Farallon Islands swims

13

Comments

  • AnthonyMcCarleyAnthonyMcCarley Berwyn, PACharter Member
    Weird, suddenly stopped worked on my laptop -- but working on my iPad. Thanks Greg.

    GO CRAIG!
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    Wow. Just wow. What a day. Good job, well done and just wow
  • this is absolutely amazing - what an inspiration
  • sylmarinosylmarino San FranciscoMember
    I believe he will have certainly earned his post in the "Did You Swim Today" group. :D
  • the suspense is killing me - i need to go to bed but can't till he reaches shore
  • we are talking in feet now - not even yards
  • sylmarinosylmarino San FranciscoMember
    Waiting for the update... his feet should be touching the beach now if they haven't already. Whoo!
  • gregocgregoc Charter Member
    I'm guessing the boat can't go in any closer. He must have hit the beach by now. It looks like a nice beach to finish on as well. Congratulations to Craig and his crew.
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    My heart is bursting for him. Champion. Hero. Craig.
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    He's in a back eddy... But correct, the boat can't get any closer. There is a nice beach, but the rest of it is nastier than Cap Gris Nez..very rocky.
  • SharkoSharko Tomales BayGuest
    Two fins up!!!! Great swim!!!

    "I never met a shark I didn't like"

  • AnthonyMcCarleyAnthonyMcCarley Berwyn, PACharter Member
    According to a post just on fb, he is done. 15:46
  • sylmarinosylmarino San FranciscoMember
    CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Way to go Craig! Hooray!!
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    History. Effin long swim, frickin cold water. Nasty currents... Just another day at the office for our hero .
  • yahoo!!!!
  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    Congratulations Craig Lenning! May you have many more pinnacle swims to come!!!
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    Legend.
  • ChickenOSeaChickenOSea Charter Member
    evmo wrote:
    Legend.
    Indeed!
  • pennypalfreypennypalfrey Seventeen Seventy, Queensland, AustraliaMem​ber
    A moment in history, congratulations Craig!
  • ZoeSadlerZoeSadler Charter Member
    Wow! Just woken up to see this fantastic news.

    Many congratulations Craig! Amazing achievement.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    Breaking a 50+ year drought is a stunning achievement, and an early candidate for swim performance of the year. Congratulations to Craig and his team!

    loneswimmer.com

  • Congratulations Craig
  • smithsmith Huntsville, AlabamaSenior Member
    Gold plate the logs.

    Keep moving forward.

  • Congratulations on a tremendous accomplishment.
  • Leonard_JansenLeonard_Jansen Charter Member
    Wow! Just frickin' wow! Congrats Craig and if we ever cross paths, I'm buying!


    -LBJ

    “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited April 2014
    I'm still reeling from the monumental athletic feat I witnessed yesterday. It was marathon swimming at its absolute finest.

    Watching Craig @uss_lenning jump off the boat in the pre-dawn darkness into Fisherman Bay, with the shadow of South Farallon Island looming above -- birds screeching, pinnipeds barking, violent death maybe (or maybe not) lurking beneath the surface -- was the single most terrifying thing I have ever seen.

    I'm putting together my observer report, which I will post here along with the original logs. @Jamie took a shit-ton of photos & video, too, which will add color & depth to the documentation. Stay tuned.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/04/09/first-swim-from-farallon-islands-in-decades-completed-in-darkness-with-few-spectators/

    I had the honor of accompanying Craig into Muir Beach. It was so foggy that we would not have been able to see him clear the water from the boat. A random local who had been following the SPOT tracker was there to greet us, and guided us in with a flashlight (very helpful in the fog!).

    The local guy was super-enthused about Craig's swim, and presented him with a hat from the local firefighting group. Craig had nowhere to put it so he asked permission to stuff it down his swimsuit :)

    farallones-swim.jpg?w=620&h=349&crop=1
  • MvGMvG MauritiusCharter Member
    Belated congratulations Craig, awesome!
  • SharkoSharko Tomales BayGuest
    Very nice interview....after knowing of Craig's accomplishments and spending time with him and his Colorado team including the great Sarah Thomas on out 24 hour swim...I knew that if the Shark Gods and the Farallons were cooperative that he would make this swim....there are very few people I would say this about....Great swim Craig!!!!

