John Pittman Talks About Meeting, Helping Swimmers On WOWSA Live
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International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Pilot John Pittman followed the footsteps of his father Mickey Pittman, learning the fishing, ocean diving and channel swimming escorting business for years on the Catalina Channel in Southern California.
The retired mariner has over 200 channel crossings under his belt.
Ned Denison of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame interviewed Pittman on today’s WOWSA Live program. He talked about:
* being saved by his father Mickey Pittman at an early age
* starting his first jobs on the ocean at the age of 11, near the finish of the Catalina Channel crossings
* helping David Cox in the first crossing with his father in 1972
* helping 5-6 swimmers per year in the 1990s
* helping Tina Neill in her 28 hour 41 minute 83.6 km San Clemente Channel crossing
* guiding over 200 crossings during his career, but rarely seeing marine life like blue sharks, but one memorable Great White Shark encounter
* escorting David Yudovin on his crossing in the Santa Barbara Channel
* seeing humpback whales and blue whales
* seeing John York being pulled 150 yards from shore on a two-way Catalina Channel crossing with hypothermia
* remembering his father Mickey and escorting swimmers in the fog
* using LORAN throughout most of his career
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