Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
SWIMMING THE CHANNEL TOMORROW
I just got my call, i will be swimming tomorrow morning at 4am my time.
Use this link to follow my swim and NOT the other one.
www.ais-doverstraits.co.uk and then click on follow Antasia and it will give you updates every 20min for my progress.
Use this link to follow my swim and NOT the other one.
www.ais-doverstraits.co.uk and then click on follow Antasia and it will give you updates every 20min for my progress.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Update from England
Sorry for the delay in putting some news up.
Wednesday the 15th I met with Eddie Spelling to give him my final payment and discuss plans for the swim. He said that he will take me when the weather is good and swim able. We discussed possible start times and how my feeding's and swim will go. After my meeting I went to Boot's to order my channel grease for the swim, which is a mixture of Vaseline and Lanolin which I will use to cover my body during the swim. In the afternoon I went swimming in the Harbor in very windy and rough condition's which was good practice in case the weather changes during my swim.
Thursday the 16th I went for a swim in the Harbor, the weather was a perfect day for swimming with very little wind and the sun shinning. I also met another swimmer training for the channel from Japan, so we both got in the water together and her coach watched us swim, they were both very nice. That night a huge storm picked up with very strong winds and a massive thunder and lightening storm all night.
Friday the 17th I took the Ferry over to France and spent the day walking around. It was my first real look across the channel. During the boat ride their was 3-5ft swells and very strong winds with poor visibility. It showed me how having good weather can really make or break your swim.
Saturday the 18th I swam with the big of channel swimmer and was told by the Channel General (Freda Streeter) that I only had to do a 4hr swim, I had thought I would have to do 6hr swim but because my swim is fastly approaching I am on taper and not supposed to over do it. It was windy with some cloud coverage and a pretty good day for swimming. That night we had a night swim with the group. We met at 9:30 pm and entered the Harbor with glow sticks attached to our suit and google straps. Because their is a good chance of doing part or all of your swim in the dark it is very important do get some night swim practices in. Luckily we had some light from the near by building and ferry port so it wasn't as dark as I thought it would be.
Sunday the 19th I swam with the group of channel swimmers again. I only swim for 2hrs and 30min because my shoulders where bothering me and I wanted to be safe and not get injured before the swim. A little ice and stretching will help keep me feeling good.
I talked to Freda after my swim about how long she thinks I should be swimming in the Harbor each day and she suggested 1hr 30min to 2hrs so my body gets some rest and still stays used to the water temperature. Their has been a big series of storm's since Thursday night so their is no channel swimming going on right now because it wouldn't be safe.
Wednesday the 15th I met with Eddie Spelling to give him my final payment and discuss plans for the swim. He said that he will take me when the weather is good and swim able. We discussed possible start times and how my feeding's and swim will go. After my meeting I went to Boot's to order my channel grease for the swim, which is a mixture of Vaseline and Lanolin which I will use to cover my body during the swim. In the afternoon I went swimming in the Harbor in very windy and rough condition's which was good practice in case the weather changes during my swim.
Thursday the 16th I went for a swim in the Harbor, the weather was a perfect day for swimming with very little wind and the sun shinning. I also met another swimmer training for the channel from Japan, so we both got in the water together and her coach watched us swim, they were both very nice. That night a huge storm picked up with very strong winds and a massive thunder and lightening storm all night.
Friday the 17th I took the Ferry over to France and spent the day walking around. It was my first real look across the channel. During the boat ride their was 3-5ft swells and very strong winds with poor visibility. It showed me how having good weather can really make or break your swim.
Saturday the 18th I swam with the big of channel swimmer and was told by the Channel General (Freda Streeter) that I only had to do a 4hr swim, I had thought I would have to do 6hr swim but because my swim is fastly approaching I am on taper and not supposed to over do it. It was windy with some cloud coverage and a pretty good day for swimming. That night we had a night swim with the group. We met at 9:30 pm and entered the Harbor with glow sticks attached to our suit and google straps. Because their is a good chance of doing part or all of your swim in the dark it is very important do get some night swim practices in. Luckily we had some light from the near by building and ferry port so it wasn't as dark as I thought it would be.
