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OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim "Race report update>>"
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monty
Jun 10, 12 10:15
Post #26 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [adventureboy]
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So Pablo and i just got back from a 25 minute swim here, just to test out his shave. I told him to do about 1;25 pace, but when we finished i had to break it to him that was 1;15 or better pace. I was gassing and he looked like he had just done a brisk walk, shave and taper in tact. I did run into a couple tiny little jellies, and now i'm starting to welt up a bit. They are pesky little devils, you cannot really see them, and it is just a hit and run kind of sting. I sure hope the new gel is up to the task, otherwise it will become miserable.
It was funny this morning as paul was handing me a watch from one of our sponsors. He told me it did not have a stopwatch like my ironman watch, and i said no problem, we are timing this race with a calendar, not a stopwatch!!
monty
Jun 10, 12 13:23
Post #27 of 49
(2283 views)
Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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All right all you OWS fans, i will be going dark now for the next few days, you can keep up with us on paul's site in my 1st post here.
Adios Amigos
CruseVegas
Jun 10, 12 23:45
Post #28 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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Good luck and have fun!!
************************
"Look, will you guys at leats accept that you are a bunch of dumb asses and just trust me on this one? Please?" BarryP 7/30/2012
mrs.monty
Jun 11, 12 11:46
Post #29 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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Hi all,
It's Mrs. Monty here with an update on the Sea of Cortez swim. Mark had a brief window of cell phone service so he called me with details and asked me to post an update. You can also follow the swim at
http://www.solocortez.com
.
The swim got off to a great start this morning at 7 AM Pacific time. Water temps were a little colder than expected at 71 degrees. After 1.5 hours, Paul hit warmer water and the temps have stayed at 76 degrees since that time. With the warm water came some jellyfish, but the cream that Paul is using seems to be working and he hasn't been stung. Also the crew spotted a 4ft. hammerhead shark. They used the electronic shark shield (on the kayak) that is supposed to keep sharks 10 meters away. It seems to be doing the trick! Also they have seen a large sea lion and a manta ray. Paul is doing great, stroke rate about 62. He's well hydrated and using UCAN for nutrition. He is accompanied by kayakers (Mark was first on kayak duty today) and occasional swimming buddies from the crew.
I will post again with updates from Mark if he's able to call again.
Until then, GO PAUL!!
Khai
Jun 11, 12 14:19
Post #30 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [mrs.monty]
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mrs.monty wrote:
Also the crew spotted a 4ft. hammerhead shark. They used the electronic shark shield (on the kayak) that is supposed to keep sharks 10 meters away. It seems to be doing the trick!
I guess that's the new & improved version of
this stuff
?
<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?
mrs.monty
Jun 11, 12 15:28
Post #31 of 49
(1900 views)
Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure thread [monty]
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Mrs. Monty again with the next update...
Conditions are rough - Paul is swimming into a current and the winds have picked up. Monty says "If this were a triathlon, the swim would have been cancelled." They are hoping that things will smooth out as the sun starts to set.
On the bright side, sun is out and Paul's spirits are high. They have seen lots of great fish including swordfish and sailfish. The crew wishes they had some fishing gear. :)
That's all for now, I will check back in as I get updates.
mrs.monty
Jun 11, 12 16:03
Post #32 of 49
(1878 views)
Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Khai]
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HA!
adventureboy
Jun 11, 12 17:35
Post #33 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [mrs.monty]
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On our side, in Guaymas today, the winds have died down to Zero! Super flat ocean water this afternoon. Its like a calm mountain lake out there right now.
Hope he's getting some of this closer to Baja
_________________________________________________________________________
This is ten percent LUCK, twenty percent SKILL
Fifteen percent concentrated POWER OF WILL
Five percent PLEASURE, fifty percent PAIN
And a hundred percent reason to be IN THIS GAME!
Skoalz
Jun 12, 12 8:37
Post #34 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [adventureboy]
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I just read that they pulled Pablo from the water at 24hrs with the conditions worsening this morning. Sorry to hear it.
Let's hear it for a guy who is willing to truly go for it, to truly live. His attempt was amazing, courageous, and most importantly passionate.
Way to go Paul!!!
I have deceptive speed.........I'm slower than I look!
Redog
Jun 12, 12 8:48
Post #35 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Skoalz]
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truly amazing. I am sure his wife chris will be happy to just have him come back in one piece and alive.