    "I never met a shark I didn't like"

  • Everything about this swim is beautiful. Congrats, Craig!
  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    Gotta love Bialla Productions and VITO is one of the best escort pilots around! Very attentive to the swimmer at all times and I mean a focus like no other! Congratulations again to Craig as I would fully agree with the ABC sentiment that he is by far one of the greatest marathon swimmers of our time and someone I am glad to call a friend! There's a reason Eri calls you her Golden Boy!!! Well done sir and my swim cap is off to you! (literally and figuratively)! Great job Evan and Jamie for taking care of him out there and to Dave H of the Night Train Swimmers as well!
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2019
  • SharkoSharko Tomales BayGuest
    edited April 2014
    Great report Evan...I have been told by two very savy rowers that used to frequent these waters (Norm Peterson and Gordy Nash) that once inside the potato patch on the north side of Point Bonita, and in deeper water that there is a prevailing north to south current (runs on ebbs and floods and generally doesn't run south to north) toward Pt Bonita...it would be interesting to study this...was this the back eddy Craig encountered??? Would be good to know for future swims.

    "I never met a shark I didn't like"

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited April 2014
    Niek wrote:
    Send it to a certain dancer as an example on how it should be done.
    I think there's more footage in just one of those 15-second videos Vito posted than of the entirety of a certain dancer's 53 hours in the water. (Not to mention stated rules, real-time data, etc.)

    Isn't that interesting.
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    Dang...the video of him getting out is a little shocking. He was all smiles and dancing after 44 miles and 24 hours in Tahoe. Gives you an idea how incredibly tough this swim is. Craig is amazing.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    @ssthomas, you're right, this swim is no joke but will haunt one forever til they accomplish it once they've witnessed the majesty of this part of the world! My background on my phone is a constant reminder that the challenge still lies ahead of me one day! Craig showed that this swim is possible with enough grit, hardwork, and determination! Hard Flippin Core! Great Vid @evmo!
  • As a noob, Im in complete awe of that swim. Having swum a few years back at Half Moon Bay when we lived on the peninsular, until I could not feel my feet anymore, this is so impressive!
  • Leonard_JansenLeonard_Jansen Charter Member
    Interesting. It looks like he swims with what is virtually a full catch-up stroke.
    Hey, whatever works...

    -LBJ

    “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde

  • lakespraylakespray Senior Member
    Interesting. It looks like he swims with what is virtually a full catch-up stroke.
    Hey, whatever works...

    -LBJ
    We call it the "Hook & Boom" anyone who is familiar with his stroke can almost always identify it out of many anonymous swimmers out on a lake.
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    @leonard_jansen:
    Turnover may be slow, but he makes one heck of a wake. No fun sharing a pool lane with him, but open water drafting is incredible. I'm sure he could tow a barge with the power he has in that stroke! :-)
  • Wow! Congratulations to @uss_lenning and thanks @evmo and Vito and crew for providing detailed observer data and imagery from a great swim. I'm in awe at his cold tolerance and with how consistent his stroke rate was.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited April 2014
    Fascinating history of the Farallons swims (not including the most recent one) by Ted Erikson. Long but well worth the read.

    Re-published on MSF with personal permission from Ted.

    http://marathonswimmers.org/resources/history/farallon-islands-swims/
  • Enormous!
    Gigantic!
    Athleticism itself; defined.
  • SharkoSharko Tomales BayGuest
    I have spoken to Napa Bob Roper, Norm Peterson and Joe Flahaven in brief clips over the years about the South End/Dolphin Club relay from the Farallons sometime after Ted did his swim. This event should be written down and archived before we loose that history....I spoke to Norm at the pool yesterday briefly about this again..(I guess Norm is 89 now)...The swim started at the Devils teeth in the middle of the night and skinny Bob Roper leading the relay (coldest part of this swim) for the South End (after an hour of swimming he nearly went insane shivering down below according to Norm....They were not very prepared just having towels to warm up with. The Dolpin Club picked the better route going north and the South End went too far south and ran out of tide...The Dolphin Club apparently finished under the Bridge...that is about all I have and can remember...but certainly a part of the Farallon swimming history

    "I never met a shark I didn't like"

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    Let me do some inquiring at DC about this relay.... Walt Schneebli probably has some info as well. He's getting up there as well.. better ask soon...
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited July 2014
    I am delighted to report that Joe Locke today completed the first solo swim from the Farallones to the Golden Gate Bridge (29.7 statute miles) since Ted Erikson in 1967. His time was a new record, 13 hours 58 minutes. This was his seventh attempt.

    I was the observer on the swim; more details to follow.
    phodgeszoho
  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    Congrats Joe.... way to persevere!
    Quiet and sneaky this time.

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

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