel and we even managed a tiny bit of sleep.
Dawn greeted us as we anchored off Skunk Point at the eastern tip of Santa Rosa. We have had our fair share of rough weather and adversity in swims we have done, but on this day, fortune was smiling upon us. There was no wind at all and only a gentle swill. A light mist made the distant hills on Santa Cruz island look kind of eerie. But best news of all was the water temperature of 61 degrees F (16C) as measured by the onboard instruments. Our spirits lifted with all the good news.
There was a fair current running between the islands, so it was agreed to start at slack water which was at 7.30 AM. So we took our time having a light breakfast of cereal, a power bar and our carbo drink.
Then it was on with the gear and grease. Any crossing of the Santa Barbara Channel is made under traditional, purist rules, adopted from the English Channel. This is so all swimmers have a level playing field and no one benefits from “fast” swimming costumes, or those which give thermal protection. We were allowed to wear a basic costume, goggles, one standard swim cap and ear plugs.
We also had to start and finish from dry land, above the water line. So Emilio ferried us to about 50m off the beach in his small, 3m inflatable. 16 degrees is a lot better than 12, but it was still cold for us, so we didn’t mess around. It was straight into shore and up the beach read to commence our Inter Island crossing.
We both raised our arms to give the signal to go and then we were off.
Since Penny is faster, she would swim next to Olita, which had all the navigation equipment and Dean and Marianne would keep her company. And Emilio in the inflatable would guide me across, by simply following Olita.
Once we settled into our rhythm, the time just flew by, as it does on most of our long swims. We saw quite a few jellyfish on the way across but received no stings. And whilst we saw lots of inquisitive seals before we hit the water (and our crew saw lots more whilst we were swimming), we weren’t lucky enough to have any swim with us.
We also didn’t see any big predators on our crossing, and so the Shark Shields probably weren’t necessary. However, they gave us great peace of mind, knowing they were close by, silently doing their thing. So all we had to concentrate on as swimming to the other side.
Penny and I swam pretty hard for the whole way, as the extra effort generates body heat to keep the cold out. At about the half way point, the fog lifted and the sun come out. And by the time we finished the crossing, the water temperature had climbed to 65 degrees F (18C).
Our target on Santa Cruz was Kinton Point, at the western end of the island. The presence of large masses of kelp signified that we were getting close tour landing, the current was working against us toward the end. Penny swam north of the point and into a large beach which she named Penny’s Beach. And I finished just south of Kinton Point in a tiny Sandy spot between two large rocky outcrops, which I called Chris’ cove. Not sure if the names will make their way onto the charts, but at least they will be etched in our memories.
To finish and achieve our goal was such a huge relief. Many hours of planing and dozens of emails had gone into putting this crossing together. And after we finished, it really felt like the swim was the easy part. Penny’s time for the crossing was 2 hours and 30 minutes and I did 2 hours and 52 minutes. The effect of the current meant that we did about 11 klms of real swimming.
Our team of Dean, Emilio and Marianne were excellent, and as any good open water swimmer knows achievements like this are not possible without a good support crew.
It had turned into a glorious day. Warm and sunny with a light westerly breeze starting to pick up. We were able to drift for a while and enjoy the coastal panorama whilst the crew had a dip.
If anyone is looking for a decent open water challenge, we would definitely recommend the Santa Barbara Channel, (and not just because we are on the board) since it is now on the marathon swimming scene, visitors receive great hospitality and assistance with organising their crossing. You can attempt the Anacapa crossing which is similar to Australia’s Rottnest Channel Swim, except a little colder. Anacapa would also be a perfect six hour qualifying swim if you are planning an English Channel crossing or want to enter the Manhattan Island Marathon. Then there is Santa Cruz to the mainland which is comparable, but maybe fractionally easier than the English Channel. And then there are still some firsts there for the taking.
At the time of writing no one has done the 6.2k crossing between the islands of Santa Rosa and San Miguel. And then, if you’re game no one has swum across the channel from either of those two islands to the mainland – exciting stuff.
Whilst Penny and I have got our first, we are always looking for new challenges. So we’re heading back to Santa Barbara in September when we hope to be the first Aussies and the first married couple to complete crossings of the Santa Barbara Channel.
By Chris Palfrey
References:
Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association: http://www.santabarbarachannelswim.org/
Shark Shield: http://www.sharkshield.com/
Manhattan Island Marathon Swim: http://www.nycswim.org/
Rottnest Channel Swim: http://www.rottnestchnnelswim.com.au/
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
From LA to New York
Today is Wednesday 3rd of July 2008.
We find ourselves at LA airport awaiting our flight to JFK airport NY.
After our Interisland Channel Swim off Santa Barbara, we spent a couple of great days relaxing, making friends and enjoying the Santa Barbara area.
Yesterday we drove from Santa Barbara to LA, with a little shopping along the way, meeting up with our swimming friend Forrest Nelson for a swim at Manhattan Beach and lunch then a pleasant arfternoon chatting about our various swims and swim wish lists.
Once in NYC we are looking forward to July 4th celabrations and our around Manhattan Island swim (28 miles/45k) on Saturday 5th July before returning to Australia on Monday 6th July.
So will keep you posted.......
Penny
We find ourselves at LA airport awaiting our flight to JFK airport NY.
After our Interisland Channel Swim off Santa Barbara, we spent a couple of great days relaxing, making friends and enjoying the Santa Barbara area.
Yesterday we drove from Santa Barbara to LA, with a little shopping along the way, meeting up with our swimming friend Forrest Nelson for a swim at Manhattan Beach and lunch then a pleasant arfternoon chatting about our various swims and swim wish lists.
Once in NYC we are looking forward to July 4th celabrations and our around Manhattan Island swim (28 miles/45k) on Saturday 5th July before returning to Australia on Monday 6th July.
So will keep you posted.......
Penny
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Santa Barbara Channel Islands Swim
today, 29th June, 2008, we swam from Santa Rosa Island to Santa Cruz Island, a distance of around 10+klms (6+miles), to become the first people ever to complete this swim. Our times for the crossing were 2.30 for Penny and 2.52 for Chris. Conditions were very good for what is normally a very rough and windy area. the sea was almost calm. Water temperature was around 16 degrees C for most of the crossing, but increased to 18 degrees as we approached Santa Cruz. we were accompanied at various times by inquisitive seals, and a few jellyfish (out of reach). but we saw none of the great white sharks which are meant to frequent this area. But it was very comforting to have our shark shields working for us. these devices were kindly leant to us for a company in South Australia ( see www.sharkshield.com.au)
we were ably assisted in our crossing by Emilio and Dean from the Santa Barbara Channel Swim Association, who provided excellent support and great hospitality. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town, 150 klms up the coast from LA, and it has great swim options for any long distance open water swimmer who likes a challenge. and best of all, it is still new, and there are still "firsts" waiting to be conquered, as we did today. Hmm, what shall we do tomorrow?
By Chris and Penny Palfrey
we were ably assisted in our crossing by Emilio and Dean from the Santa Barbara Channel Swim Association, who provided excellent support and great hospitality. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town, 150 klms up the coast from LA, and it has great swim options for any long distance open water swimmer who likes a challenge. and best of all, it is still new, and there are still "firsts" waiting to be conquered, as we did today. Hmm, what shall we do tomorrow?
By Chris and Penny Palfrey
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tampa Bay Marathon Swim Florida 2008
All the way to Tampa Bay
If anyone has any bright ideas about how to minimize the effects of jet lag, we’d love to hear them. Thirty two hours of sitting in planes and airport lounges with hardly any sleep is definitely not fun. We flew out of Townville, North Queensland on the morning of April, 14 and after stops in Brisbane, LA and Dallas, Texas, we finally arrived at Tampa, on the western coast of Florida. And then to wake us up, we had an interesting, but thankfully uneventful, 40 klm drive in our hire car down to our hotel near the entrance to the bay.
After a few relaxing days of pottering around, doing a bit of sightseeing, shopping and our final taper, we were ready to race. We were over the jet lag, had done the hard yards in training and were feeling good, and best of all, the weather forecast was looking favourable.
As with most open water swims these days, we found the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim on the internet. Penny and I had originally planned to swim it in 2007, but to cut a long story short, we ended up doing the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) in New York City, instead.
But the bug had bitten, and when Tampa Bay’s race director, Ron Collins, replied to our enquiring email in really positive terms, we were hooked.
Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest estuary and runs into the Gulf of Mexico. Being 28 degrees north of the equator, the climate is sub tropical and was very pleasant throughout our stay, in mid to late April.
The race course covers pretty well the entire length of the bay, and at 24 miles (approx. 38 klms), we were under no illusions that this would be anything but a tough swim.
Ron Collins was the first person to swim it solo, which he did in 1998. Since then, less than 50 people (including only 13 women) have been able to go the full distance.
The race was to start from a small beach in a cove, right on the doorstep of our hotel. Starting time would be 7.00am (just a few minutes before sunrise) to give us sufficient time to finish before dark. The course was relatively straight forward. After leaving the beach (near the bay entrance), we head off in a south easterly direction, and then taking a big arc to the left, we would then head north, north east for the next 30 odd klms, to the finish at Ben T. Davis Beach (in the upper reaches of the bay).
There were only two important things we, and our support boats, needed to take into account.
First was the depth of the water. The bay was very shallow in many areas, and our experienced boat drivers stressed the need for us to head well offshore in the early stages of the race. The shortest distance on the map, clearly indicated that we should hug the coast when we took that left hand turn around Pinellas Point. But to do this would result in both swimmer and boat running aground, and an early shower.
Our boaties explained how, hundreds of years ago, pirate vessels which plied the Gulf of Mexico, used the bay to their advantage. Anytime they were threatened, the pirate boats would head up into the bay, and with full knowledge of its waters, they simply needed to sail around until their pursuers ran aground.
We were fortunate to have been assigned very competent skippers in Mike and Bernie, so we simply let them navigate.
The other factor in Tampa is the tides. Ron generally tries to start the race in the latter stages of the ebbing tide. So the tides are not a factor early on in the race. But by the time we round Pinellas Point (approx. 6 klm), we now have an incoming tide, of up to 1 knot, pushing us up the bay. Life is good whilst that is happening.
But of course, what goes in, must come out, and there is the catch. Unless you can swim really fast, the tide will again be ebbing, forcing you to fight against its growing strength, in the latter stages of the race.
You cross under two bridges during the race. The Gandy Bridge (approx. 27.5 klm mark) and the Howard Franklin Bridge (approx. 32 klm) cross the entire 5 klm width of the bay. Around 3 klm of each bridge is built on reclaimed land, and the other 2 klm crosses the water. An aerial shot these bridges resembles an hourglass. When the tide is behind you, no problem. But unless we were well past the Gandy bridge when the tide started to ebb, the effect of its pull would be magnified, and the chances of finishing, remote.
Facing the starter in the pre dawn of Saturday, April 19th, were 8 solos and 10 teams. Whilst the field was small, it certainly didn’t lack quality. It seemed that Penny Palfrey (my better half) and Jose Serra, from Guatemala, would battle for line honours. Jose was first male finisher in MIMS 2007, and was training hard for a two way English Channel crossing. Not too much seemed to separate the rest of the field, Paolo from Italy, Dan, Samantha, Kim and Flavia from the USA, and yours truly, the “sun safe” aussie.
After several days of northerly (not good!) winds, race day was kind to us. We started into a light south easterly headwind with a small chop. Whilst not unpleasant, it did make for slow going for the first hour or so. But as we made our left turn, the wind and swell started to work in our favour. And after about two hours, the breeze shifted to a south westerly tail wind of 5-10 knots and remained that way for the rest of the day.
The water temperature, although cooler than we expected, at 20 to 21 degrees C, was certainly not too cold. The water quality and visibility was similar to my experience from a few Sydney Harbour swims. Viz. was 2 to 3 metres and the water had a greenish tinge. Again, it was fine throughout the day.
With a race this long, support boats were obviously essential. The race entry fee covered the boat, and Ron organized all of this for us. And for an extra fee, we could also obtain (optional) kayakers. We asked for kayakers, knowing this would make navigation and feeding much easier. And then of course, we had our handler (coach), whose job it was to give us information about what was going on above the water line, as well as feeding, and giving us anything else we needed.
With Penny was :
Mike, the skipper, who had swum in a relay on three previous occasions,
Sarah, the kayaker, with her big smile and boundless enthusiasm, and
Brooke, the handler. Brooke, from NYC was fantastic. She teamed up with Penny in last year’s successful MIMS. And since her fiancé, Dan Boyle, was swimming in a relay, she volunteered her services once again.
On my team was :
Bernie, the skipper, who had guided swimmers on six previous occasions,
Brent, who worked as a kayak instructor on weekends, to help fund his university studies, and
Neil, the handler. Neil hails from Perth, and had helped us on several previous Rottnest Channel Swims. Back in February, we told him about Tampa. It turned out he was going to be on an overseas business trip, and he offered to take a detour, and add a couple of days to his trip to help us out.
Planning, coordination and teamwork are essential in marathon swimming, and the results we enjoyed were largely thanks to you guys and girls. Thank you all. You were awesome.