Sunday the 19th I swam with the group of channel swimmers again. I only swim for 2hrs and 30min because my shoulders where bothering me and I wanted to be safe and not get injured before the swim. A little ice and stretching will help keep me feeling good.
I talked to Freda after my swim about how long she thinks I should be swimming in the Harbor each day and she suggested 1hr 30min to 2hrs so my body gets some rest and still stays used to the water temperature. Their has been a big series of storm's since Thursday night so their is no channel swimming going on right now because it wouldn't be safe.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
England
(Dover Harbor This Morning)I arrived in England Monday July 12th. I had a short swim in the late afternoon in a near by pool just to loosen up.
Tuesday July 13th I had my first swim in the famous Dover Harbour. When I first showed up it was a surreal feeling and i couldn't believe I was their, after all my training it finally felt like it was time for my swim and all my hard training to come together. I showed up at the spot where channel swimmers normal meet on the weekend. I only expected to see a few people around but
their was around 20 swimmers their all getting their training in. It was a great scene because it really gives you a feeling of how divers channel swimming really is. Their where men and women of all different ages, sizes, and ethnicity's. I could here people talking in all different languages. When I was getting I saw other swimmers who have done multiple crossing's and where training other swimmer who were getting ready for their own swims in the next few weeks. When I was in the water I could see the big ferry's and cruse boats coming in and out of the harbor making waves when they went by. Dover harbor is close to 4 times the size of Aquatic Park where i train in San Francisco. Everyone on the beach was smiling, laughing and enjoying the sun and perfect training day.
Wednesday the 14th I am meeting my pilot to give him the final payment for my swim and try to plan my swim. I will put another post up tomorrow with details on the plan for my swim.
Their was an artical in the San Mateo Times about my Channel swim. The link to read the artical is http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_12817196?source=email&nclick_check=1
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
**Follow My Channel Swim Live**
For those of you interested, you can follow my channel swim live by tracking the placement of my support boat. The web-site me false lead you on the exact location of the boat and the boat will not get all the way to shore but it will help you follow the approximate location and speed of the support boat. The night before I swim I will put a quick update on my blog saying I am swimming tomorrow and about what time I will start. As a reminder my tide is July 28th- August 6th so I will be swimming some time in that slot depending on weather conditions and the two swimmers going in front of me.
The link is- www.marinetraffic.com/ais
To make things easier for you, on the top left hand corner you are going to want to click map location and select English Channel, and then bellow that you will see all the different ship types, you can un click Cargo Vessels, Tankers, Accord/Moored this will help clear up some of the traffic so you can find my boat. If you want to watch all the boat traffic going around me you can leave them all on. My boats name is ANASTASIA and its MMSI number is 2350 19572. I will be swimming in the narrow part of the Channel in the Dover to Calais part
To watch the weather and water temperature follow the link below. It is the buoy in the closet location to were I should be swimming.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=62304
The link is- www.marinetraffic.com/ais
To make things easier for you, on the top left hand corner you are going to want to click map location and select English Channel, and then bellow that you will see all the different ship types, you can un click Cargo Vessels, Tankers, Accord/Moored this will help clear up some of the traffic so you can find my boat. If you want to watch all the boat traffic going around me you can leave them all on. My boats name is ANASTASIA and its MMSI number is 2350 19572. I will be swimming in the narrow part of the Channel in the Dover to Calais part
To watch the weather and water temperature follow the link below. It is the buoy in the closet location to were I should be swimming.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=62304
Final Swim in Ireland
Today was my last swim in Ireland as part of my training for the English Channel. I swam at Sandycove, alone, in the rain, wind, and cold. It was a great change of weather to help pre pair me for the Channel that is coming up soon. I swam 2 miles in water that was 15 Celsius, so it was a rather short swim in warm water.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ireland Training Camp
(Map of the swim)The waters in Sandycove warmed up this compared to the week before so swimming has been great. On Tuesday June 23rd myself and a group of other swimmers did a swim from Portmagee to Knightstown. It was a great swim along the coast with impressive views and a good change of scenery, I took it easy to rest and enjoy the swim. We were the first known set of swimmers to have completed this swim which made it all that much better.