Trexlera
Jun 12, 12 11:24
Post #36 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Skoalz]
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This was an awesome, inspiring attempt. Grateful to have heard about it.
texafornia
Jun 12, 12 11:58
Post #37 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [trexleradam]
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Yeah, this was pretty awesome to watch on the map and such. I bet he does it someday.
----------------------------------------------------------
Zen and the Art of Triathlon
http://www.zentriathlon.com
Khai
Jun 12, 12 13:48
Post #38 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Skoalz]
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Bummer to hear about the aborted mission, but glad to hear that he's safe & sound.
LOVE the fact that he went for it in the first place, and gave it one hell of a shot!
<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?
adventureboy
Jun 12, 12 17:44
Post #39 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Khai]
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Is he still going? Their website doesn't say anything about pulling out on the updates...
______________________________________________________________________________
This is ten percent LUCK, twenty percent SKILL
Fifteen percent concentrated POWER OF WILL
Five percent PLEASURE, fifty percent PAIN
And a hundred percent reason to be IN THIS GAME!
monty
Jun 13, 12 6:13
Post #40 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [adventureboy]
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Well folks, we are back in Loreto and have a new appreciation for what a day is, or can be. It was a long and winding road to finally get to that little beach in Punta Chivato where we met with all the locals and the mayor there. Paddling in i could see that the race could have been over before it started, as the entire sea floor was covered in stingrays. So many that the bottom looked contoured, and when you stepped the sea floor moved in unison. Lucky for us we caught that early, and only one crew member hit one, but got his foot out of there before a bad sting.
We started at 7;15 CA time and everything looked pretty good. Just a tiny big of wind, but the water was pretty cold for this long a swim(71 degrees). But after a couple hours we crossed into about 76 degree water, and pablo felt great. Only issue was almost to the second we hit warm water, we hit the jellies. The special repelling mixture seemed to be doing its job though, so no worries there at the moment. The big thing was that when we got out into the deeper waters, we hit a 2 knot southerly side current that was really pulling us.
After a couple hours of that, tide must have changed and it was neutral again, but now the wind had picked up to about 15 knots, and right in our face.When i got the 1st distance check at about 4 hours, i was in shock, only a little over 5 miles. Paul was swimming his normal pace, which is about 2 1/4 miles per hour, but GPS distance was way below that. I knew then that unless things changed for the better, it was going to be a very long two days.
Later in the day we have some pretty good conditions and he was doing 1.75k per hour, but still below what his actual effort was. Since we were going by English channel rules, after the 1st 3 hours, we could put in a support swimmer for an hour at a time every 3 hours, so the crew began lining up to jump in and do some swimming. But almost as soon as anyone would jump in, the jellies were attacking. Not really bad stings, but annoying little niggles that left a little blister. But since Pablo was covered from head to toe in the goop, he was immune.
As sunset approached the wind layed down, and we were treated to one of the most rocking light shows that the baja has to offer. Pablo switched to the other side of the big boat just so he would watch it out the back of his stroke. During that 1st 8 hours we say 2 hammerheads, several marlin, dorado, a sea lion, several pods of dolphins, and huge jumping manta rays. This sea is just chocked full of life, and at a swimmers pace you get to see every bit of it, pretty cool.
The night swimming had a few dark spots, not just outside but in Pablos mind. He repeatedly began to swim in front run into the boat, as the swell got choppy again, and we were swimming right into a head current. When saftey is an issue, you can put in a swimmer for a longer period, and one of the crew got in and swam for 6 hours with Pablo. Joe was an animal too, getting stung the entire time, but just waving it off as nothing. This is the guy that just tried the san fran to the farallon islands about a month ago in 47 degree water. He made it 6 1/2 hours in that swim, no wetsuit of course, and they had to literally pull him on the boat like a dead seal. His body was completely wrecked and had turned into one giant frozen muscle. So this little swim for him was a treat, he was actually hot.
We were plodding through the night, all the time just getting a little over a mile an hour, and there was one hour where we only did less than 300 yards. I could see the writing on the wall, but of course we never told Pablo about any of this. I figured before the swim that at 24 hours we could be at 60 miles with just a neutral or little side/tail wind and currents, and 50 at the least, even with a little trouble in our faces. We were not going to get close to any of those numbers.
Pablo got his 2nd wind sometime during the nite, and started to knock out a nice strong stroke, the escort swimmers said it felt like 1;30 pace or so. But once again I'm looking at actual distance covered, and we had to be bucking a head current once again. He swam through sunrise, and for 30 minutes it was glassy and nice, but then the dreaded north wind began blowing 10 to 20 knots. With that wind came about 3ft seas too, and progress was really slowed once again.