Back to the race. Penny and I are self coached and train together, using programs that she writes up. Her plan was to hold a solid, consistent pace for the whole race, and to try to maintain a stroke rate of 80 per minute. She knew she would have to do this to be competitive with Jose.
Since I am slower and with less experience, I was going to be a bit more conservative, and try to maintain a stroke rate of 70. We had arranged with Brooke and Neil to keep tabs on our stroke rate throughout the race, and to let us know if we were slacking off.
In long races like this, we always feed half hourly. By feeding, I mean carbohydrate drinks. We see and hear of swimmers who eat anything from bananas, to honey sandwiches, to dried fruit, and so on. When Captain Matthew Webb swam the English Channel in 1875, he fed on strips of dried beef, hot beef tea and brandy. So I guess anything might work for some people. But after much trial and error, we find that carbohydrate drinks and gels work best for us, and are easy to digest. And we try to keep drink stops down to 20 seconds or so, to minimize heat loss and time wastage.
Our races were pretty much uneventful, due to the favourable conditions. Going under the bridges was interesting. Because they were low to the water, our support boats had to leave us for a few minutes, to pass under the raised sections. We were very thankful to have the kayakers by our side for these bits.
With a small field like we had, we didn’t have any swimmers around us for most of the race, so we kept our minds occupied by concentrating on our stroke, watching our crew for directions and information, and ticking off the landmarks and time elapsed.
One thing every competitor thought about at several times during the race was Dave Parcells. Dave had earned the title of King of Tampa Bay courtesy of his six race finishes. And he must have been a very tough competitor, having swum an English Channel two way crossing in an excellent time of 21:30, a few years back. Unfortunately, the 2007 race was his last. After covering about 14 klm, he was feeling quite ill, enough to call it a day. He got out, phoned his kids on the cell phone, and a few minutes later, he collapsed as a result of cardiac failure, and could not be revived. If there is a life here after, I’m sure he would have been looking down on Tampa 2008, and thinking :
Of Ron Collins, goodonya mate, for keeping the race alive.
Of Marv Siple, his skipper from last year, who must have gone through a lot of trauma, well done for coming back with your boat to help out this year. Even though, Marv didn’t have a swimmer, he was on the water all day, acting as a safety vessel. Unreal. [Marv’s son also skippered for a male duo team from NYC, although he may have got more than he bargained for, when they stripped off and swam naked for most of the journey].
Of the swimmers in the water, lucky buggers for having good weather.
Thanks to the conditions and an excellent crew, Penny finished in 7 hours, 51 minutes, 24 seconds, beating not only the men, but all the teams home. It was the first time a woman had taken overall line honours in Tampa. She also bettered the women’s race record of 9:08 which Gail Rice of Miami, set in 2002. Gail had also swum a time of 8:34, outside of the annual race. And Penny’s time was only ten minutes outside the men’s record of 7:41, held by Chris Derks (former USA 25 klm champion).
I also had a good race, finishing third overall, and second male, in a time of 8 hours, 49 minutes, 24 seconds. Whilst there are no official age group records, the previous best time for my age group of 50+ was 9:44.
Penny and I were also the first aussies and the first married couple to complete Tampa.
Of course, whilst the records will show that everyone who finished posted good times, open water swimmers are always at the mercy of the elements.
For example, Forrest Nelson, a friend of ours from Los Angeles (and a very strong swimmer) took line hours in 2005, with a time of 10:21. But unlike us, he had the joy of punching into a northerly headwind for 30 odd klms.
Everyone of us who swims open water, will get our share of good days and others, where you just have to be satisfied with getting to the other end. We’ve certainly had our fair share of those, so we’ll take credit for Tampa 2008.
After the swim, we took a few extra days to explore southern Florida. The climate and flora, very much reminded us of Queensland. And there is no shortage of attractions. From the theme parks of Orlando and the Kennedy Space Centre, through to the tourist mecca of the keys and the glitz of Miami. Or like us, you might prefer the natural beauty and magnificent wildlife in the everglades. We did a six hour guided kayak tour out of Everglade City (not what I would call a city) where we saw a huge array of birdlife as well as dozens of lazy alligators (ranging from ½ to 3 metres in length), which did not seem at all threatening, or bothered by our close proximity.
And a final must do in Florida, is visiting the International Swimming Hall of Fame, in Fort Lauderdale. Our good friend, Dr. Distance, showed us through the exhibits and treated us to a great day out, in his home town.
All this made for a really good trip away. But for us, the best part was renewing old acquaintances, and making new friends who share our passion for open water.
Whilst we are very much a fringe group compared to our pool cousins, there is something special about open water swimmers. We take on the elements and we face our natural fear of what may be lurking in the depths. Whilst we enter a race, in marathon swimming the competition comes mainly from within. And in a tough swim, it is fair to say that everyone who finishes, is a winner.
Post race, around the bar, everyone wants to know where you are from, what swims you have done and what they are like, what you have got coming up, and so on. Everyone has done their best, most have got to the other end, and there is a friendly and supportive atmosphere.
We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Tampa to anyone who wants a big challenge and is prepared to train accordingly. For aussie swimmers, Tampa is almost the equivalent of doing a Rottnest two way crossing (our times were quicker coz we got a good day). Definitely achievable, but requiring a fair bit of commitment. Quite a few people have used this race as a lead up swim for an English Channel attempt.
But Ron Collins currently runs this race almost single handedly, and for this reason, he likes to keep it low key. So entries are definitely limited.
Ron can be contacted via his website, www.distancematters.com
Chris Palfrey
10th May, 2008.
If anyone has any bright ideas about how to minimize the effects of jet lag, we’d love to hear them. Thirty two hours of sitting in planes and airport lounges with hardly any sleep is definitely not fun. We flew out of Townville, North Queensland on the morning of April, 14 and after stops in Brisbane, LA and Dallas, Texas, we finally arrived at Tampa, on the western coast of Florida. And then to wake us up, we had an interesting, but thankfully uneventful, 40 klm drive in our hire car down to our hotel near the entrance to the bay.
After a few relaxing days of pottering around, doing a bit of sightseeing, shopping and our final taper, we were ready to race. We were over the jet lag, had done the hard yards in training and were feeling good, and best of all, the weather forecast was looking favourable.
As with most open water swims these days, we found the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim on the internet. Penny and I had originally planned to swim it in 2007, but to cut a long story short, we ended up doing the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) in New York City, instead.
But the bug had bitten, and when Tampa Bay’s race director, Ron Collins, replied to our enquiring email in really positive terms, we were hooked.
Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest estuary and runs into the Gulf of Mexico. Being 28 degrees north of the equator, the climate is sub tropical and was very pleasant throughout our stay, in mid to late April.
The race course covers pretty well the entire length of the bay, and at 24 miles (approx. 38 klms), we were under no illusions that this would be anything but a tough swim.
Ron Collins was the first person to swim it solo, which he did in 1998. Since then, less than 50 people (including only 13 women) have been able to go the full distance.
The race was to start from a small beach in a cove, right on the doorstep of our hotel. Starting time would be 7.00am (just a few minutes before sunrise) to give us sufficient time to finish before dark. The course was relatively straight forward. After leaving the beach (near the bay entrance), we head off in a south easterly direction, and then taking a big arc to the left, we would then head north, north east for the next 30 odd klms, to the finish at Ben T. Davis Beach (in the upper reaches of the bay).
There were only two important things we, and our support boats, needed to take into account.
First was the depth of the water. The bay was very shallow in many areas, and our experienced boat drivers stressed the need for us to head well offshore in the early stages of the race. The shortest distance on the map, clearly indicated that we should hug the coast when we took that left hand turn around Pinellas Point. But to do this would result in both swimmer and boat running aground, and an early shower.
Our boaties explained how, hundreds of years ago, pirate vessels which plied the Gulf of Mexico, used the bay to their advantage. Anytime they were threatened, the pirate boats would head up into the bay, and with full knowledge of its waters, they simply needed to sail around until their pursuers ran aground.
We were fortunate to have been assigned very competent skippers in Mike and Bernie, so we simply let them navigate.
The other factor in Tampa is the tides. Ron generally tries to start the race in the latter stages of the ebbing tide. So the tides are not a factor early on in the race. But by the time we round Pinellas Point (approx. 6 klm), we now have an incoming tide, of up to 1 knot, pushing us up the bay. Life is good whilst that is happening.
But of course, what goes in, must come out, and there is the catch. Unless you can swim really fast, the tide will again be ebbing, forcing you to fight against its growing strength, in the latter stages of the race.
You cross under two bridges during the race. The Gandy Bridge (approx. 27.5 klm mark) and the Howard Franklin Bridge (approx. 32 klm) cross the entire 5 klm width of the bay. Around 3 klm of each bridge is built on reclaimed land, and the other 2 klm crosses the water. An aerial shot these bridges resembles an hourglass. When the tide is behind you, no problem. But unless we were well past the Gandy bridge when the tide started to ebb, the effect of its pull would be magnified, and the chances of finishing, remote.
Facing the starter in the pre dawn of Saturday, April 19th, were 8 solos and 10 teams. Whilst the field was small, it certainly didn’t lack quality. It seemed that Penny Palfrey (my better half) and Jose Serra, from Guatemala, would battle for line honours. Jose was first male finisher in MIMS 2007, and was training hard for a two way English Channel crossing. Not too much seemed to separate the rest of the field, Paolo from Italy, Dan, Samantha, Kim and Flavia from the USA, and yours truly, the “sun safe” aussie.
After several days of northerly (not good!) winds, race day was kind to us. We started into a light south easterly headwind with a small chop. Whilst not unpleasant, it did make for slow going for the first hour or so. But as we made our left turn, the wind and swell started to work in our favour. And after about two hours, the breeze shifted to a south westerly tail wind of 5-10 knots and remained that way for the rest of the day.
The water temperature, although cooler than we expected, at 20 to 21 degrees C, was certainly not too cold. The water quality and visibility was similar to my experience from a few Sydney Harbour swims. Viz. was 2 to 3 metres and the water had a greenish tinge. Again, it was fine throughout the day.
With a race this long, support boats were obviously essential. The race entry fee covered the boat, and Ron organized all of this for us. And for an extra fee, we could also obtain (optional) kayakers. We asked for kayakers, knowing this would make navigation and feeding much easier. And then of course, we had our handler (coach), whose job it was to give us information about what was going on above the water line, as well as feeding, and giving us anything else we needed.
With Penny was :
Mike, the skipper, who had swum in a relay on three previous occasions,
Sarah, the kayaker, with her big smile and boundless enthusiasm, and
Brooke, the handler. Brooke, from NYC was fantastic. She teamed up with Penny in last year’s successful MIMS. And since her fiancé, Dan Boyle, was swimming in a relay, she volunteered her services once again.
On my team was :
Bernie, the skipper, who had guided swimmers on six previous occasions,
Brent, who worked as a kayak instructor on weekends, to help fund his university studies, and
Neil, the handler. Neil hails from Perth, and had helped us on several previous Rottnest Channel Swims. Back in February, we told him about Tampa. It turned out he was going to be on an overseas business trip, and he offered to take a detour, and add a couple of days to his trip to help us out.
Planning, coordination and teamwork are essential in marathon swimming, and the results we enjoyed were largely thanks to you guys and girls. Thank you all. You were awesome.
Back to the race. Penny and I are self coached and train together, using programs that she writes up. Her plan was to hold a solid, consistent pace for the whole race, and to try to maintain a stroke rate of 80 per minute. She knew she would have to do this to be competitive with Jose.
Since I am slower and with less experience, I was going to be a bit more conservative, and try to maintain a stroke rate of 70. We had arranged with Brooke and Neil to keep tabs on our stroke rate throughout the race, and to let us know if we were slacking off.
In long races like this, we always feed half hourly. By feeding, I mean carbohydrate drinks. We see and hear of swimmers who eat anything from bananas, to honey sandwiches, to dried fruit, and so on. When Captain Matthew Webb swam the English Channel in 1875, he fed on strips of dried beef, hot beef tea and brandy. So I guess anything might work for some people. But after much trial and error, we find that carbohydrate drinks and gels work best for us, and are easy to digest. And we try to keep drink stops down to 20 seconds or so, to minimize heat loss and time wastage.
Our races were pretty much uneventful, due to the favourable conditions. Going under the bridges was interesting. Because they were low to the water, our support boats had to leave us for a few minutes, to pass under the raised sections. We were very thankful to have the kayakers by our side for these bits.
With a small field like we had, we didn’t have any swimmers around us for most of the race, so we kept our minds occupied by concentrating on our stroke, watching our crew for directions and information, and ticking off the landmarks and time elapsed.
One thing every competitor thought about at several times during the race was Dave Parcells. Dave had earned the title of King of Tampa Bay courtesy of his six race finishes. And he must have been a very tough competitor, having swum an English Channel two way crossing in an excellent time of 21:30, a few years back. Unfortunately, the 2007 race was his last. After covering about 14 klm, he was feeling quite ill, enough to call it a day. He got out, phoned his kids on the cell phone, and a few minutes later, he collapsed as a result of cardiac failure, and could not be revived. If there is a life here after, I’m sure he would have been looking down on Tampa 2008, and thinking :
Of Ron Collins, goodonya mate, for keeping the race alive.
