Golden Gate Bridge to Candlestick Point

July 03, 2020

Golden Gate Bridge to Candlestick Point

Best case, we would complete the 13.5-mile swim in three hours. Worst case, it would take us five.

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, just before we jumped in. Looks ominous!

Seeking new adventures, Sarah and I conspired once again to create a great swim route in the San Francisco Bay. We thought it would be fun to swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to Candlestick Point, the former ballpark site of the San Franciso Giants. After a bit of planning, we contracted SF Boat Support, picked a date optimized for favorable currents, and invited a few of our regular distance training buddies to join in the fun. Elizabeth, Laura, Michelle, and Stevie Ray agreed to take on this challenge with us.

To prepare for our swim, we created a six-week training plan, increasing our time in the water to three hours. These workouts involved swimming in all kinds of conditions including into the currents, with the currents, and across the currents. Conditions varied from calm and lake-like with no wind to cross current swims in small craft advisories - with sustained winds greater than 20 mph and 4-5 feet of waves, whitecaps, and chop. We chose venues in the open ocean at Pacifica's Beach as well as San Francisco's China Beach. In addition to multiple Alcatraz crossings, we also swam along the western San Francisco waterfront both to and from Crissy Field. Finally, we varied our start times from the typical early morning swim to also include late afternoon swims when the wind would make conditions tougher. David watched over us as he kayaked and provided safety support and carried our feeds for many of these workouts. For our swim adventure, Diane, an accomplished kayaker and South End pilot agreed to kayak with David to ensure our safety as we swam.

We quickly left the Golden Gate in our wake

Our swim date arrived - July 3, 2020. We planned to jump in the water at the Golden Gate bridge. It would be the beginning of a 3.2-knot flood current. When we boarded the Viking, our safety support boat, the flood had begun - it came early. No worries - we still had another five to six hours before the ebb would kick-in near our destination. As we got underway and headed toward the Golden Gate, we bounced through the chop and swells. Fortunately, we would be swimming with the wind AND the current, diminishing the impact of the swells. In effect, we would be riding the waves and swells as we traveled east across the San Francisco City Front.

This spring, the San Francisco Bay's waters have been unseasonably warm. The bay welcomed us with 62ºF water, while not quite tropical for me, it certainly wasn't cold. Others in our group might consider 62º tropical.

The currents moved us swiftly across the western city front. Our pace hit 20-minute miles. For some of us, this is significantly faster than our regular mile paces. Stevie Ray, with more than 1300 Alcatraz crossings, asked if we could modify our route with a stop at Alcatraz. This day would not be the day we notch two more crossings on our logs. Stevie's addiction is strong. He would have to settle with a quick glance as we sped past the Rock.

Some of us fed as we stopped near Coit Tower

Shortly after we started swimming, our pilots directed us to head towards the shore. Mid-channel, about halfway between Alcatraz and the shoreline, an inbound oil tanker was expected to enter the bay - we did not want to be anywhere near the massive vessel. We followed their directions, turned to the shoreline, and crabbed to exit the southern edge of the shipping channel. Approaching the shoreline, we passed buildings quickly. We also noted our pace increased to 15-minute miles - by all measures, our pod flew along the city front. We sped by Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and the Exploratorium - sighting on Coit Tower. The strong current kept us on our rocket ride as we shifted our sighting to the Bay Bridge's mid-span between the two towers closer to San Francisco's shoreline - alpha and bravo towers.

After an hour and forty minutes, we all flipped over and backstroked under the Bay Bridge. We took a quick feed, turned southward, and kept flying along with the current. If the currents held, we estimated no more than 90 minutes of swimming remained.

The Viking, behind David, kept us out of harm's way

I had never swum east/south of the Bay Bridge. We passed by Anchorage Nine - where large ships sit waiting to unload their cargo as well as prepare to depart. We saw oil tankers and cargo ships. A few months ago, the Corona Princess moored here while crews disinfected her.

My first three hours of swimming felt GREAT. I moved well, stayed with the pod, took good feeds, and felt warm and comfortable. I only struggled with a stitch/cramp on my ribs. It eventually went away. This was a first for me. No mental battles, no significant physical discomfort, or anything else threatening to interfere with the adventure. As our swim progressed, the water temperature also increased. We now swam in 67ºF water. Almost warm enough by my standards. We continued toward our objective, flying by all the Dog Patch landmarks, including the new basketball stadium.

As we approached Hunter's Point's crane and massive concrete pier, our pace seemed to slow, but not significantly. We rounded the big crane and pier, expecting we only had another 30 minutes before we would exit the water at Candlestick Point. We swam and swam, but made no progress. Either the ebb came early or we were caught in a back eddy. Since I was swimming comfortably, I kept calm, put my head down, and kept going. Little by little, we advanced toward the shoreline. It seemed like we would never get there. Our forward progress had been slowed by the early ebb or a strong eddy.

Our pace reduced to 45 minutes/mile. The final leg of our swim took 90 minutes. Finally, we all stood on the dry beach, excited about our accomplishment. I swam exactly five hours and 13.5 miles. Truth be told, I slowed my pace for the final few strokes to ensure my time in the water would exceed five hours. It did.

Mission accomplished! L->R: Michelle, Laura, Stevie, me, Elizabeth, Sarah

Today ranks as a remarkable milestone. I couldn't be more pleased with the experience and camaraderie. We planned for a great swim, faced challenges, overcame obstacles, and achieved our objective.

For this swim, the worst case turned into the best case.