At this point Pablo was doing good for this amount of time, but signs were there that he was reverting to more of a survival stroke. Still at 65 strokes per minute, but shallow pulls with his legs completely out of the equation. At 23 hours i made the decision that we were not going to make it across at this pace, under those conditions. So at 24 hours the entire crew jumped in to celebrate that milestone, and i had to give him the bad news. At first he just ignored me and said why? You have to understand here that it was my job to make that decision, and he was smart enough before to give me that power. The thing with the OW channel swimmers is that they will never quit, and like my dogs, they will run themselves to death. So now knowing that there is no finish line for us on the other side, I decided not to jut let Pablo swim until he nears death. He certainly had many more hours in him, but at the 24 hour point they get very risky, and without the reward of the crossing hanging out there, i was not willing to sacrafice his health or life just to see how many hours he could swim.
After some hugs and talks individually with the other crew members, he grudgingly got out of the water. It is amazing to see how spent folks are once on land, yet they could just keep going if left to the water. He had some coke and went to bed after we scraped his jelly goo off him.
As far as i'm concerned, the swim had some success, even though we did not get across. To swim 24 hours straight in that hostile ocean was nothing short of impressive. He was ready to make that crossing, mentally and physically, but mother nature had something else in store for us. We are just about to have our morning coffee here, and i think pablo has accepted that i did the right thing, and we are good friends again. I know his wife and two little twin boys are not 2nd guessing me, as her last words to me were i better bring her husband and father home in one piece, and not in a body bag. These swims are really big things, harder than everest i would say, as most end up just like ours did. These people are trying things that no one has ever done, and they challenge their spirits and souls.
Right now i can hear Arnold's terminator voice running through my head, "I'll be back!"(Austrian accent of course)
Thanks again for all the support you folks gave to Pablo and this swim, it makes a world of difference for these people that test the limits. Even though it would have broken the solo world record if completed, Pablo says that nothing about this swim was solo..
Monty
texafornia
Jun 13, 12 6:46
Post #41 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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Thanks for the update! The details make it easier to understand why you pulled him out. I wonder if there's a way to study the currents so you know what to expect. Maybe on the other half of the swim there's a pushing current that makes it easy, and all you have to do is wait it out and slowly get to that point? Kind of like the swim has a virtual mountain in the middle?
Is his anti-jelly goop secret? Sounds amazing!
----------------------------------------------------------
Zen and the Art of Triathlon
http://www.zentriathlon.com
Slowman
Jun 13, 12 7:23
Post #42 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [texafornia]
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if this is the typical current, maybe best to start on the mainland and swim to loreto.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
monty
Jun 13, 12 7:41
Post #43 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Slowman]
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After talking with our boat captain and some other fisherman, there is no typical current. Since it is such a big body of water, thing can spin on a dime. We certainly would have been way better off going the other direction on those two days, but it just as easily could have been the opposite. From the NOA website where we were getting our info, that 1st day should have been a 3 mile an hour swim pace for Pablo, but it ended up the exact opposite.
One thing that a lot of these folks do is plan a window to start in, and hope they get perfect conditions somewhere in there, just like the everest climbers. We did not have that luxury this time, and besides on paper it was supposed to be good for that 1st 24 hours. We learned a lot from this swim, i would venture to say that i know more about swimming this place than anyone. There is a lot of local fishing expirence in the waters here, but they haven't a clue how all that affects swimmers, because it just is not done. It is the most valuable thing i learned, not to let the skippers call the shots on course selection, and understand they really are laymen when it comes to plotting swimming courses, before and during..
But we got a 24 hour straight block in with about a 1 to 2 minute feeding stop every 20 minutes. That turned out to be too much too often, and he had to throw up about 4 times to empty and start over. I had a feeling it was too much and said so, but he had made a plan with his nutritionist and they wanted to try it out. Next time it will be 30 minutes with 30% less calories. Never came close to bonking, so no need for pro ironman calories for such a long time.
adventureboy
Jun 13, 12 9:17
Post #44 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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Ah Well... we were looking forward to trying to find the group as they came across to Guaymas. The water has been very nice over on this side of Cortez.
Lots of blue Man O Wars though this year. More than I've seen before. We can avoid them in our area knowing where they will blow too. Out in the middle though, you would have no warning and would just swim right over them. That's some good 'jelly goo' if he was hitting them and protected. Those Agua Malas do hurt!
