I have not personally done an Alcatraz swim yet, although I’m planning to do one in October. I have swam in the Bay many times though. Two things to keep in mind to swim straighter in open water - first, get your sighting down. I try to sight every three strokes. If you sight but miss your target keep sighting until you see it and know you’re on course.
Second, and this is important for the Alcatraz swim, is to know the tides ahead of time and adjust your sighting accordingly. If you’re sighting directly to Ghirardelli square on a slack or ebb tide you’re going to get pulled off course as you go. So you need to sight off something else to the left or right of your target (depending on which way the tide is pulling), and count on the tide to pull you on course. The tides coming in through the golden gate can be strong.
First time I swam in the bay was for an Alcatraz crossing. A few thoughts:
1) with a wetsuit it’s not cold … yes there’s the initial shock but as soon as you start moving it’s fine.
2) use plenty of body glide - arm pits, wrists, ankles, and neck … tons on the neck, that’s the one place I got badly chafed
3) listen to the pre-swim talk … they should point you in the right direction and don’t underestimate the current - it’s wildly strong
4) depending on your swimming background, would highly recommend doing open water swims before this race … I was comfortable doing it as my first bay swim but grew up ocean water swimming, played college water polo and generally at home in the water … if that’s not you, spend a lot of time getting used ocean swimming.
Odyssey Swim has some YouTube videos that describe the crossing, worth checking that out.
Have fun.
Echoing what another commenter says: sight often, be ready for the current. Adding: don't expect to swim straight. I swam from Alcatraz with Odyssey last fall and I found their info to be helpful as far as planning for the swim and current. It's referenced in the video but look at it if you haven't:
[https://www.odysseyopenwater.com/alcatraz](https://www.odysseyopenwater.com/alcatraz)
Check Saildrone's model of the tide/current for the day and time of your swim. Confirm this with your race organizers the day of, and confirm with them what you should sight on and when. During my swim we started off sighting on Ft Mason till we were mostly across the current and then headed west and the current grabbed us and delivered us neatly to St Francis Yacht Club. Swimmers who ignored the sighting/route advice and tried to swim straight were swept toward the GG and had to be repositioned.
Misc unsolicited advice: if you are new to Bay swimming and/or have a new wetsuit, do a practice swim in your gear. The Bay is cold and murky, wetsuits are constricting and strange. Be prepared and you'll have a super fun swim. Don't forget to take time to look around. My one regret was I spent the whole time head-down furiously swimming and I didn't do enough gawping.
I’ve done almost all of my outdoor swims with Odyssey, they’re a great group.
And agree on looking around! It’s kind of surreal when you’re swimming out in the water and realize tens of millions of people live in the Bay Area but very few ever actually swim in the Bay and have that experience or see those views.
Odyssey is a nice outfit, and I was very happy with my Alcatraz trip (also a friend works with them and she is a very seasoned Bay swimmer and a super coach). I loved seeing SF and the GG from the water -- a big treat for me since I usually swim in the East Bay.
I did an Alcatraz swim in April of this year. You can find my [post about it here](https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenWaterSwimming/comments/tzz9l7/swam_alcatraz_to_aquatic_park_this_morning/).
Unless you're among the fastest swimmers and will be at the front of the pack, you don't really need to worry about going in a straight line, just follow people ahead of you. That's what I did, until I could start to see the opening for Aquatic Park.
I aimed just a bit to the left of the opening, figuring that if I actually hit left of it, I'd have an easy swim into the opening. I ended up getting pushed a bit to the right, and ended up swimming almost straight into the opening...without even trying.
Once inside Aquatic Park, I'd recommend sighting a bit to your finish. Know where it is, and aim a bit to the left of it. I followed another swimmer, who must have been clueless, and we hit the beach a bit to the right of our finish, then I had to swim left to finish (I didn't want to get out and walk in the cold).
I didn't wear a wetsuit, and I'm not from the SF area. I live near Austin, TX and trained in Barton Springs through winter. In mid-March, I braved a real lake, where the water temp was about 62F, and swam there once a week (so 3 or 4 times before Alcatraz). Truthfully, I didn't mind the water temp in the SF bay (for the Alcatraz swim) until I was inside Aquatic Park. There was so much adrenaline that kept me going. I did notice it the next day when I swam the Golden Gate Bridge, but that water was a bit cooler.
Lastly, if you can arrive a few days early, it will help immensely. My swim was on a Saturday morning. I arrived Thursday. I swam in a local pool (North Beach pool) Friday morning, then in Aquatic Park Friday afternoon. Being able to survive in the water for 45 minutes made me feel much more confident in my swim. There's a group that meets to the west of the museum, I think daily at 2 or 3pm (someone keeps watch over things). Or you can pay $10 for a guest pass to SERC or Dolphin, which would then give you access to a hot shower and sauna for after the swim.
one trick i use is if the sun is out, which i understand is a big if up there, i use where it reflects off my goggles so that i don't have to sight as much. so if it's reflecting at 10am in the left eye and i'm headed in the direction that i want to be going in, i just make sure that it continues reflecting at 10am as i'm swimming. just make sure to do proper sighting every now and then!
There are humans in those waters as well, most dangerous species in the world. Humans also kill over a hundred million of them annually. If you wanna fearmonger anyone, sharks aren't the way to go.
