Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Veteran escort Peter McIntosh observed the Swim Around The Rock in San Francisco Bay around Alcatraz Island by Paige Kieding, “She had the best sighting skills of all time.”
Vito Bialla confirmed the swim by the 14-year-old Santa Barbara Night Train swimmer.
“It was the first non-wetsuit swim around Alcatraz Island. She was the third female overall. Paige trains hard in Santa Barbara and sits in her bathtub filled with ice in the evenings.
She has the eye of a tiger look of Kim Chambers. Simon Dominguez and David Holscher are helping make her a great [open water swimmer].”
McIntosh provided additional details about her course progress and strategy. “If you look at the coloring of the trail [on left], this is where the current or back eddies slowed her to a halt and the green is where she went faster. She swam 4.08 miles in about 1 hour 56 minutes.
Also right before the opening of Aquatic Park – just above the finish pin RED BALL – there is a blotch of green. She was in a very strong ebb and going backwards when I said, “PUNCH it for 100 yards NOW”, to get through. Boom…she unleashed a nice move and got past the worst of the ebb and it was smooth water inside Aquatic Park. She had a nice reserve in her tank.”
Pedro Ordenes of Water World Swim explained the race. “This roundtrip Alcatraz swim is a great challenge for fast swimmers that requires a strategic race plan to swim the 3.6-mile course with tides and fast currents around Alcatraz. This is also an excellent event to help prepare for longer open water endurance competitions.
Swimmers swim along a fast current. But as the swimmers make their way clockwise around Alcatraz, that’s where the challenge steps up to the plate – they have to navigate not only around the prison, but through the currents as they make their way to Aquatic Park.
This swim is not for novices. This event is for experienced open water swimmers only.”
For more information on the Swim Around The Rock event, visit here on the Water World Swim website.
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