It's a crazy event where 1800 people hop onto a boat and sail to Alcatraz at 7 am. 
From the boat, which begins to tip as the athletes gather to one side, the athletes jump ship (literally) in paratrooper cadence and empty the entire boat within 6 minutes. From the cold-water plunge, you swim across a river for 1.5 miles. A river? Apparently, the San Francisco Bay fills and empties about 8 feet of water each day. The race is timed with the "exit" of said water and flows at 8+ knots to the ocean. So, to swim to the shore, you make eye contact with a radio tower and mark it at 12 o'clock, then you swim to 10 o'clock.
Did you know that a bridge is sitting on the bottom of the Bay? Instead of removing it, they simply "lowered" it. Now it creates a torrent of waves for idiots to swim through in the open water.
So I did that, swam through the perfect storm and I swam and I swam to 10 o'clock...until...I got close to the edge and cut too soon. I found myself treading water and going nowhere but straight to exhaustion. Luckily, a kayaker - of whom there were about 100 standing by to help us out - shared an idea with me. At this point, I was close enough to swim straight and let the current pull me 50 yards down the beach where I could run back to where I was supposed to be. It worked. After :46 minutes, I was on land. Sweet!
From the boat, which begins to tip as the athletes gather to one side, the athletes jump ship (literally) in paratrooper cadence and empty the entire boat within 6 minutes. From the cold-water plunge, you swim across a river for 1.5 miles. A river? Apparently, the San Francisco Bay fills and empties about 8 feet of water each day. The race is timed with the "exit" of said water and flows at 8+ knots to the ocean. So, to swim to the shore, you make eye contact with a radio tower and mark it at 12 o'clock, then you swim to 10 o'clock. Did you know that a bridge is sitting on the bottom of the Bay? Instead of removing it, they simply "lowered" it. Now it creates a torrent of waves for idiots to swim through in the open water.
So I did that, swam through the perfect storm and I swam and I swam to 10 o'clock...until...I got close to the edge and cut too soon. I found myself treading water and going nowhere but straight to exhaustion. Luckily, a kayaker - of whom there were about 100 standing by to help us out - shared an idea with me. At this point, I was close enough to swim straight and let the current pull me 50 yards down the beach where I could run back to where I was supposed to be. It worked. After :46 minutes, I was on land. Sweet!
My goal was simply to survive the swim! I made it. From there, I got to witness some of the most beautiful views ever - the San Francisco Bay on a clear day from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Pacific Ocean, courageous challenged athletes re-setting our expectations for themselves and for ourselves, the 67-year old man than was kickin' my ass and the countless volunteers cheering us on and keeping us safe throughout the race.
Thanks to everyone for helping me to "escape" if only for that day (and every day that I get to test myself and witness the strength of others). Stay tuned for photos (and here they are) and documentary footage from the best husband ever - mine!