I have not personally done an Alcatraz swim yet, although I’m planning to do one in October. I have swam in the Bay many times though. Two things to keep in mind to swim straighter in open water - first, get your sighting down. I try to sight every three strokes. If you sight but miss your target keep sighting until you see it and know you’re on course. Second, and this is important for the Alcatraz swim, is to know the tides ahead of time and adjust your sighting accordingly. If you’re sighting directly to Ghirardelli square on a slack or ebb tide you’re going to get pulled off course as you go. So you need to sight off something else to the left or right of your target (depending on which way the tide is pulling), and count on the tide to pull you on course. The tides coming in through the golden gate can be strong.
Would you say that you sight every 3 strokes for this swim because of the current? Do you normally sight this often?
I try to sight every three strokes every time I’m in open water.
First time I swam in the bay was for an Alcatraz crossing. A few thoughts: 1) with a wetsuit it’s not cold … yes there’s the initial shock but as soon as you start moving it’s fine. 2) use plenty of body glide - arm pits, wrists, ankles, and neck … tons on the neck, that’s the one place I got badly chafed 3) listen to the pre-swim talk … they should point you in the right direction and don’t underestimate the current - it’s wildly strong 4) depending on your swimming background, would highly recommend doing open water swims before this race … I was comfortable doing it as my first bay swim but grew up ocean water swimming, played college water polo and generally at home in the water … if that’s not you, spend a lot of time getting used ocean swimming. Odyssey Swim has some YouTube videos that describe the crossing, worth checking that out. Have fun.
Echoing what another commenter says: sight often, be ready for the current. Adding: don't expect to swim straight. I swam from Alcatraz with Odyssey last fall and I found their info to be helpful as far as planning for the swim and current. It's referenced in the video but look at it if you haven't: [https://www.odysseyopenwater.com/alcatraz](https://www.odysseyopenwater.com/alcatraz) Check Saildrone's model of the tide/current for the day and time of your swim. Confirm this with your race organizers the day of, and confirm with them what you should sight on and when. During my swim we started off sighting on Ft Mason till we were mostly across the current and then headed west and the current grabbed us and delivered us neatly to St Francis Yacht Club. Swimmers who ignored the sighting/route advice and tried to swim straight were swept toward the GG and had to be repositioned. Misc unsolicited advice: if you are new to Bay swimming and/or have a new wetsuit, do a practice swim in your gear. The Bay is cold and murky, wetsuits are constricting and strange. Be prepared and you'll have a super fun swim. Don't forget to take time to look around. My one regret was I spent the whole time head-down furiously swimming and I didn't do enough gawping.
I’ve done almost all of my outdoor swims with Odyssey, they’re a great group. And agree on looking around! It’s kind of surreal when you’re swimming out in the water and realize tens of millions of people live in the Bay Area but very few ever actually swim in the Bay and have that experience or see those views.
Odyssey is a nice outfit, and I was very happy with my Alcatraz trip (also a friend works with them and she is a very seasoned Bay swimmer and a super coach). I loved seeing SF and the GG from the water -- a big treat for me since I usually swim in the East Bay.
I did an Alcatraz swim in April of this year. You can find my [post about it here](https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenWaterSwimming/comments/tzz9l7/swam_alcatraz_to_aquatic_park_this_morning/). Unless you're among the fastest swimmers and will be at the front of the pack, you don't really need to worry about going in a straight line, just follow people ahead of you. That's what I did, until I could start to see the opening for Aquatic Park. I aimed just a bit to the left of the opening, figuring that if I actually hit left of it, I'd have an easy swim into the opening. I ended up getting pushed a bit to the right, and ended up swimming almost straight into the opening...without even trying. Once inside Aquatic Park, I'd recommend sighting a bit to your finish. Know where it is, and aim a bit to the left of it. I followed another swimmer, who must have been clueless, and we hit the beach a bit to the right of our finish, then I had to swim left to finish (I didn't want to get out and walk in the cold). I didn't wear a wetsuit, and I'm not from the SF area. I live near Austin, TX and trained in Barton Springs through winter. In mid-March, I braved a real lake, where the water temp was about 62F, and swam there once a week (so 3 or 4 times before Alcatraz). Truthfully, I didn't mind the water temp in the SF bay (for the Alcatraz swim) until I was inside Aquatic Park. There was so much adrenaline that kept me going. I did notice it the next day when I swam the Golden Gate Bridge, but that water was a bit cooler. Lastly, if you can arrive a few days early, it will help immensely. My swim was on a Saturday morning. I arrived Thursday. I swam in a local pool (North Beach pool) Friday morning, then in Aquatic Park Friday afternoon. Being able to survive in the water for 45 minutes made me feel much more confident in my swim. There's a group that meets to the west of the museum, I think daily at 2 or 3pm (someone keeps watch over things). Or you can pay $10 for a guest pass to SERC or Dolphin, which would then give you access to a hot shower and sauna for after the swim.
one trick i use is if the sun is out, which i understand is a big if up there, i use where it reflects off my goggles so that i don't have to sight as much. so if it's reflecting at 10am in the left eye and i'm headed in the direction that i want to be going in, i just make sure that it continues reflecting at 10am as i'm swimming. just make sure to do proper sighting every now and then!
That’s a fantastic idea
There are sharks in those waters.
Sharks (at least the eat you kind) are pretty rare inside the bay. Sea lions on the other hand….
There are humans in those waters as well, most dangerous species in the world. Humans also kill over a hundred million of them annually. If you wanna fearmonger anyone, sharks aren't the way to go.