Of Marv Siple, his skipper from last year, who must have gone through a lot of trauma, well done for coming back with your boat to help out this year. Even though, Marv didn’t have a swimmer, he was on the water all day, acting as a safety vessel. Unreal. [Marv’s son also skippered for a male duo team from NYC, although he may have got more than he bargained for, when they stripped off and swam naked for most of the journey].
Of the swimmers in the water, lucky buggers for having good weather.
Thanks to the conditions and an excellent crew, Penny finished in 7 hours, 51 minutes, 24 seconds, beating not only the men, but all the teams home. It was the first time a woman had taken overall line honours in Tampa. She also bettered the women’s race record of 9:08 which Gail Rice of Miami, set in 2002. Gail had also swum a time of 8:34, outside of the annual race. And Penny’s time was only ten minutes outside the men’s record of 7:41, held by Chris Derks (former USA 25 klm champion).
I also had a good race, finishing third overall, and second male, in a time of 8 hours, 49 minutes, 24 seconds. Whilst there are no official age group records, the previous best time for my age group of 50+ was 9:44.
Penny and I were also the first aussies and the first married couple to complete Tampa.
Of course, whilst the records will show that everyone who finished posted good times, open water swimmers are always at the mercy of the elements.
For example, Forrest Nelson, a friend of ours from Los Angeles (and a very strong swimmer) took line hours in 2005, with a time of 10:21. But unlike us, he had the joy of punching into a northerly headwind for 30 odd klms.
Everyone of us who swims open water, will get our share of good days and others, where you just have to be satisfied with getting to the other end. We’ve certainly had our fair share of those, so we’ll take credit for Tampa 2008.
After the swim, we took a few extra days to explore southern Florida. The climate and flora, very much reminded us of Queensland. And there is no shortage of attractions. From the theme parks of Orlando and the Kennedy Space Centre, through to the tourist mecca of the keys and the glitz of Miami. Or like us, you might prefer the natural beauty and magnificent wildlife in the everglades. We did a six hour guided kayak tour out of Everglade City (not what I would call a city) where we saw a huge array of birdlife as well as dozens of lazy alligators (ranging from ½ to 3 metres in length), which did not seem at all threatening, or bothered by our close proximity.
And a final must do in Florida, is visiting the International Swimming Hall of Fame, in Fort Lauderdale. Our good friend, Dr. Distance, showed us through the exhibits and treated us to a great day out, in his home town.
All this made for a really good trip away. But for us, the best part was renewing old acquaintances, and making new friends who share our passion for open water.
Whilst we are very much a fringe group compared to our pool cousins, there is something special about open water swimmers. We take on the elements and we face our natural fear of what may be lurking in the depths. Whilst we enter a race, in marathon swimming the competition comes mainly from within. And in a tough swim, it is fair to say that everyone who finishes, is a winner.
Post race, around the bar, everyone wants to know where you are from, what swims you have done and what they are like, what you have got coming up, and so on. Everyone has done their best, most have got to the other end, and there is a friendly and supportive atmosphere.
We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Tampa to anyone who wants a big challenge and is prepared to train accordingly. For aussie swimmers, Tampa is almost the equivalent of doing a Rottnest two way crossing (our times were quicker coz we got a good day). Definitely achievable, but requiring a fair bit of commitment. Quite a few people have used this race as a lead up swim for an English Channel attempt.
But Ron Collins currently runs this race almost single handedly, and for this reason, he likes to keep it low key. So entries are definitely limited.
Ron can be contacted via his website, www.distancematters.com
Chris Palfrey
10th May, 2008.
Rottnest Channel Swim 2008
Not just another weekend in WA - from the other half.
After a fairly pleasant 10 hour journey across Australia we arrived in Perth around lunch time on Thursday 14th February, valentines day, however for us getting up at 4am there wasn’t much valentineing going on, but we were both happy to be doing what we were, that is my husband Chris the usual writer of our swimming journeys and my self.
As we waited for our luggage to arrive on the carousel I wondered how many people in the crowd were here because of the annual Rottenest Channel swim, when at that moment “hello, hello’ hello” who would be there but Mr Ocean swims and Mrs Sparkle themselves with their friends from Brunswick Heads. Chat, chat, chat.
Soon we had our bags and it was time to organise our hire car before meeting my sister for lunch just out side the airport. Unfortunately that was all the time allowed on this short trip for none Rotto family members.
The following day, “the Friday before Rotto” has now become tradition for us Palfrey’s it’s a swim at Cottesloe Beach followed by breakfast at the Blue Duck café over looking the beautiful Indian Ocean and Rottenest Island. We had a table for ten booked which was soon filled with swimming friends and family with a couple of extra chairs pulled up, we noticed that Kim Beasley and Alan Bond also ate breakfast there that morning.
After beaky it was off to the “out of towners’ swim briefing, from there we headed back to our hotel in Fremantle meeting many old friends as we departed the briefing.
Chris’s brother Martin from Sydney and Heather their mother from Melbourne had joined us by now, Martin is planning to do a double Rotto crossing.
Friday afternoon was spent at our boat briefing with our wonderful friends Wayne and Barbie Williams who have tirelessly helped us for many years, with boats and crew for our swims.
It is an early start for all on Saturday morning we are up at 4.30am knowing however that our crew have already been out of bed for some time organising the boat side of the swim. Chris and I eat, drink, stretch then eat and drink again until it is time to head down to the hotel reception knocking on Martins door as we go by. Martin says he’s almost ready and will be in reception in a minute. Whilst in reception Chris makes a bee line for the concierge’s desk, he wants to look at the weather forecast again; by now seabreeze.com is a favourite on the concierge’s computer.
The taxi has arrived and is waiting but there is still no sign of Martin, Heather comes from Martins room he’s still coming she says, apparently his on the loo again! Martin was a little nervous about his double crossing it seemed, but who could blame him?
Finally we arrive at Cottesloe beach just before 6am. Soon the registrations are open we have our name ticked off our arms numbered and timing bands activated, we are ready to swim to Rottenest Island. This year the weather and forecast was for reasonable conditions, with some swell but at least the swim was going to take place which was great news after last years disappointing cancellation due to bad weather.
It was an overcast morning which offered us some protection form the sun, the water temperature was a warm 23C with some swell and chop coming from my left side (the south) the sun broke though and shone on my back for a few moments exactly as I passed though the ten kilometre gates, I could see the bottom for most of the swim.
I was pleased with my swim and time of 5hrs 23 minutes and third place in the woman’s event, after having some time out of the water due to some health issues towards the end of 2007. Chris came in at 5hrs 54 minutes and Martin turned around and began swimming back to Cottesloe Beach while most us were headed for the pub and others still had many hours of swimming ahead of them to complete their one way journey to Rottenest finishing late in the afternoon to rowdy applauses of all in Thompson Bay, you guys I take my hat off to you.
Presentation took place and we headed for the ferry back to Fremantle we sat with Barbara Pelleck and her family, Barbara had just completed her 20th Rottenest Channel crossing, well done Barb.
Our phone rang, it was Brian, Martins boat captain. Marty has 3k to go, we willed the ferry to go faster so that we could meet Martin at the finish, when we arrived inFremantle I called Brian again Martin had 1k left to swim, we jumped in the car that we had parked at C shed that morning. We raced off to Cottesloe, Martin was getting dragged North and was past the Blue Duck café and headed for the beach. The light was fading fast, the wind had picked up and was quite strong there was also some current just off the coast. We parked the car where we could see the lights of Martins boat coming in, Martin got dragged further North, we moved the car and ran down the beach to meet Martin . Martin had planned to swim back to the boat after the swim but this plan was changed and was now for us to take him back to the hotel, however all his gear was on the boat, we rustled up some gear we had to put around Martin when he finished, Brian wrapped Martins clothes and towel in plastic bags, Chris stripped off his clothes to his jocks, Brian threw Martins gear over board, Chris swam for the bag which was floating South and looked as though it would sink, I followed Martin along the beach who was still swimming and getting dragged further North. Goodness knows what the onlookers thought was going on up on the promenade, some sort of drug drop or something. Martin swam to shore after 14hrs and 1 minute of swimming and swore that was it for long swims for him, (of course we don’t believe him). I hurried Martin up the beach behind a sand dune where Chris soon joined us, it was a quick off with the wet togs and on with the towels, old jumpers and a plastic garbage bag to keep Martin warm. Soon we were in the car with the heater on headache hot and phoning Heather to pore a warm bath and order some food from room service.
As we entered our 5 star hotel with Martin wet & greasy, with bare feet wearing old tracksuit pants and a jumper we could only get one arm into and a garbage bag, it being Saturday evening and there was a sea of young women all wearing LBD’s little black dresses, Martin said to me “I wonder what they’re all looking at”, we decided it was his left nipple which was exposed by the too small jumper, what a laugh.
The following morning Martin, Heather Chris and myself along with Martin’s boat crew Brian, Donna and Richard joined up for a big breakfast, then the four Palfrey’s returned to Perth airport, Penny and Chris to Queensland, Heather to Melbourne and Martin to Sydney.
Yes another fabulous weekend in WA.
Congratulations
Martin Palfrey double crossing 14hrs 1min.
Barbara Pelleck 20th Rottenest Channel crossing
Melissa Benson first solo swimmer to finish (go the girls)
All swimmers solos, duos and teams you make this swim the fantastic event it is.
Thankyou
Our wonderful friends Wayne and Barbie Williams, JR, crew Neil Jo, Reece, Ryan and Hayden.
RCSA organisers
Sponsors.
Defiantly not just another weekend in the garden.
After a fairly pleasant 10 hour journey across Australia we arrived in Perth around lunch time on Thursday 14th February, valentines day, however for us getting up at 4am there wasn’t much valentineing going on, but we were both happy to be doing what we were, that is my husband Chris the usual writer of our swimming journeys and my self.
As we waited for our luggage to arrive on the carousel I wondered how many people in the crowd were here because of the annual Rottenest Channel swim, when at that moment “hello, hello’ hello” who would be there but Mr Ocean swims and Mrs Sparkle themselves with their friends from Brunswick Heads. Chat, chat, chat.
Soon we had our bags and it was time to organise our hire car before meeting my sister for lunch just out side the airport. Unfortunately that was all the time allowed on this short trip for none Rotto family members.
The following day, “the Friday before Rotto” has now become tradition for us Palfrey’s it’s a swim at Cottesloe Beach followed by breakfast at the Blue Duck café over looking the beautiful Indian Ocean and Rottenest Island. We had a table for ten booked which was soon filled with swimming friends and family with a couple of extra chairs pulled up, we noticed that Kim Beasley and Alan Bond also ate breakfast there that morning.
After beaky it was off to the “out of towners’ swim briefing, from there we headed back to our hotel in Fremantle meeting many old friends as we departed the briefing.
Chris’s brother Martin from Sydney and Heather their mother from Melbourne had joined us by now, Martin is planning to do a double Rotto crossing.
Friday afternoon was spent at our boat briefing with our wonderful friends Wayne and Barbie Williams who have tirelessly helped us for many years, with boats and crew for our swims.
It is an early start for all on Saturday morning we are up at 4.30am knowing however that our crew have already been out of bed for some time organising the boat side of the swim. Chris and I eat, drink, stretch then eat and drink again until it is time to head down to the hotel reception knocking on Martins door as we go by. Martin says he’s almost ready and will be in reception in a minute. Whilst in reception Chris makes a bee line for the concierge’s desk, he wants to look at the weather forecast again; by now seabreeze.com is a favourite on the concierge’s computer.
The taxi has arrived and is waiting but there is still no sign of Martin, Heather comes from Martins room he’s still coming she says, apparently his on the loo again! Martin was a little nervous about his double crossing it seemed, but who could blame him?
Finally we arrive at Cottesloe beach just before 6am. Soon the registrations are open we have our name ticked off our arms numbered and timing bands activated, we are ready to swim to Rottenest Island. This year the weather and forecast was for reasonable conditions, with some swell but at least the swim was going to take place which was great news after last years disappointing cancellation due to bad weather.
It was an overcast morning which offered us some protection form the sun, the water temperature was a warm 23C with some swell and chop coming from my left side (the south) the sun broke though and shone on my back for a few moments exactly as I passed though the ten kilometre gates, I could see the bottom for most of the swim.
I was pleased with my swim and time of 5hrs 23 minutes and third place in the woman’s event, after having some time out of the water due to some health issues towards the end of 2007. Chris came in at 5hrs 54 minutes and Martin turned around and began swimming back to Cottesloe Beach while most us were headed for the pub and others still had many hours of swimming ahead of them to complete their one way journey to Rottenest finishing late in the afternoon to rowdy applauses of all in Thompson Bay, you guys I take my hat off to you.
Presentation took place and we headed for the ferry back to Fremantle we sat with Barbara Pelleck and her family, Barbara had just completed her 20th Rottenest Channel crossing, well done Barb.
