Hey you people who have swum one of the Alcatraz triathlons before,
How long is the swim REALLY from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park?
It is generally advertised as 1.5 miles. However I have heard (from where I don’t know?) that USUALLY it “feels” less than 1.5 miles because the races are always scheduled for times when the tide is going out, so the tide is carrying you along for part of the distance. On the other hand, I hear there are difficult choppy-water years when the swim feels harder.
The “real distance” is important for me to know since I’m a slow swimmer and will be busting my a** for the next 2.5 months in order to finish the Escape from Alcatraz swim within the hour alloted.
Depends on where in relation to Alcatraz you start…just doing a quick “Google GMap” I get 1.48xxxx miles.
First time I did an Alcatraz race, they dumped us off the boat in front of the island (directly facing SF); the other two times we started either from the dock on the north side or jumping off the boat from roughly the same side. I, like you, have heard varying distances—1.3 to 1.5+ miles.
Distance is really the least of your worries; conditions will make or break your swim. I’m usually a :35 for that distance in flat open water .
In two consecutive years I did a :53 then a :28. Conditions the for the 53 minutes were the hardest of my life (2-3 foot chop and 20 kt. wind blowing in the Gate, water temp. 59 deg. F). The following year, the Bay was like glass with a 6 kt. current rushing out the Gate (although a bunch of folks botched the navigation and went way downstream).
Last year looked pretty ideal but again lots of folks botched the navigation and got picked out of the drink. My advice is, be able to swim for a solid hour with confidence in 60-65 degree water and you’ll be good for whatever you meet.
How long is the swim REALLY from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park? <<
A good bit shorter than the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Like people said, it depends where the jump is and what line you take. (Or, where the current takes you.)
I was about halfway across and could literally see NO ONE anywhere around me. Not swimmers, not boats, just grey water and grey sky with the occasional slash of SF skyline and peeks of the Bridge. It seemed like I was making zero headway and I got a little panicky because the cold also started to creep in to my body.
I told myself to put my head down and swim hard toward Ft. Mason for 100 strokes and then take another peek. It worked (just barely); I convinced myself I was actually closer to shore and I felt much better. I’ve never been so happy to finish a swim.
Two of my friends got picked out of the water that year because they were going on an hour and the kayaks were hovering. Yikes!
On the ferry ride out to the Rock I was trying to be all confident and reassuring for the out of town newbies and then we got out into the main shipping channel and everything got quiet except the sound of the big boat pitching and rolling into that swell.
Now I have the tiniest notion of what guys waiting to jump off on D-Day must have felt like.