Her is an article written about the swim from the organizer.
"5 mile Portmagee to Knightstown swim 23 June 2009.
This swim was in preparation for the 4 mile Beginish swim to be run for the first time on 25th July. The Beginish event is susceptible to risk of cancellation due to bad weather from the North or West accompanied by an big Atlantic swell because there is a 1 mile section facing the Atlantic and the Portmagee to Knightstown route can now be confirmed as the option B. 8 swimmers travelled to Portmagee to enter the water at about 11:15, the temperature was warmer than Sandycove at about 14 – 15 C but the South Easterly breeze was whipping up a fair choppy sea into the face for the first 3 miles and behind us for the last 2. We had boat cover and someone on the shore for the duration of the swim. The group comprised Lisa and myself as the Cork contingent and 6 swim campers Carl, Carl, Thomas, Nick, Fredrik, Daniel formed the international challenge. The swim brought us across the channel to the Valentia Island side before going under the Portmagee bridge (no big crowd this time Ned but we did attract a few photo’s from startled tourists at the start). Nick swam ahead as only he can leaving the rest of us to battle along by the Valentia Island shore with hats and goggles being knocked of a few of us such was the choppy nature of the sea. Surprisingly we had a tide with us for the first mile and a half but this was not to last as about halfway it turned against us for the last 3 miles. The tactic for this swim is the one that was used for Neds Valentia Island swim and that was to keep up against the shore and in amongst the long strand sea weed known affectionately as ‘dead womans hair’ to beat the slightly adverse tide. As expected Nick Caine was having lunch by the time the rest of us finished having completed in 2:07 with the rest of us all completed within 2:35. This swim is now option B for Beginish and is a safer option should the weather conditions take a turn for the worst as the swimmer can walk ashore virtually at any time during the swim. Incidentally the conditions were probably good enough to have gone around Beginish on the day!"
This swim was in preparation for the 4 mile Beginish swim to be run for the first time on 25th July. The Beginish event is susceptible to risk of cancellation due to bad weather from the North or West accompanied by an big Atlantic swell because there is a 1 mile section facing the Atlantic and the Portmagee to Knightstown route can now be confirmed as the option B. 8 swimmers travelled to Portmagee to enter the water at about 11:15, the temperature was warmer than Sandycove at about 14 – 15 C but the South Easterly breeze was whipping up a fair choppy sea into the face for the first 3 miles and behind us for the last 2. We had boat cover and someone on the shore for the duration of the swim. The group comprised Lisa and myself as the Cork contingent and 6 swim campers Carl, Carl, Thomas, Nick, Fredrik, Daniel formed the international challenge. The swim brought us across the channel to the Valentia Island side before going under the Portmagee bridge (no big crowd this time Ned but we did attract a few photo’s from startled tourists at the start). Nick swam ahead as only he can leaving the rest of us to battle along by the Valentia Island shore with hats and goggles being knocked of a few of us such was the choppy nature of the sea. Surprisingly we had a tide with us for the first mile and a half but this was not to last as about halfway it turned against us for the last 3 miles. The tactic for this swim is the one that was used for Neds Valentia Island swim and that was to keep up against the shore and in amongst the long strand sea weed known affectionately as ‘dead womans hair’ to beat the slightly adverse tide. As expected Nick Caine was having lunch by the time the rest of us finished having completed in 2:07 with the rest of us all completed within 2:35. This swim is now option B for Beginish and is a safer option should the weather conditions take a turn for the worst as the swimmer can walk ashore virtually at any time during the swim. Incidentally the conditions were probably good enough to have gone around Beginish on the day!"