Our phone rang, it was Brian, Martins boat captain. Marty has 3k to go, we willed the ferry to go faster so that we could meet Martin at the finish, when we arrived inFremantle I called Brian again Martin had 1k left to swim, we jumped in the car that we had parked at C shed that morning. We raced off to Cottesloe, Martin was getting dragged North and was past the Blue Duck café and headed for the beach. The light was fading fast, the wind had picked up and was quite strong there was also some current just off the coast. We parked the car where we could see the lights of Martins boat coming in, Martin got dragged further North, we moved the car and ran down the beach to meet Martin . Martin had planned to swim back to the boat after the swim but this plan was changed and was now for us to take him back to the hotel, however all his gear was on the boat, we rustled up some gear we had to put around Martin when he finished, Brian wrapped Martins clothes and towel in plastic bags, Chris stripped off his clothes to his jocks, Brian threw Martins gear over board, Chris swam for the bag which was floating South and looked as though it would sink, I followed Martin along the beach who was still swimming and getting dragged further North. Goodness knows what the onlookers thought was going on up on the promenade, some sort of drug drop or something. Martin swam to shore after 14hrs and 1 minute of swimming and swore that was it for long swims for him, (of course we don’t believe him). I hurried Martin up the beach behind a sand dune where Chris soon joined us, it was a quick off with the wet togs and on with the towels, old jumpers and a plastic garbage bag to keep Martin warm. Soon we were in the car with the heater on headache hot and phoning Heather to pore a warm bath and order some food from room service.
As we entered our 5 star hotel with Martin wet & greasy, with bare feet wearing old tracksuit pants and a jumper we could only get one arm into and a garbage bag, it being Saturday evening and there was a sea of young women all wearing LBD’s little black dresses, Martin said to me “I wonder what they’re all looking at”, we decided it was his left nipple which was exposed by the too small jumper, what a laugh.
The following morning Martin, Heather Chris and myself along with Martin’s boat crew Brian, Donna and Richard joined up for a big breakfast, then the four Palfrey’s returned to Perth airport, Penny and Chris to Queensland, Heather to Melbourne and Martin to Sydney.
Yes another fabulous weekend in WA.
Congratulations
Martin Palfrey double crossing 14hrs 1min.
Barbara Pelleck 20th Rottenest Channel crossing
Melissa Benson first solo swimmer to finish (go the girls)
All swimmers solos, duos and teams you make this swim the fantastic event it is.
Thankyou
Our wonderful friends Wayne and Barbie Williams, JR, crew Neil Jo, Reece, Ryan and Hayden.
RCSA organisers
Sponsors.
Defiantly not just another weekend in the garden.
Manhattan Island Swim 2007
Splashing out in New York City
(Report on the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim 2007)
Our journey to the Big Apple began 7 months before the starting hooter sounded, on 16th June 2007. Penny & I love open water swimming, for the competition, for the challenges (to mind & body) & camaraderie with some amazing people who share our passion.
We are regular Rottnest swimmers (& love this event) but since you only live once, we started seeking out other races & crossings.
In 2006 we swam that Strait of Gibraltar together (becoming the first husband & wife to complete solo crossings). And Penny followed that up with successful Cook Strait & English Channel crossings.
Penny has already booked another English Channel attempt for August 2007, so we started looking for another event to fill up our calendar. We heard about the Manhattan Island swim (MIMS) from Dan Boyle (a New Yorker & English Channel swimmer).
The event sounded absolutely brilliant:
· A full counter clockwise circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, on which New York City is situated.
· At 45.8klm (28.5 miles), the longest swimming race held on an annual basis, in the world.
· Solo swim field limited to 25 competitors.
Our first hurdle was to gain entry to the event.
The entry process was all ‘online’ and our NYC contact warned us to make it snappy with our entries as places were sure to fill quickly. So we skipped our Saturday training swim & went to the office at 5.00am to ensure we didn’t miss out.
The entry requirements were quite comprehensive. As well as the usual information, we had to undertake medicals, complete a 4 hour cold water qualifying swim, submit copies of our training logs, etc.
Two weeks later, we received confirmation that our entries had been accepted. Furthermore, Penny & I were the only Aussie solo swimmers in the field of 25.
Wow! Talk about excited!! We could have partied for a week on that news….except that Penny was swimming in the 25K at nationals (FINA World Selection Trials) the following week.
The 25K in Melbourne was a real race of attrition. With seas up to 2 metres & wind strength never less than 20 knots, only three people finished the race- Brendan Capell, Shelly Clark & Penny. Unfortunately for us, the powers that be only accepted one swimmer for the 25K at worlds. So Penny had to settle for some silverware. Not bad though for a 44 year old mother of three.
Our build up for MIMS (and Penny’s EC bid) consisted of a couple of races, with lots of solid endurance work in the pool, and a weekly open water session in our stinger net. The ‘net’ as we call it, is basically a very tough, fine gauge net with a cylindrical canvas float, and heavy weights anchoring it to the bottom. The net is 100m long & extends about 75m offshore.
Why the net? In summer, the costal waters in Northern Australia are inhabited by several dangerous jellyfish (a couple being deadly & others which inflict a nasty sting).
It turned out that the net had one other valuable use for us. The beaches were closed over summer, on three separate occasions, due to salt water crocodile sightings. As we entered the water in the net in total darkness for our 5-6 hour training swims, we hoped that the crocs remembered which side of the net they were meant to be on.
The first test of our progress came with the Rottnest Channel Swim (19.2k) in Perth in February. Unfortunately for us & 2350 other competitors, the race was cancelled due to rough conditions.
Not to be discouraged we returned to Perth in March for the “Freo to Rotto-Big Splash”. A slightly different (20K exact) course & very low key, we really enjoyed this swim. Our boaties, John Rothwell & Wayne Williams (from Austal ships) were superb as always & they guided us to very good times. Penny was the overall winner with a course record time of 4:41 & I was third overall in 5:33.
We also did the South Head Roughwater Swim (apx. 11k) in Sydney. This is a great event with a fabulous course & we would thoroughly recommend it. John Fallon (a really nice guy) runs this event & he can be contacted via the Ocean swims website.
Penny was again overall winner & broke the women’s course record & I was 7th overall. My brother Martin (also a mad keen open water swimmer) who lives in Sydney hosted us & put us up for this swim. Another highlight of the South Head Swim for us was meeting Murph Renford. Murph is the son of legendry Des Renford (19 EC crossings) & is training for a channel attempt a few weeks before Penny. Fit & well prepared, there was only one thing we lacked, cold water acclimation.
In Townsville, North Queensland, the water temperature is 29˚ in summer & never drops below 20˚ in winter. So, we scheduled a week stop over in San Francisco.
I have to say that the hustle & bustle of big cities is not for us. But as far as cities go, San Francisco was very enjoyable. Featuring a very attractive country side, an interesting history & friendly people who pride themselves on embracing all sorts of alternative lifestyles, we had no shortage of things to do.
San Francisco also has one of the world’s most active open water swimming communities. The South end rowing club & dolphin club swimmers train daily (& all day long) in & around the aquatic park & they welcomed us into the fold. (Many thanks especially to Suzie Dodds). We trained twice a day for up to an hour in waters of 56-57˚ F (13-14˚C). Bloody freezing!! After 30 minutes the “claw” would set in (where you start to lose fine motor control in your hands) & we were shivering when we finished. But, all valuable training for MIMS.
We also did a 1.5 mile (2.4K) race from Alcatraz to the mainland, along with 800 other competitors. This time Penny was second female and I was twelfth male in the non-wetsuit category.
Arriving in Manhattan (New York City) by taxi from JFK airport was like entering a different world. We have never seen so many towering buildings, so much traffic congestion & so many people constantly rushing. The pace of life in New York is definitely too fast for us and we could never live there. But having said that, I think everyone who likes traveling should visit the big apple. There is just a huge list of things to see & do & we really enjoyed our stay.
Finally to the swim. MIMS 2007 boasted a top field from the USA, South America, UK, Italy & we two Aussies.
Dan Boyle, our New York City contact, was fantastic. Not only did he give us a huge amount of helpful advice, he also teed up our handlers. His partner Brooke Bessert was to guide Penny and his friend Rodolfo Nunez would take care of me. Dan himself was handling for his friend, Dr. Distance from Florida.
Race day started fine and sunny with a water temperature of 66.6˚ F (19˚ C) and a light southerly breeze. The start/finish was at South Cove, the Battery, at the southern tip of Manhattan.
We were to start at 8.25am pushing into the beginning of the flood tide for 1.5K before zooming up East River with the full flood behind us. It turned out that we had to push a bit harder than expected, after the start was delayed by 25 minutes.
When the hooter went, we all knew we had to swim with some urgency to get around the Battery. So preoccupied was I with the tide factor, that I didn’t even think to look for the Statue of Liberty, off to our right. Having got around the Battery, East River was amazing. For MIMS, it is best to breathe either bilaterally or just to your left as there is a constant parade of sights in Manhattan. First you pass the downtown financial district. Then there are the massive Brooklyn, Manhattan & Williamsburg bridges. Soon enough, you reach midtown, with the Empire State, Chrysler & UN buildings standing out like you know what. And so it goes on.
There is a huge “horizontal” flow of water in the East & Hudson Rivers. How else does an average swimmer like me cover 15K in the first two hours (that’s even with the head current around the Battery). At one point, just after the UN building, I spotted a father & son on the promenade. Dad was jogging & the boy was riding his bike. They would just ease ahead of me but then seemed to slow up & I would pull past them. This went on for about 5 minutes. Then they either stopped or I dropped them.
I thought to myself, if only I could string together 30 laps in a 50m pool like this! Look out Hacky!! The East River was such a buzz. And these memories will last a long time.
Next you pass through Hell Gate. This is the junction of three rivers & the waters can be very rough & turbulent. Not too much of a drama for us though, as we peeled off to the left up the Harlem River, which separates Manhattan from The Bronx.
When you say you are doing MIMS, everyone asks, “Are you worried about the water quality?”
Well we certainly were! But as it turned out, we were pleasantly surprised. Sure, there was some flotsam in the water here & there, but nowhere near as bad as we expected. Salinity was lower than the ocean in the East River and you could see your hands the whole time. The Harlem is virtually devoid of tidal movement, basically fresh (?) water & more than its fair share of floaties. But we could still see down to our elbows & the Hudson had the same visibility as the Harlem, with the same salinity as the East River. Water quality though not great, was certainly not unpleasant. Highlights along the Harlem River were heaps of bridges, Yankee Stadium & the wooded hills which signaled that we were close to the mighty Hudson.
When you enter the Hudson River from the Harlem, you go through a spot called Spuyten Duyvil (pronounced Spoi-ten Die-vil). Again there are lots of weird currents & back eddies here, but nothing too serious. The race was timed for us to reach the Hudson River with the tide now ebbing, so as to get a free ride for the 12.5 miles (20K) to the finish. It all sounded pretty cruisy. The only problem was that the light southerly breeze at the start had picked up to a 10-15 knot (now headwind). And it was the wind against the tide so we had a very nasty ½ meter chop to punch through. After 5 hours of relatively comfortable swimming, everyone now had to work very hard to earn their finishers medal. It took the field between 4 to 5 hours to reach the finish from the Spuyten Duyvil. And I would rank that passage of the swim, equal in difficulty to Rottnest in 2003. Not fun.
But we’re not finished yet! Half way down the Hudson there is a cruise ship terminal. And we were advised in the briefing that, whilst they would try to give way to us, a ship might pull out in front of us. If this was to occur, we would be extracted from the water, wait for it to choof off & then continue on from the same spot.
Sure enough, after 7:18 of stroking, Rodolfo gave me the signal to get out… bugger! As it turned out all three cruise ships were departing one after the other. But also (I’m not making this up) we could see a big electrical storm bearing down on us from New Jersey (the western side of the Hudson) For varying lengths of time (depending on when our coaches pulled us out of the water) we sat on our boats freezing our buts off, with the wind, rain, thunder & lightning (& three cruise ships hightailing it). My initial feeling of mild frustration was replaced with worry. What if the organizers deemed the race unsafe to continue? What if the tide changed? What about the cut-off time? Of all the competitors Penny & Brooke were the hardest done by. The organizers had a policy of one out, all out, so she too, was cooling her heels. In her case though, she was 9K past the cruise ship terminal & miles from the storm front & only 12 minutes of swimming from the finish. It would have been heartbreaking if the race was canned at this point.
Finally, the word came over race radio that we could resume the race from the points at which we were extracted. Thank god for that.
Penny won the race overall in a time of 8:36 (7:46 after deducting the time out). She was 10 minutes ahead of 2nd place, Rendy Opdycke (overall winner in 2006). For us middle of the pack swimmers, I think we all adopted the same approach! Cold, tired & stiff we were all going as hard as we could with two things driving us, tide change & cut-off. It wasn’t until I was about 2K from the finish that I knew I would get to receive my Finisher’s Medal.
Of the 25 starters, 19 swimmers finished. I was 16th with a time of 10:03 (8:56 after deducting time out).
