Amber Baker and Michella Thomas - Around Coronado Island

Gator Beach @ Avenida Lunar, clockwise around Zuniga Jetty and Coronado Island, to Glorietta Bay Park.

18.6 km (11.6 miles)

7 hours, 20 minutes on 30 January 2020

Observed and documented by Dan Simonelli

Contents

Swimmers

Name Gender Age Nation Resides
Amber Baker female 35 United States San Diego, Calif.
Michella Thomas female 53 United States San Diego, Calif.

Support Personnel

  • Kevin Eslinger - paddler / pilot
  • Dan Simonelli - observer
  • Bruce Thomas - land crew / comms.

Swim Parameters

  • Category: Tandem solo, nonstop, unassisted.
  • Rules: MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming, without exception or modification.
  • Equipment used: One porous swimsuit, one cap, goggles.

Route Definition

Starting at Gator Beach @ Avenida Lunar, clockwise around Zuniga Shoals Jetty and Coronado Island, to Glorietta Bay Park inside San Diego Harbor.

  • Body of Water: San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean
  • Route Type: one-way
  • Start Location: Gator Beach @ Avenida Lunar (32.673774, -117.172072)
  • Finish Location: Glorietta Bay Park (32.675060, -117.167979)
  • Minimum Route Distance: 18.6 km (11.6 miles)

History


Swim Data

  • Start: 30 January 2020, 06:08 (America/Los_Angeles, UTC-8).
  • Finish: 30 January 2020, 13:28:48
  • Elapsed: 7 hours, 20 minutes, 48 seconds.

Summary of Conditions

Feature Min Max
Water Temp (F) 57 60
Air Temp (F) 53 68
Wind (knots (SE)) <1 3-5

Other notable events: pleasant morning with minimal wind, little to no boat traffic until after sunrise, which was spectacular.

GPS Track

Trackpoint frequency: 15 minutes. Download raw data (CSV).

Click to expand map.

Speed Plot


Observer Log

Download PDF


Narrative

by Amber Baker

In 2018 I met Cindy Werhane on the beach as she finished her swim around Coronado. I liked the idea of doing a documented swim in San Diego, and doing the swim in winter.

I talked to my swim coach, Kevin, and Dan Simonelli, who would paddled with us as our observer. We loosely planned to do the swim at the end of January or early February (depending on weather and tides). This would be my birthday swim and my English Channel qualifying swim.

At the same time I was starting to swim with more Michella. We paced well together and we both have windows booked for England in 2021. That’s when we decided to swim it tandem. Michella and I trained together about 5 days a week as we built up our mileage in the cooler winter water.

The swim route was beautiful. Swimming through the bay was a view I’d never seen before. It was also a little deceptive. I’m not very familiar with Coronado (despite having lived in San Diego my entire life). We swam by several sandy beaches that would have made nice landing spots, alas, we had to make it to Glorietta bay.


Photos


Video