Good luck if he tries it again.
Did they consider swimming from East to West? Seems like sometimes the currents (at least in our area) and the NW winds could actually provide assistance...
________________________________________________________________________________
This is ten percent LUCK, twenty percent SKILL
Fifteen percent concentrated POWER OF WILL
Five percent PLEASURE, fifty percent PAIN
And a hundred percent reason to be IN THIS GAME!
monty
Jun 13, 12 9:29
Post #45 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [adventureboy]
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Ya, we considered swimming east to west and it was an option. But since the currents were supposed to be S/SW and the wind blowing out of the SW, it looked like that was a great window for a west to east swim. I think the next time we will try and hit that northerly wind and swell and run with it. Seems like that wind and current are more prevalent this time of year. It's just that when you get into the middle, anything can happen on short notice. There was one spot where we were in the direct headwind and head current, and just 400 yards to the south you could see glass and stillness. I pushed us over there and it was beautiful. We were right on the edge of competiting currents and wind. We so often think of weather forecasts to be all inclusive, but there are many micro spots out there that do whatever they want, and are not in the prediction models. When i pulled the plug at 8am, it was blowing 20mph from the north and the seas were about 3ft whitecapping. When we got back over here it was flat and glassy, and was that way all day we heard. Sounds like on your end it might have been the same too.
Thanks again for your help and support, we may be tapping you and your hombres there for the start next time..
texafornia
Jun 13, 12 11:32
Post #46 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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I'm really impressed with what you got done. Would love to join you for some of it next time. I did Tahoe with Jamie once, and this sounds incredible. You guys have massive cajones. Keep. it. up!
----------------------------------------------------------
Zen and the Art of Triathlon
http://www.zentriathlon.com
Trirunner
Jun 13, 12 13:50
Post #47 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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Monty, congratulations to Pablo, you and the crew for breaking new waters. Glad you see your experience as a success because it is on so many levels. If you can share, what was the forward progress after 24 hours?
monty
Jun 13, 12 21:48
Post #48 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [Trirunner]
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I figure that pablo swam about 48 to 50 miles, but on the gps it said just over 30 or so. If you go to his site and look at the tracker we had going, enlarge it until you can see definitive lines, and you can see what was happening after every 20 minute stop for feeding. It looks like we swam into the head current the entire way, only question was the speed of the current. Look at the lines and you can see every stop they go backwards, usually about half the distance he actually swam. It was crazy, i knew we were bucking the current, but had no idea it was that bad. A couple of stops we almost drifted right back to where the 20 minute segment started. I am completely amazed that he even advanced the 30 miles under those conditions. It is a good thing he did not know what was going on, or his mind would have just quit. His body would have kept going, but after that many hours it has to be there mentally too. And keep in mind that all the stops were just 2 to 3 minutes usually, so that will tell you how much backwards progress we had to endure.
I have no idea what the other side was doing during all of this, but the middle was horrible, and at some point someone has to say it is just not possible today. That someone was me, but i would change nothing now knowing all i know. In fact, pablo has recovered enough that he is already thinking about the next attempt. I have several ideas of a different course, and will certainly try and figure out this current/tide relationship. Really that is the hardest thing, looking for conditions that will give us a chance to use all of pablo's skill and training. You are right in that there was some success in this swim, only a small handful of folks in the world have done 24 hours, and that was twice as long as his biggest training session. I can say with a high degree of certainty that had we been at 60 miles at 24 like i though was possible, he would have made it.
This was a great stepping stone for pablo, he is no longer just a long distance channel swimmer, the 24 hours proves that he has graduated to ultra swimming. Now we just have to give him his opportunity to show how good he really can be..
Trirunner
Jun 13, 12 22:15
Post #49 of 49
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Re: OFFICIAL Sea of Cortez swim adventure [monty]
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At a much smaller scale, I can relate to you. I was the head crew of a failed attempt of a relay swim across the Monterey Bay. Among other issues, we also faced the problem of losing too much ground when switching swimmers, not unlike feeding stops on a solo crossing.
Pablo and your crew can be proud of what you have accomplished, even if you did not reach the other side of the Sea of Cortez. It would be utter nonsense and unfairness to question your call afterwards. You did your job like you were supposed to and in the process have learned very valuable lessons for the next attempt. That is making forward progress. Good luck for the rest of this journey! My offer still stand to crew if you feel a Spanish speaker would help ;)
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