MIMS is a fantastic event & right up there with the biggest & best marathon swims in the world. And it is great to have an annual race like this, in our world, where insurance & liability issues dictate whether an event will even get off the ground. I only wish there were more events like MIMS.
The organizers, volunteers, boaties & paddlers were absolutely first class. And our handlers, Brooke & Rodolfo, you were awesome! Considering I was sick as a dog at the presentation (drinking too much river water perhaps?), I have to say I did make quite a quotable comment. At the race briefing the organizers asked all the swimmers to tell the crowd about their background. 24 hours later, at the presentation, I recalled yesterday I could call myself a long distance swimmer. Tonight, crook though I may be, I can call myself a marathon swimmer. Thanks to MIMS organizers (and race organizers everywhere) for helping us to live our dreams.
By Chris Palfrey.
References :
www.nycswim.org
www.oceanswims.com
www.rottnestchannelswim.com.au
www.freotorottobigsplash.com.au
www.cookstraitswim.org
www.acneg.com
(Report on the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim 2007)
Our journey to the Big Apple began 7 months before the starting hooter sounded, on 16th June 2007. Penny & I love open water swimming, for the competition, for the challenges (to mind & body) & camaraderie with some amazing people who share our passion.
We are regular Rottnest swimmers (& love this event) but since you only live once, we started seeking out other races & crossings.
In 2006 we swam that Strait of Gibraltar together (becoming the first husband & wife to complete solo crossings). And Penny followed that up with successful Cook Strait & English Channel crossings.
Penny has already booked another English Channel attempt for August 2007, so we started looking for another event to fill up our calendar. We heard about the Manhattan Island swim (MIMS) from Dan Boyle (a New Yorker & English Channel swimmer).
The event sounded absolutely brilliant:
· A full counter clockwise circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, on which New York City is situated.
· At 45.8klm (28.5 miles), the longest swimming race held on an annual basis, in the world.
· Solo swim field limited to 25 competitors.
Our first hurdle was to gain entry to the event.
The entry process was all ‘online’ and our NYC contact warned us to make it snappy with our entries as places were sure to fill quickly. So we skipped our Saturday training swim & went to the office at 5.00am to ensure we didn’t miss out.
The entry requirements were quite comprehensive. As well as the usual information, we had to undertake medicals, complete a 4 hour cold water qualifying swim, submit copies of our training logs, etc.
Two weeks later, we received confirmation that our entries had been accepted. Furthermore, Penny & I were the only Aussie solo swimmers in the field of 25.
Wow! Talk about excited!! We could have partied for a week on that news….except that Penny was swimming in the 25K at nationals (FINA World Selection Trials) the following week.
The 25K in Melbourne was a real race of attrition. With seas up to 2 metres & wind strength never less than 20 knots, only three people finished the race- Brendan Capell, Shelly Clark & Penny. Unfortunately for us, the powers that be only accepted one swimmer for the 25K at worlds. So Penny had to settle for some silverware. Not bad though for a 44 year old mother of three.
Our build up for MIMS (and Penny’s EC bid) consisted of a couple of races, with lots of solid endurance work in the pool, and a weekly open water session in our stinger net. The ‘net’ as we call it, is basically a very tough, fine gauge net with a cylindrical canvas float, and heavy weights anchoring it to the bottom. The net is 100m long & extends about 75m offshore.
Why the net? In summer, the costal waters in Northern Australia are inhabited by several dangerous jellyfish (a couple being deadly & others which inflict a nasty sting).
It turned out that the net had one other valuable use for us. The beaches were closed over summer, on three separate occasions, due to salt water crocodile sightings. As we entered the water in the net in total darkness for our 5-6 hour training swims, we hoped that the crocs remembered which side of the net they were meant to be on.
The first test of our progress came with the Rottnest Channel Swim (19.2k) in Perth in February. Unfortunately for us & 2350 other competitors, the race was cancelled due to rough conditions.
Not to be discouraged we returned to Perth in March for the “Freo to Rotto-Big Splash”. A slightly different (20K exact) course & very low key, we really enjoyed this swim. Our boaties, John Rothwell & Wayne Williams (from Austal ships) were superb as always & they guided us to very good times. Penny was the overall winner with a course record time of 4:41 & I was third overall in 5:33.
We also did the South Head Roughwater Swim (apx. 11k) in Sydney. This is a great event with a fabulous course & we would thoroughly recommend it. John Fallon (a really nice guy) runs this event & he can be contacted via the Ocean swims website.
Penny was again overall winner & broke the women’s course record & I was 7th overall. My brother Martin (also a mad keen open water swimmer) who lives in Sydney hosted us & put us up for this swim. Another highlight of the South Head Swim for us was meeting Murph Renford. Murph is the son of legendry Des Renford (19 EC crossings) & is training for a channel attempt a few weeks before Penny. Fit & well prepared, there was only one thing we lacked, cold water acclimation.
In Townsville, North Queensland, the water temperature is 29˚ in summer & never drops below 20˚ in winter. So, we scheduled a week stop over in San Francisco.
I have to say that the hustle & bustle of big cities is not for us. But as far as cities go, San Francisco was very enjoyable. Featuring a very attractive country side, an interesting history & friendly people who pride themselves on embracing all sorts of alternative lifestyles, we had no shortage of things to do.
San Francisco also has one of the world’s most active open water swimming communities. The South end rowing club & dolphin club swimmers train daily (& all day long) in & around the aquatic park & they welcomed us into the fold. (Many thanks especially to Suzie Dodds). We trained twice a day for up to an hour in waters of 56-57˚ F (13-14˚C). Bloody freezing!! After 30 minutes the “claw” would set in (where you start to lose fine motor control in your hands) & we were shivering when we finished. But, all valuable training for MIMS.
We also did a 1.5 mile (2.4K) race from Alcatraz to the mainland, along with 800 other competitors. This time Penny was second female and I was twelfth male in the non-wetsuit category.
Arriving in Manhattan (New York City) by taxi from JFK airport was like entering a different world. We have never seen so many towering buildings, so much traffic congestion & so many people constantly rushing. The pace of life in New York is definitely too fast for us and we could never live there. But having said that, I think everyone who likes traveling should visit the big apple. There is just a huge list of things to see & do & we really enjoyed our stay.
Finally to the swim. MIMS 2007 boasted a top field from the USA, South America, UK, Italy & we two Aussies.
Dan Boyle, our New York City contact, was fantastic. Not only did he give us a huge amount of helpful advice, he also teed up our handlers. His partner Brooke Bessert was to guide Penny and his friend Rodolfo Nunez would take care of me. Dan himself was handling for his friend, Dr. Distance from Florida.
Race day started fine and sunny with a water temperature of 66.6˚ F (19˚ C) and a light southerly breeze. The start/finish was at South Cove, the Battery, at the southern tip of Manhattan.
We were to start at 8.25am pushing into the beginning of the flood tide for 1.5K before zooming up East River with the full flood behind us. It turned out that we had to push a bit harder than expected, after the start was delayed by 25 minutes.
When the hooter went, we all knew we had to swim with some urgency to get around the Battery. So preoccupied was I with the tide factor, that I didn’t even think to look for the Statue of Liberty, off to our right. Having got around the Battery, East River was amazing. For MIMS, it is best to breathe either bilaterally or just to your left as there is a constant parade of sights in Manhattan. First you pass the downtown financial district. Then there are the massive Brooklyn, Manhattan & Williamsburg bridges. Soon enough, you reach midtown, with the Empire State, Chrysler & UN buildings standing out like you know what. And so it goes on.
There is a huge “horizontal” flow of water in the East & Hudson Rivers. How else does an average swimmer like me cover 15K in the first two hours (that’s even with the head current around the Battery). At one point, just after the UN building, I spotted a father & son on the promenade. Dad was jogging & the boy was riding his bike. They would just ease ahead of me but then seemed to slow up & I would pull past them. This went on for about 5 minutes. Then they either stopped or I dropped them.
I thought to myself, if only I could string together 30 laps in a 50m pool like this! Look out Hacky!! The East River was such a buzz. And these memories will last a long time.
Next you pass through Hell Gate. This is the junction of three rivers & the waters can be very rough & turbulent. Not too much of a drama for us though, as we peeled off to the left up the Harlem River, which separates Manhattan from The Bronx.
When you say you are doing MIMS, everyone asks, “Are you worried about the water quality?”
Well we certainly were! But as it turned out, we were pleasantly surprised. Sure, there was some flotsam in the water here & there, but nowhere near as bad as we expected. Salinity was lower than the ocean in the East River and you could see your hands the whole time. The Harlem is virtually devoid of tidal movement, basically fresh (?) water & more than its fair share of floaties. But we could still see down to our elbows & the Hudson had the same visibility as the Harlem, with the same salinity as the East River. Water quality though not great, was certainly not unpleasant. Highlights along the Harlem River were heaps of bridges, Yankee Stadium & the wooded hills which signaled that we were close to the mighty Hudson.
When you enter the Hudson River from the Harlem, you go through a spot called Spuyten Duyvil (pronounced Spoi-ten Die-vil). Again there are lots of weird currents & back eddies here, but nothing too serious. The race was timed for us to reach the Hudson River with the tide now ebbing, so as to get a free ride for the 12.5 miles (20K) to the finish. It all sounded pretty cruisy. The only problem was that the light southerly breeze at the start had picked up to a 10-15 knot (now headwind). And it was the wind against the tide so we had a very nasty ½ meter chop to punch through. After 5 hours of relatively comfortable swimming, everyone now had to work very hard to earn their finishers medal. It took the field between 4 to 5 hours to reach the finish from the Spuyten Duyvil. And I would rank that passage of the swim, equal in difficulty to Rottnest in 2003. Not fun.
But we’re not finished yet! Half way down the Hudson there is a cruise ship terminal. And we were advised in the briefing that, whilst they would try to give way to us, a ship might pull out in front of us. If this was to occur, we would be extracted from the water, wait for it to choof off & then continue on from the same spot.
Sure enough, after 7:18 of stroking, Rodolfo gave me the signal to get out… bugger! As it turned out all three cruise ships were departing one after the other. But also (I’m not making this up) we could see a big electrical storm bearing down on us from New Jersey (the western side of the Hudson) For varying lengths of time (depending on when our coaches pulled us out of the water) we sat on our boats freezing our buts off, with the wind, rain, thunder & lightning (& three cruise ships hightailing it). My initial feeling of mild frustration was replaced with worry. What if the organizers deemed the race unsafe to continue? What if the tide changed? What about the cut-off time? Of all the competitors Penny & Brooke were the hardest done by. The organizers had a policy of one out, all out, so she too, was cooling her heels. In her case though, she was 9K past the cruise ship terminal & miles from the storm front & only 12 minutes of swimming from the finish. It would have been heartbreaking if the race was canned at this point.
Finally, the word came over race radio that we could resume the race from the points at which we were extracted. Thank god for that.
Penny won the race overall in a time of 8:36 (7:46 after deducting the time out). She was 10 minutes ahead of 2nd place, Rendy Opdycke (overall winner in 2006). For us middle of the pack swimmers, I think we all adopted the same approach! Cold, tired & stiff we were all going as hard as we could with two things driving us, tide change & cut-off. It wasn’t until I was about 2K from the finish that I knew I would get to receive my Finisher’s Medal.
Of the 25 starters, 19 swimmers finished. I was 16th with a time of 10:03 (8:56 after deducting time out).
MIMS is a fantastic event & right up there with the biggest & best marathon swims in the world. And it is great to have an annual race like this, in our world, where insurance & liability issues dictate whether an event will even get off the ground. I only wish there were more events like MIMS.
The organizers, volunteers, boaties & paddlers were absolutely first class. And our handlers, Brooke & Rodolfo, you were awesome! Considering I was sick as a dog at the presentation (drinking too much river water perhaps?), I have to say I did make quite a quotable comment. At the race briefing the organizers asked all the swimmers to tell the crowd about their background. 24 hours later, at the presentation, I recalled yesterday I could call myself a long distance swimmer. Tonight, crook though I may be, I can call myself a marathon swimmer. Thanks to MIMS organizers (and race organizers everywhere) for helping us to live our dreams.
By Chris Palfrey.
References :
www.nycswim.org
www.oceanswims.com
www.rottnestchannelswim.com.au
www.freotorottobigsplash.com.au
www.cookstraitswim.org
www.acneg.com
English Channel Swims 2006 & 2007
Penny’s English Channel Challenge
Penny Palfrey’s 2006 English Channel assault consisted of twelve months of hard training, including countless kilometers in the pool through the heat of the tropical North Queensland summer and many several hour, open water sessions in the jellyfish proof enclosure on Townsville’s Strand. Further build up swims consisted of :
· A solo crossing of the notorious Cook Strait, between the north and south islands of New Zealand. At 43, Penny became the oldest female to complete the crossing.
· A crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, between Spain and Morocco. Penny became the first Australian woman to do so.
· A podium finish in the annual Rottnest Channel solo swim, in Perth.
In actual fact though, the seed for her channel attempt was planted three decades earlier. Penny was born and raised in England and represented her country as a teenager in the pool. She also competed in and won, a couple of short open water swims. And whilst she entertained thoughts of tackling the English channel, the cost was prohibitive to her family.
