Tim Denyer traveled with other Red Top swimmers (@redtopperformance) to Southern California last year for successful Catalina Channel crossings, but this year was different.
Definitely different.
While the waters of the Pacific Ocean start to cool as October is around the corner, the inland desert communities of Southern California are sweltering hot (up to 39°C). The coastline remains shrouded in fog as beachgoers stroll the coastline in jackets. Meanwhile, inland homes and buildings are blasting their air conditioners. So, most Southern Californians are sweltering, but along the coastline and offshore, people can shiver.
This massive differential causes a thick marine layer to settle on the Pacific in the evening and morning hours.
Coach Denyer observed from the Pacific Star that escorted 36-year-old Australian doctor Tessa Garside to a 10 hour 41 minute crossing of Catalina today. “We could only see [Southern California] coast 500 meters from the end. There was such a dense fog. It was 15°C for last 4.5 kilometers.”
Dr. Garside said, “This was a true adventure swim. I started in the pitch black at Two Harbors on Catalina Island [last night], but dawn did not break for another 8 hours. When [dawn came], it was a gray and gloomy fog shrouding the Pacific Star, my kayak and me.
The beauty of the dolphins and bioluminescence was a welcome break from the monotony of the dark, but when the daylight arrived it was accompanied by a 5°C drop in the water temperature. The finish kept me guessing until 500 meters from the end when it emerged from the mist. This was the most challenging swim I’ve done, but I’ve now completed my Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. My overriding emotion has now switched from relief to delight.”
Garside begins tonight from Santa Catalina to the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the California mainland – as the others cheer her on and wait their turns.
Dr. Garside was escorted by captain Dave Harvey with her mother Frances Garside as one of her escort kayakers, together with John Trevino, Greg Pierce, and Catalina Channel Swimming Federation observers Bob Needham and Marc Horwitz.
Before and after…
With the success of Dr. Garside, Coach Denyer can rest fo 24 hours and then he will go with 37-year-old Will Smith tomorrow night, and then 43-year-old Chris Cook for another attempt at the Catalina Channel.
For updates on the Red Top Performance athletes, visit @redtopperformance.
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