Saturday June 27th was the last official swim of the training camp. We had a great swim in water around 15 degree's Celsius. We did not have boat coverage for the swim because we changed venues at last moment since most of the swimmers were getting tired of Sandycove since we swam so many miles in the last two weeks their. In order to have a safe swim we stayed in a close group and made sure no one got separated. We ended up swimming through thousands of Jelly fish (and this is not an exaggeration) we swam through walls of jellyfish for about 3 miles. Luckily they were mostly the non stinging one's so you could touch them and they just bounce off, their were some that like to sting but they can usually be avoided. I unfortunately missed getting out of the way and got stung by one across my stomach and forearm, I'm now left with a nice big red mark where I was stung but it doesn't hurt to bad, cold salt water is a great treatment for stings. The swim was a great way to finish a hard and long training camp.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
6 Hour Swim
Sunday June 21st-
Sunday we started are 6 hour swim. Distance didn't matter as long as we stayed in the water for 6 hours. It was originally planned that we would do a 7 hour swim but that was only to change are mind set and we were told it would only be 6 hours during are 4 hour feed. The water temperature was between 52-54 Fahrenheit or 11-13 Celsius.
I did complete 6 hours and got out of the water shortly after the 6 hour point. I was cold from the 2 and a half hour point until the 4 hour and then I warmed back up and was very comfortable when I got out.
Sunday we started are 6 hour swim. Distance didn't matter as long as we stayed in the water for 6 hours. It was originally planned that we would do a 7 hour swim but that was only to change are mind set and we were told it would only be 6 hours during are 4 hour feed. The water temperature was between 52-54 Fahrenheit or 11-13 Celsius.
I did complete 6 hours and got out of the water shortly after the 6 hour point. I was cold from the 2 and a half hour point until the 4 hour and then I warmed back up and was very comfortable when I got out.
Irish Champion of Champions 2009
Saturday June 20st-
The race began at 9:30 am at the Speckle Door 5k down the coast. We started are swim up the coast to Sandycove and then 2 laps around the Island to make the first leg of the race a little over 5 miles. We were swimming straight into the wind and chop which made it so I had to work harder to cover the same distance. From the start I took a very strong lead and was in front of everyone but I took a line that was around 600-700 meters off the coast while most people were 200 meters away. By the time I got to the back of the Island to start my first lap I was lost and not sure where I was supposed to turn so I had to stop and waive down a boat to ask them, by that point Ned Denison the race organizer had passed me. On are first lap around the Island I caught back up to him and passed him taking my lead again. I finished with over a 50m lead in a time of 2:04.59 for 5 miles. Followed by Ned Denison (2) and Julieann Galloway (3).
At 2pm we started the 3mile leg of the race. My arms were sore from the first part of the race which made it difficult to keep up a high tempo. Julieann and I were swimming stroke for stroke until she took off the last 800 meters and I fell off. I decided not to push myself because I already had over a 1 minute lead on her from the first race and we still had one more race to go. Julieann finished 22 seconds in front of me and we were almost 6 minutes in front of 3rd place for that race.
At 5pm after a long day of racing and waiting we finally started the last part of the race, a 1 mile sprint. Julieann and I new it would be a close race and that I had a slight lead on her from the 5 mile race. It turns out I had a 42 second lead on her but we did not know that at the time. We all took off and again I took the lead from the very start because in a 1 mile race it can be very close and I wanted to have clean water to swim in and be able to change my line with out anyone in my way. I finished the 1 mile race in 21 minutes 32 seconds followed by Julieann with a time of 22 minutes 21 seconds.
Top 5 finishers
First place over-all and First place men's- Nicholas Caine, Time- 3:30.30
2nd place over-all and First place female- Julieann Galloway, Time- 3:32.01
3rd place- Ned Denison, Time- 3:38.51
4th place- Owen O'Keefe, Time- 3:48.49
5th place- Sylvain Estadieu, Time- 3:49.50
Due to currents and other factors the 9 mile race was probably 10 miles instead
The race began at 9:30 am at the Speckle Door 5k down the coast. We started are swim up the coast to Sandycove and then 2 laps around the Island to make the first leg of the race a little over 5 miles. We were swimming straight into the wind and chop which made it so I had to work harder to cover the same distance. From the start I took a very strong lead and was in front of everyone but I took a line that was around 600-700 meters off the coast while most people were 200 meters away. By the time I got to the back of the Island to start my first lap I was lost and not sure where I was supposed to turn so I had to stop and waive down a boat to ask them, by that point Ned Denison the race organizer had passed me. On are first lap around the Island I caught back up to him and passed him taking my lead again. I finished with over a 50m lead in a time of 2:04.59 for 5 miles. Followed by Ned Denison (2) and Julieann Galloway (3).