After a fifteen year break from swimming, during which time she migrated to Australia and had three children, she decided she needed an interest away from the home, and wanted to get fit again. The pool beckoned and after a little training she entered a local open water swim, which she won comfortably. She spoke to a local coach about increasing her training and seeing what she could do in open water. After some solid work, she qualified for a berth in the 1993 Australian 25k open water team alongside Shelley Taylor-Smith and Melissa Cunningham. Following that, a combination of family commitments and injury dictated that another break from the sport was required.
Penny, together with husband Chris, got back into the open water in 2000, albeit at a slightly less competitive level, due to time constraints imposed by family and business. We run an accounting practice, and workloads after the 30th June year end, are hectic, to put it mildly. After eight years in business, and with things on that front under control, a channel swim was a possibility. The children were also in their mid to late teens and a bit less hands on. So after many discussions over a couple of years, Chris said, “just do it”. Penny didn’t need to be told twice and put the wheels in motion.
Penny booked her attempt with the Channel Swimming Association (CSA), and then after some investigation on the internet, found that there were two organizations one can go through, to mount a channel attempt. The CSA and a break away group, the Channel Swimmers and Pilots Federation (CS&PF).
From the other side of the world we have received a lot of support from both organizations. In Perth, in early 2006, we were lucky enough to meet the legendary Alison Streeter MBE (43 EC crossings). Alison was incredibly modest, friendly and down to earth. Even though she is involved with the CS&PF, and she knew Penny had already booked her attempt with the CSA, she gave lots of good advice, and invited Penny to join the Channel Swimmers Group, an internet chat site run by the CS&PF. There were daily emails from past, present and potential channel swimmers, about all manner of topics. This was great for us, as, being in an isolated area in Australia, it is hard to get information at the best of times. The information and gossip helped ensure that Penny never felt alone through all the long, lonely training hours. Penny only asked a few questions from the chat group, but the responses were fantastic. We also found the CSA to be very helpful with various aspects of organizing the attempt.
Penny was also able to get in touch with her swim coach from thirty years ago. Mike Higgs (coach of several British Olympic medalists) was still working with a squad at Southend pool, and was thrilled to be asked to help with the coaching responsibilities. Whilst Mike was very busy with his day job, he didn’t hesitate to take time out to help his old charge. And upon hearing of Penny’s attempt, Martin Swindon of the Gourmet Pub Group, offered accommodation and meals at the Lighthouse Hotel. We also received some excellent swimwear and apparel from “Vici”, courtesy of Les Mole in Brisbane. Penny used the Vici gear in training and for the channel swim. The Vici gear must be good, as believe me, Penny is fussy when it comes to swimwear and goggles. Carolyn Asher, a good swimming friend, agreed to accompany Penny as a handler, and together they flew from Townsville to Heathrow on August 22nd. Thirty six hours later, and very jet lagged, they arrived in Dover.
Accomodation was booked at the Varne Ridge Holiday Park, atop the cliffs, halfway between Dover and Folkestone. The owners, David and Evelyn, specialize in looking after channel swimming hopefuls, and were extremely helpful to Penny. They emailed her dozens of times in the months leading up to the swim, telling her about everything from the weather and water temperature, even down to some of the channel gossip. They even make their own channel grease which they offered to Penny. This grease was far better than the woolfat we had been using. And how good is this. For any successful swimmer, they raise the flag of that country for the day, and have a plaque made to attach to the “wall of honour”. We certainly couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
The day after arriving, Penny met her pilot for the swim, Andy King. Andy was another person who couldn’t do enough to help Penny. He did not have a number two swimmer for that set of tides, so he offered to take her out for a practice swim. Andy is a big, tough, old salt, who has been escorting channel swimmers for years. We found him excellent to deal with and easy to keep in touch with via email.
Penny’s set of tides, the neaps between 30th August and 6th September, were a few days away, so she settled into training. Dover harbour in the mornings and Folkestone (with a lonely bottlenose dolphin for company) in the afternoons. The water temperature was very cool, at 17 degrees C (63 degrees F).
A number of other swimmers were staying at Varne Ridge at the same time as Penny. Erica and Bruckner from the USA, Jen from Canada, Danny from Ireland, and Sue Oldham, Selwyn Jellie and Deiter Loeliger from WA, to name a few. There was great camaraderie, and lots of comparing notes on training, diet, sports drinks, favourite swims, etc.
Penny got the call to go from Andy King at 7.30pm on 28th August. Whilst it was the day before her tides were due to start, and the forecast was not great, the weather outlook was terrible for quite a few days hence. Andy was concerned that the entire set of tides may be blown out. One thing we learned from the great Philip Rush, in our Cook Strait crossing, was if you have a chance to go, you take it. If you don’t, chances are you may miss out altogether. So after getting all the drinks organized, and checking and rechecking the swim and spares kit, Penny and Carolyn turned in at 9.00pm.
Four hours later, they were up and getting ready for the swim, eating a bowl of porridge, hot chocolate and coffee, before meeting Mike and driving to Folkestone. The boat crew, swim crew, and CSA observer, Ann, slipped out of the harbour at around 3.00am.
Channel swimming rules state that the swim must start from dry land of a natural shore. Andy chose a beach next to Samphire Hoe, between Dover and Folkestone. With the vessel “Sea King” as close to shore as was safe, Penny swam to shore in the darkness, guided by spotlight from the boat. She waved her arms above her head to signal the boat, and was off. At 3.43am, when she started, there was a steady breeze, it was pitch dark and bloody freezing. The only good thing was that it was warmer in the water than out.
Early in her preparation, Penny did some research to break the channel up into sections. From the English coast to the South West shipping lane is about 10 klm. Penny hoped to reach this point by sunrise, and figured that this would be the hardest part of the swim due to the cold and lack of orientation.
From that point, there was another 9 klm across the SW shipping lane and through the separation zone. Then another 10 klm across the North East shipping lane. And finally about 5 klm across the French inshore traffic zone to Cap Gris Nez (pronounced “Cap Grin Nay”, the closest point on the French mainland). The idea of breaking the swim up like this, was to make the distance easier to deal with mentally, and to give herself goals to tick off as she went along.
The weather throughout the crossing was very ordinary. On the night/day of Penny’s swim, there were eight boats and swimmers waiting for their attempt. Only two other boats ventured out. There was a cross wind of around Force 4 on the Beaufort Scale (10 to 15 knots) which gradually increased to Force 6 by the end of the crossing. The swell was initially around 1 metre increasing to 1 ½ metres closer to France. For the first two hours and last two hours of the swim, close to each coast, the sea was very choppy and confused, probably due to the combined effect of the wind and tidal movement near the coast line.
The plan was to swim hard all the way. Penny figured that going out at a steady pace would increase the risk of hypothermia. But equally, because the channel meant so much to her, she wanted to give herself every chance of having a good swim.
Penny normally has a high stroke rating. For the first two hours she maintained 80 a minute. This fell to 77 for the next three hours, and then to 76 for one hour. But then as the French coast came into view, she picked up the rating to 80 for just under two hours and finished at between 75 to 77 into the beach. Mike didn’t tell her this at the time, but his plan was to have Penny maintain a rating of 80 for the entire crossing. This was quite difficult in the choppy conditions, and Penny recalls thinking that she wished his arm would fall off, as he hardly stopped giving her the wind up for seven straight hours. Penny remarked at one stage that Mike reminded her of the Queen, he was waving his arms so much.
The time seemed to go fairly quickly. Mike and Carolyn were kept busy with relaying information on the white board and preparing the half hourly warm carbohydrate and electrolyte drinks. Meanwhile, Andy, Ann (the CSA observer) and the crew, were fantastic and never took their eyes off Penny for a moment. Andy showed great skill with the boat positioning. The Sea King was on Penny’s right the whole way, and he kept the boat so that Mike and Penny were eyeball to eyeball throughout. On the odd occasion when Penny moved up to eyeball Andy in the wheelhouse, she noticed that he looked very serious, almost concerned. So she did the only thing she could think of, and poked her tongue out. This brought a smile to the big guy’s face. The tongue poking and smile happened another half a dozen times on the trip across. And after the finish, when the tender returned Penny to the Sea King, everyone else on the boat gave her a rousing cheer, except Andy. What did Andy do? Well he poked his tongue out, of course…and got a big, cold greasy hug, in return.
And then there were the constant interruptions from the mobile phone going off. Back in the office in Townsville, the staff remarked that I was behaving like an expectant father, pacing up and down the office and on the phone every five minutes.
The notorious tides close to France, had their effect on the crossing. At the 7 and ¼ hour mark, she was less than 6 klm from Cap Gris Nez. And from her position in the water it seemed so close she felt she could almost touch it. At this point she picked up the pace to what felt like a sprint (not knowing that she would be swimming for a further two hours). As it turned out, she would not have been able to land at the Cape because it was too rough. The wind, waves and a four knot current, pushed her several kilometers south to the tiny town of Pte du Nid de Corbet (pronounced…No Idea…that’s what it says on the chart!).
She climbed out onto the beach with very wobbly legs, just before 1.00pm after 9 hours and 16 minutes of swimming. But it seems she still had a bit in reserve. Mike Higgs reported that when she returned to the boat, her mouth was working faster than her arms were during the swim. Penny wasn’t either sore or cold after the swim (the effort and her stroke rate helped maintain her core temperature) although she could have done without a rough 3 and a ½ hour boat ride back to Folkestone.
Despite the conditions, Penny’s time places her as the fourth fastest Australian woman ever to swim the channel, and the fastest ever Queenslander (of either gender). Penny also won three awards from the CSA in 2006 for her crossing : fastest time of the year for a female, and courtesy of her joint citizenship, the fastest time for 2006 by a british person, male or female.
What’s next in open water swimming for the Townsville Palfreys. Well Penny is dying to find out what time she could do if she had good conditions, so she has already booked an attempt for August 2007 (too bad you can’t book the weather as well as the set of tides).
In the meantime, being open water swimming nut cases, we are already starting to do the base work for our favourite event on the Australian calendar, the annual Rottnest Channel Swim. We’ll see you on the beach or round the turning cans.
By Chris Palfrey
September, 2006.
Foot note : Penny did go back in 2007. despite suffering from the flu in the two weeks leading up to her crossing, she recorded a time of 9:07. this earned her four awards from the CSA in 2007, including their major annual award, the CSA gold medal for fastest crossing of the year. Only two other Aussies have won this award since it was introduced in 1927. they are Susie Maroney and Tammy Van Wisse. No Australian male has ever taken this honour.
Penny Palfrey’s 2006 English Channel assault consisted of twelve months of hard training, including countless kilometers in the pool through the heat of the tropical North Queensland summer and many several hour, open water sessions in the jellyfish proof enclosure on Townsville’s Strand. Further build up swims consisted of :
· A solo crossing of the notorious Cook Strait, between the north and south islands of New Zealand. At 43, Penny became the oldest female to complete the crossing.
· A crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, between Spain and Morocco. Penny became the first Australian woman to do so.
· A podium finish in the annual Rottnest Channel solo swim, in Perth.
In actual fact though, the seed for her channel attempt was planted three decades earlier. Penny was born and raised in England and represented her country as a teenager in the pool. She also competed in and won, a couple of short open water swims. And whilst she entertained thoughts of tackling the English channel, the cost was prohibitive to her family.
After a fifteen year break from swimming, during which time she migrated to Australia and had three children, she decided she needed an interest away from the home, and wanted to get fit again. The pool beckoned and after a little training she entered a local open water swim, which she won comfortably. She spoke to a local coach about increasing her training and seeing what she could do in open water. After some solid work, she qualified for a berth in the 1993 Australian 25k open water team alongside Shelley Taylor-Smith and Melissa Cunningham. Following that, a combination of family commitments and injury dictated that another break from the sport was required.
Penny, together with husband Chris, got back into the open water in 2000, albeit at a slightly less competitive level, due to time constraints imposed by family and business. We run an accounting practice, and workloads after the 30th June year end, are hectic, to put it mildly. After eight years in business, and with things on that front under control, a channel swim was a possibility. The children were also in their mid to late teens and a bit less hands on. So after many discussions over a couple of years, Chris said, “just do it”. Penny didn’t need to be told twice and put the wheels in motion.
Penny booked her attempt with the Channel Swimming Association (CSA), and then after some investigation on the internet, found that there were two organizations one can go through, to mount a channel attempt. The CSA and a break away group, the Channel Swimmers and Pilots Federation (CS&PF).
From the other side of the world we have received a lot of support from both organizations. In Perth, in early 2006, we were lucky enough to meet the legendary Alison Streeter MBE (43 EC crossings). Alison was incredibly modest, friendly and down to earth. Even though she is involved with the CS&PF, and she knew Penny had already booked her attempt with the CSA, she gave lots of good advice, and invited Penny to join the Channel Swimmers Group, an internet chat site run by the CS&PF. There were daily emails from past, present and potential channel swimmers, about all manner of topics. This was great for us, as, being in an isolated area in Australia, it is hard to get information at the best of times. The information and gossip helped ensure that Penny never felt alone through all the long, lonely training hours. Penny only asked a few questions from the chat group, but the responses were fantastic. We also found the CSA to be very helpful with various aspects of organizing the attempt.
Penny was also able to get in touch with her swim coach from thirty years ago. Mike Higgs (coach of several British Olympic medalists) was still working with a squad at Southend pool, and was thrilled to be asked to help with the coaching responsibilities. Whilst Mike was very busy with his day job, he didn’t hesitate to take time out to help his old charge. And upon hearing of Penny’s attempt, Martin Swindon of the Gourmet Pub Group, offered accommodation and meals at the Lighthouse Hotel. We also received some excellent swimwear and apparel from “Vici”, courtesy of Les Mole in Brisbane. Penny used the Vici gear in training and for the channel swim. The Vici gear must be good, as believe me, Penny is fussy when it comes to swimwear and goggles. Carolyn Asher, a good swimming friend, agreed to accompany Penny as a handler, and together they flew from Townsville to Heathrow on August 22nd. Thirty six hours later, and very jet lagged, they arrived in Dover.
Accomodation was booked at the Varne Ridge Holiday Park, atop the cliffs, halfway between Dover and Folkestone. The owners, David and Evelyn, specialize in looking after channel swimming hopefuls, and were extremely helpful to Penny. They emailed her dozens of times in the months leading up to the swim, telling her about everything from the weather and water temperature, even down to some of the channel gossip. They even make their own channel grease which they offered to Penny. This grease was far better than the woolfat we had been using. And how good is this. For any successful swimmer, they raise the flag of that country for the day, and have a plaque made to attach to the “wall of honour”. We certainly couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
The day after arriving, Penny met her pilot for the swim, Andy King. Andy was another person who couldn’t do enough to help Penny. He did not have a number two swimmer for that set of tides, so he offered to take her out for a practice swim. Andy is a big, tough, old salt, who has been escorting channel swimmers for years. We found him excellent to deal with and easy to keep in touch with via email.
Penny’s set of tides, the neaps between 30th August and 6th September, were a few days away, so she settled into training. Dover harbour in the mornings and Folkestone (with a lonely bottlenose dolphin for company) in the afternoons. The water temperature was very cool, at 17 degrees C (63 degrees F).
A number of other swimmers were staying at Varne Ridge at the same time as Penny. Erica and Bruckner from the USA, Jen from Canada, Danny from Ireland, and Sue Oldham, Selwyn Jellie and Deiter Loeliger from WA, to name a few. There was great camaraderie, and lots of comparing notes on training, diet, sports drinks, favourite swims, etc.
Penny got the call to go from Andy King at 7.30pm on 28th August. Whilst it was the day before her tides were due to start, and the forecast was not great, the weather outlook was terrible for quite a few days hence. Andy was concerned that the entire set of tides may be blown out. One thing we learned from the great Philip Rush, in our Cook Strait crossing, was if you have a chance to go, you take it. If you don’t, chances are you may miss out altogether. So after getting all the drinks organized, and checking and rechecking the swim and spares kit, Penny and Carolyn turned in at 9.00pm.
Four hours later, they were up and getting ready for the swim, eating a bowl of porridge, hot chocolate and coffee, before meeting Mike and driving to Folkestone. The boat crew, swim crew, and CSA observer, Ann, slipped out of the harbour at around 3.00am.
Channel swimming rules state that the swim must start from dry land of a natural shore. Andy chose a beach next to Samphire Hoe, between Dover and Folkestone. With the vessel “Sea King” as close to shore as was safe, Penny swam to shore in the darkness, guided by spotlight from the boat. She waved her arms above her head to signal the boat, and was off. At 3.43am, when she started, there was a steady breeze, it was pitch dark and bloody freezing. The only good thing was that it was warmer in the water than out.
Early in her preparation, Penny did some research to break the channel up into sections. From the English coast to the South West shipping lane is about 10 klm. Penny hoped to reach this point by sunrise, and figured that this would be the hardest part of the swim due to the cold and lack of orientation.
From that point, there was another 9 klm across the SW shipping lane and through the separation zone. Then another 10 klm across the North East shipping lane. And finally about 5 klm across the French inshore traffic zone to Cap Gris Nez (pronounced “Cap Grin Nay”, the closest point on the French mainland). The idea of breaking the swim up like this, was to make the distance easier to deal with mentally, and to give herself goals to tick off as she went along.
The weather throughout the crossing was very ordinary. On the night/day of Penny’s swim, there were eight boats and swimmers waiting for their attempt. Only two other boats ventured out. There was a cross wind of around Force 4 on the Beaufort Scale (10 to 15 knots) which gradually increased to Force 6 by the end of the crossing. The swell was initially around 1 metre increasing to 1 ½ metres closer to France. For the first two hours and last two hours of the swim, close to each coast, the sea was very choppy and confused, probably due to the combined effect of the wind and tidal movement near the coast line.
The plan was to swim hard all the way. Penny figured that going out at a steady pace would increase the risk of hypothermia. But equally, because the channel meant so much to her, she wanted to give herself every chance of having a good swim.
Penny normally has a high stroke rating. For the first two hours she maintained 80 a minute. This fell to 77 for the next three hours, and then to 76 for one hour. But then as the French coast came into view, she picked up the rating to 80 for just under two hours and finished at between 75 to 77 into the beach. Mike didn’t tell her this at the time, but his plan was to have Penny maintain a rating of 80 for the entire crossing. This was quite difficult in the choppy conditions, and Penny recalls thinking that she wished his arm would fall off, as he hardly stopped giving her the wind up for seven straight hours. Penny remarked at one stage that Mike reminded her of the Queen, he was waving his arms so much.
The time seemed to go fairly quickly. Mike and Carolyn were kept busy with relaying information on the white board and preparing the half hourly warm carbohydrate and electrolyte drinks. Meanwhile, Andy, Ann (the CSA observer) and the crew, were fantastic and never took their eyes off Penny for a moment. Andy showed great skill with the boat positioning. The Sea King was on Penny’s right the whole way, and he kept the boat so that Mike and Penny were eyeball to eyeball throughout. On the odd occasion when Penny moved up to eyeball Andy in the wheelhouse, she noticed that he looked very serious, almost concerned. So she did the only thing she could think of, and poked her tongue out. This brought a smile to the big guy’s face. The tongue poking and smile happened another half a dozen times on the trip across. And after the finish, when the tender returned Penny to the Sea King, everyone else on the boat gave her a rousing cheer, except Andy. What did Andy do? Well he poked his tongue out, of course…and got a big, cold greasy hug, in return.
And then there were the constant interruptions from the mobile phone going off. Back in the office in Townsville, the staff remarked that I was behaving like an expectant father, pacing up and down the office and on the phone every five minutes.
The notorious tides close to France, had their effect on the crossing. At the 7 and ¼ hour mark, she was less than 6 klm from Cap Gris Nez. And from her position in the water it seemed so close she felt she could almost touch it. At this point she picked up the pace to what felt like a sprint (not knowing that she would be swimming for a further two hours). As it turned out, she would not have been able to land at the Cape because it was too rough. The wind, waves and a four knot current, pushed her several kilometers south to the tiny town of Pte du Nid de Corbet (pronounced…No Idea…that’s what it says on the chart!).
She climbed out onto the beach with very wobbly legs, just before 1.00pm after 9 hours and 16 minutes of swimming. But it seems she still had a bit in reserve. Mike Higgs reported that when she returned to the boat, her mouth was working faster than her arms were during the swim. Penny wasn’t either sore or cold after the swim (the effort and her stroke rate helped maintain her core temperature) although she could have done without a rough 3 and a ½ hour boat ride back to Folkestone.
Despite the conditions, Penny’s time places her as the fourth fastest Australian woman ever to swim the channel, and the fastest ever Queenslander (of either gender). Penny also won three awards from the CSA in 2006 for her crossing : fastest time of the year for a female, and courtesy of her joint citizenship, the fastest time for 2006 by a british person, male or female.
What’s next in open water swimming for the Townsville Palfreys. Well Penny is dying to find out what time she could do if she had good conditions, so she has already booked an attempt for August 2007 (too bad you can’t book the weather as well as the set of tides).
In the meantime, being open water swimming nut cases, we are already starting to do the base work for our favourite event on the Australian calendar, the annual Rottnest Channel Swim. We’ll see you on the beach or round the turning cans.
By Chris Palfrey
September, 2006.
Foot note : Penny did go back in 2007. despite suffering from the flu in the two weeks leading up to her crossing, she recorded a time of 9:07. this earned her four awards from the CSA in 2007, including their major annual award, the CSA gold medal for fastest crossing of the year. Only two other Aussies have won this award since it was introduced in 1927. they are Susie Maroney and Tammy Van Wisse. No Australian male has ever taken this honour.
Gibraltar Strait Swim 2006
Thar she blows in the Strait of Gibraltar
We first heard about the Gibraltar swim through Stephen Junk’s article on the Oceanswims website. My wife Penny has booked an English channel attempt for the end of August, 2006, and this crossing sounded like a good training swim. And I am always open to the idea of a challenging swim to prove to myself that I’m not really getting older (?).
So we got in touch with the Gibraltar Strait Swimming Association. The president is a chap by the name of Rafael, who is based in Tarifa, a town of 16,500 people at the southern most point of Spain.
Stephen Junk, a regular Rottnest channel swimmer from Perth, kindly gave us a few pointers on the Gibraltar swim. And after some toing and froing with Rafael via email, we booked our crossing for a set of tides in early June, 2006, which fitted in best with our business commitments.
We have done a bit of traveling, but I don’t know how anyone can get used to spending 36 hours or more on airplanes. Stiff, sore, uncomfortable and jet lagged, we arrived in the Mediterranean port of Malaga on 31st May. We had booked a mid sized hire car and the plan was to drive the 165 klm to Tarifa so we had wheels for our stay. We went through the normal routine with the hire car people, and since I have driven once before in Portugal, I had a bit of an idea of how to drive a left hand drive car on the wrong side of the road (the opposite to what we have in Australia). So I thought it would be safe to decline to insure against the excess. But then when I saw our hire car, I had major second thoughts. We had been given an almost brand new black Mercedes. So taken aback was I (I had never even been in a merc, let alone driven one) that I sat in the passenger side of the car. I wasn’t the only dill. Penny hopped in behind the wheel, before we realized we had to change sides. Needles to say, it was a very cautious drive along the motorways to Tarifa.
Our first view of the Strait of Gibraltar gave us some confidence. There was almost no breeze and we could easily see across the strait to the Rif mountains of Morocco. It didn’t look too far at all.
After catching up on some much needed sleep, we went down to a local beach for the first of many training swims. We stayed 5 klm west of Tarifa, only 100 metres from a very nice beach. The neap tides, when it would be most suitable for the crossing, were between 4th to around the 8th June. This would give us three days to acclimatize and settle in. We were hoping to get the crossing done as soon as possible and then head over to Portugal to spend some time with Penny’s folks (Jo and Vic) who are retired and living in a lovely little seaside town in the Algarves.
Swimming along the beach was nice enough. The main thing we wanted to do was acclimatize to the colder water. We hail from the tropics of North Queensland where the ocean temperature varies between 29 degrees C in summer to no less than 20 degrees C in the depths of winter. Water temperature in the strait was meant to be around 18 C.
Visibility through the water was good and we could see quite a few fish swimming around. We even spotted a moray eel in amongst a shallow rocky outcrop. The water though was a bit cooler than expected, 16 C according to our trusty thermometer. The wind also picked up as we swam and was up to 20 knots by mid morning.
The body clocks of the Spanish are totally different to we Aussies. We do almost all of our training in the early morning, eat a hearty breakfast of fruit, cereal and yoghurt, and go to bed early, lest we turn into pumpkins. The Spanish on the other hand, are late risers, eat an ordinary breakfast (by our standards….juice, coffee, croissant with a slice of ham and cheese) and don’t even start to think about their evening meal until well after 8.00pm. We didn’t stay up late enough to find out when they turned in.
We met with Rafael on 1st June and he gave us an idea of what to expect on the crossing. Due to evaporation in the Mediterranean, there is a net inflow of water through the strait. The outgoing tide is fairly weak and the ingoing tide rushes in at over 5 klms per hour. The plan was to swim due south for the last part of the outgoing tide so as to be in the middle of the strait at the change. The incoming tide would then whisk us in a south east direction toward the Moroccan coast.
The weather however, looked like it was going to dictate our holidaying plans. A big high pressure system was establishing itself hundreds of kilometers north of us, to the south west of the UK. Rafael explained that it had the effect of channeling winds in a clockwise direction, from east to west, in the Mediterranean. Imagine the strait of Gibraltar as the narrowest part of an hourglass turned on its side. There are mountain ranges on each side of the strait and the winds seem to increase in intensity as they pass through the strait. We were told not to expect a swim until June 7th.