At 2pm we started the 3mile leg of the race. My arms were sore from the first part of the race which made it difficult to keep up a high tempo. Julieann and I were swimming stroke for stroke until she took off the last 800 meters and I fell off. I decided not to push myself because I already had over a 1 minute lead on her from the first race and we still had one more race to go. Julieann finished 22 seconds in front of me and we were almost 6 minutes in front of 3rd place for that race.
At 5pm after a long day of racing and waiting we finally started the last part of the race, a 1 mile sprint. Julieann and I new it would be a close race and that I had a slight lead on her from the 5 mile race. It turns out I had a 42 second lead on her but we did not know that at the time. We all took off and again I took the lead from the very start because in a 1 mile race it can be very close and I wanted to have clean water to swim in and be able to change my line with out anyone in my way. I finished the 1 mile race in 21 minutes 32 seconds followed by Julieann with a time of 22 minutes 21 seconds.
Top 5 finishers
First place over-all and First place men's- Nicholas Caine, Time- 3:30.30
2nd place over-all and First place female- Julieann Galloway, Time- 3:32.01
3rd place- Ned Denison, Time- 3:38.51
4th place- Owen O'Keefe, Time- 3:48.49
5th place- Sylvain Estadieu, Time- 3:49.50
Due to currents and other factors the 9 mile race was probably 10 miles instead
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ireland
I arrived in Ireland Monday the 15th and had my first training swim that night in a river in Fermoy the water was 15 Celsius. (Picture above)
Tuesday morning the 16th I was up at 4:25am to go to Sandy Cove for a swim at 5am the water ranged from 13-15 Celsius and then that night we swam in Iniscara which was a great place to swim and a very warm 18 Celsius.
Wednesday the 17th I was up at 4:20am to swim in Sandy Cove at 5am again the water was 12.5-15 Celsius. When i arrived to swim it was pouring rain, dark, cold, and very windy. On the inside of the Island we were protected from most of the waves so it was only windy, rainy and cold. When we made it to the outside of the Island it was not protected at all. We were swimming in 3-4 ft waves with very strong cross winds and hard rain. It was a great training swim because we never know how are real swim will go so it helped prepare us for almost anything.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Results from Nationals
June 12th 2009- 5k National Championship: 27th place, Time: 1:02.58
During the 5k I went easy and used it as a warm up swim to get ready for Sunday's race and learn more about the course and currents. We swam in 2-3ft swells with very strong cross winds, rough conditions.
June 14th 2009- 10k National Champion & World Team Trials: 35th place, Time: 2:09.47
Great swim with fairly flat water with some wind towards the end of the race. For both the 5k and 10k the water was very warm 85-87. Canada used this meet as their World Team qualifying meet so their were eight swimmers from Canada who raced and finished before me.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Upcoming Races
June 12th 2009- USA Swimming 5k Open Water National Championships, Fort Myers Beach, Florida
June 14th 2009- USA Swimming 10k Open Water National Championships & World Championship Trials, Fort Myers Beach, Florida
June 20th 2009- Irish Champion of Champions Race (9 miles), Cork Ireland
June 14th 2009- USA Swimming 10k Open Water National Championships & World Championship Trials, Fort Myers Beach, Florida
June 20th 2009- Irish Champion of Champions Race (9 miles), Cork Ireland
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Alcatraz Race
On January 3rd 2009 I took part in the 2nd Winter Alcatraz Race hosted by Water World Swim. The water temperature was 49-50 degrees fahrenheit with sunny sky’s and flat water. I finished the race first place overall and first place in the skin division with a time of 20 minutes and 13 seconds.
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