Since we now knew what we were doing, we relaxed a bit, did some shopping and some local sightseeing. Although we hardly spoke a word of Spanish, it was easy to find our way around. And although not many of the locals spoke good English, we communicated well enough. An exception was one morning at a local coffee shop when we ordered three white coffees and were presented with three pints of beer. One day, we caught the fast catamaran across to Tanger, a large coastal town in Morocco. It was a good opportunity to have a close look at the strait. It was also interesting to walk through the old Kasbah and do some shopping, although the novelty wore off by the end of the day, as we were constantly hassled by people trying to sell us all manner of things. On another day, we visited the tiny British principality of Gibraltar. If it wasn’t for the heat and the ships waiting to dock in the port of Algeciras, you would swear you were in a high street somewhere in Britain. The nicest places we saw, were the tiny seaside villages dotted along the Costa Del Sol.
June 7th arrived and the wind had been howling unabated for a week. We were starting to get nervous and were in daily contact with Rafael. Not only was our tide set running out, but we were flying back to Australia on the 12th.
The wind finally abated on the afternoon of June 9th, and we got the word to go for the morning of the10th. We had missed our tides but the important thing was getting our swim done. We were due to start at 8.30am, and the plan was to swim together for most of the crossing. Penny is a lot faster than I, so she was going to go fairly easy, whilst I would treat the crossing as a race. Things were a bit disorganized at the start. We normally have a routine with feedings and information that we like having relayed to us, but whilst the boat crew were great, communication was not, so we opted to go with the flow. As well as the main boat, there was meant to be an inflatable guiding us across. At 8.15am, one of the crew drove down to the dock. He was in a neck brace and not in a fit state to sit in the zodiac. So Rafael sent him off to get a replacement crew. The decision was made to start the swim regardless, and the inflatable would meet us out in the strait.
We finally hit the water next to Tarifa lighthouse, at 9.05am wondering whether anything else would go wrong. The answer came almost straight away. For the first 10 minutes, we made almost no progress at all, except sideways, due to the current. I remember thinking that this could end up being a long day. But then, the effects of the tide must have slackened and we could see Spain slowly fading in the haze. We were fairly lucky with the conditions, apart from the tides. We started the swim in calm conditions. From about half way, an easterly breeze slowly picked up to 15 knots at the finish. Visibility through the water was around 6 metres. The water was very cool. About 18 degrees C at the start, dropping to around 16 degrees C as we neared Morocco. We didn’t feel the effects of the tide which overall, pushed us from west to east. The skipper takes this into account for you. There were, however, two patches of water with a nasty slop (similar to swimming through the wake of a power boat), which lasted for 10 minutes or so, both on the Spanish and Moroccan sides of the strait. These were current induced and a bit annoying, but they didn’t last for long. Whilst the strait is the second busiest shipping channel in the world (after the EC), traffic was not a problem for us. We only saw 3 freighters on the way across, plus the Tanger fast ferry, which came by for a close look.
Our times were slower than what we were expecting. Penny left me about 4 klm from the Moroccan coast and finished in 4 hours 31 minutes (had she had not waited for me, she would have been a good 20 minutes faster). I finished in 4 hours 43 minutes. Based on recent form, we would have each expected to swim about 45 minutes quicker than this. We can only put that down to the effect of the tides, as conditions apart from that were very good.
All things considered, we enjoyed the crossing and our sojourn in southern Spain.
Getting used to the Spanish way of doing things, took a bit of adjusting to. The swim was a little less organized than what we would have liked, but in fairness to Rafael and his team, they were very helpful, and everything fell into place in the end. And since the weather and communication worked against us, we just had to lower our expectations, and just be satisfied with a successful crossing.
We would certainly recommend the Strait of Gibraltar as a good crossing to add to your resume. There are not too many swims where you can go from one continent to another (ie from Europe to Africa), and also transverse two of the worlds major waterways (Atlantic on one side and Mediterranean on the other).
The swim is not too difficult provided that you have a reasonable training base. By way of comparison, the Rottnest Channel solo swim in Perth, would definitely be a harder swim. The cost of the swim was also quite reasonable. We paid 1,800 euros for the crossing for both of us. This included the main boat, the inflatable (which did eventually find us in the strait), and all organizing and permissions from the two maritime authorities. We also received a certificate and a chart plotting our crossing.
And finally, some statistics on our swims. The times are as above. Penny is the first Australian woman to swim the Strait of Gibraltar. And I am the fifth Aussie male to do it. Including our crossings, 125 people have made 139 successful crossings. And you can see by the website www.acneg.com that the number of crossings is increasing all the time. We are also the first married couple to ever complete this crossing.
Chris Palfrey
chris@austaxtsv.com.au
We first heard about the Gibraltar swim through Stephen Junk’s article on the Oceanswims website. My wife Penny has booked an English channel attempt for the end of August, 2006, and this crossing sounded like a good training swim. And I am always open to the idea of a challenging swim to prove to myself that I’m not really getting older (?).
So we got in touch with the Gibraltar Strait Swimming Association. The president is a chap by the name of Rafael, who is based in Tarifa, a town of 16,500 people at the southern most point of Spain.
Stephen Junk, a regular Rottnest channel swimmer from Perth, kindly gave us a few pointers on the Gibraltar swim. And after some toing and froing with Rafael via email, we booked our crossing for a set of tides in early June, 2006, which fitted in best with our business commitments.
We have done a bit of traveling, but I don’t know how anyone can get used to spending 36 hours or more on airplanes. Stiff, sore, uncomfortable and jet lagged, we arrived in the Mediterranean port of Malaga on 31st May. We had booked a mid sized hire car and the plan was to drive the 165 klm to Tarifa so we had wheels for our stay. We went through the normal routine with the hire car people, and since I have driven once before in Portugal, I had a bit of an idea of how to drive a left hand drive car on the wrong side of the road (the opposite to what we have in Australia). So I thought it would be safe to decline to insure against the excess. But then when I saw our hire car, I had major second thoughts. We had been given an almost brand new black Mercedes. So taken aback was I (I had never even been in a merc, let alone driven one) that I sat in the passenger side of the car. I wasn’t the only dill. Penny hopped in behind the wheel, before we realized we had to change sides. Needles to say, it was a very cautious drive along the motorways to Tarifa.
Our first view of the Strait of Gibraltar gave us some confidence. There was almost no breeze and we could easily see across the strait to the Rif mountains of Morocco. It didn’t look too far at all.
After catching up on some much needed sleep, we went down to a local beach for the first of many training swims. We stayed 5 klm west of Tarifa, only 100 metres from a very nice beach. The neap tides, when it would be most suitable for the crossing, were between 4th to around the 8th June. This would give us three days to acclimatize and settle in. We were hoping to get the crossing done as soon as possible and then head over to Portugal to spend some time with Penny’s folks (Jo and Vic) who are retired and living in a lovely little seaside town in the Algarves.
Swimming along the beach was nice enough. The main thing we wanted to do was acclimatize to the colder water. We hail from the tropics of North Queensland where the ocean temperature varies between 29 degrees C in summer to no less than 20 degrees C in the depths of winter. Water temperature in the strait was meant to be around 18 C.
Visibility through the water was good and we could see quite a few fish swimming around. We even spotted a moray eel in amongst a shallow rocky outcrop. The water though was a bit cooler than expected, 16 C according to our trusty thermometer. The wind also picked up as we swam and was up to 20 knots by mid morning.
The body clocks of the Spanish are totally different to we Aussies. We do almost all of our training in the early morning, eat a hearty breakfast of fruit, cereal and yoghurt, and go to bed early, lest we turn into pumpkins. The Spanish on the other hand, are late risers, eat an ordinary breakfast (by our standards….juice, coffee, croissant with a slice of ham and cheese) and don’t even start to think about their evening meal until well after 8.00pm. We didn’t stay up late enough to find out when they turned in.
We met with Rafael on 1st June and he gave us an idea of what to expect on the crossing. Due to evaporation in the Mediterranean, there is a net inflow of water through the strait. The outgoing tide is fairly weak and the ingoing tide rushes in at over 5 klms per hour. The plan was to swim due south for the last part of the outgoing tide so as to be in the middle of the strait at the change. The incoming tide would then whisk us in a south east direction toward the Moroccan coast.
The weather however, looked like it was going to dictate our holidaying plans. A big high pressure system was establishing itself hundreds of kilometers north of us, to the south west of the UK. Rafael explained that it had the effect of channeling winds in a clockwise direction, from east to west, in the Mediterranean. Imagine the strait of Gibraltar as the narrowest part of an hourglass turned on its side. There are mountain ranges on each side of the strait and the winds seem to increase in intensity as they pass through the strait. We were told not to expect a swim until June 7th.
Since we now knew what we were doing, we relaxed a bit, did some shopping and some local sightseeing. Although we hardly spoke a word of Spanish, it was easy to find our way around. And although not many of the locals spoke good English, we communicated well enough. An exception was one morning at a local coffee shop when we ordered three white coffees and were presented with three pints of beer. One day, we caught the fast catamaran across to Tanger, a large coastal town in Morocco. It was a good opportunity to have a close look at the strait. It was also interesting to walk through the old Kasbah and do some shopping, although the novelty wore off by the end of the day, as we were constantly hassled by people trying to sell us all manner of things. On another day, we visited the tiny British principality of Gibraltar. If it wasn’t for the heat and the ships waiting to dock in the port of Algeciras, you would swear you were in a high street somewhere in Britain. The nicest places we saw, were the tiny seaside villages dotted along the Costa Del Sol.
June 7th arrived and the wind had been howling unabated for a week. We were starting to get nervous and were in daily contact with Rafael. Not only was our tide set running out, but we were flying back to Australia on the 12th.
The wind finally abated on the afternoon of June 9th, and we got the word to go for the morning of the10th. We had missed our tides but the important thing was getting our swim done. We were due to start at 8.30am, and the plan was to swim together for most of the crossing. Penny is a lot faster than I, so she was going to go fairly easy, whilst I would treat the crossing as a race. Things were a bit disorganized at the start. We normally have a routine with feedings and information that we like having relayed to us, but whilst the boat crew were great, communication was not, so we opted to go with the flow. As well as the main boat, there was meant to be an inflatable guiding us across. At 8.15am, one of the crew drove down to the dock. He was in a neck brace and not in a fit state to sit in the zodiac. So Rafael sent him off to get a replacement crew. The decision was made to start the swim regardless, and the inflatable would meet us out in the strait.
We finally hit the water next to Tarifa lighthouse, at 9.05am wondering whether anything else would go wrong. The answer came almost straight away. For the first 10 minutes, we made almost no progress at all, except sideways, due to the current. I remember thinking that this could end up being a long day. But then, the effects of the tide must have slackened and we could see Spain slowly fading in the haze. We were fairly lucky with the conditions, apart from the tides. We started the swim in calm conditions. From about half way, an easterly breeze slowly picked up to 15 knots at the finish. Visibility through the water was around 6 metres. The water was very cool. About 18 degrees C at the start, dropping to around 16 degrees C as we neared Morocco. We didn’t feel the effects of the tide which overall, pushed us from west to east. The skipper takes this into account for you. There were, however, two patches of water with a nasty slop (similar to swimming through the wake of a power boat), which lasted for 10 minutes or so, both on the Spanish and Moroccan sides of the strait. These were current induced and a bit annoying, but they didn’t last for long. Whilst the strait is the second busiest shipping channel in the world (after the EC), traffic was not a problem for us. We only saw 3 freighters on the way across, plus the Tanger fast ferry, which came by for a close look.
Our times were slower than what we were expecting. Penny left me about 4 klm from the Moroccan coast and finished in 4 hours 31 minutes (had she had not waited for me, she would have been a good 20 minutes faster). I finished in 4 hours 43 minutes. Based on recent form, we would have each expected to swim about 45 minutes quicker than this. We can only put that down to the effect of the tides, as conditions apart from that were very good.
All things considered, we enjoyed the crossing and our sojourn in southern Spain.
Getting used to the Spanish way of doing things, took a bit of adjusting to. The swim was a little less organized than what we would have liked, but in fairness to Rafael and his team, they were very helpful, and everything fell into place in the end. And since the weather and communication worked against us, we just had to lower our expectations, and just be satisfied with a successful crossing.
We would certainly recommend the Strait of Gibraltar as a good crossing to add to your resume. There are not too many swims where you can go from one continent to another (ie from Europe to Africa), and also transverse two of the worlds major waterways (Atlantic on one side and Mediterranean on the other).
The swim is not too difficult provided that you have a reasonable training base. By way of comparison, the Rottnest Channel solo swim in Perth, would definitely be a harder swim. The cost of the swim was also quite reasonable. We paid 1,800 euros for the crossing for both of us. This included the main boat, the inflatable (which did eventually find us in the strait), and all organizing and permissions from the two maritime authorities. We also received a certificate and a chart plotting our crossing.
And finally, some statistics on our swims. The times are as above. Penny is the first Australian woman to swim the Strait of Gibraltar. And I am the fifth Aussie male to do it. Including our crossings, 125 people have made 139 successful crossings. And you can see by the website www.acneg.com that the number of crossings is increasing all the time. We are also the first married couple to ever complete this crossing.
Chris Palfrey
chris@austaxtsv.com.au
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