Open Water Swims

Open water swimming, my physical state of peace.

Croatia Dalmatian Coast - 2019

I swam between Croatian Islands for a week as a swimtrek adventure. My favorite part was staying on a small island without a single car.

Manly Cole Classic - 2017

This was a fun 2km race and one of my personal best racing performances. You start at Shelly Beach, swim a 2km course and then finish on Manly Beach.

Palm Beach to Whale Beach - 2017

An awesome race in Sydney, we swam from Palm Beach around the headland to Whale Beach. This was the most beautiful swim that I have ever done.

Round Trip Bondi Bay - 2017

This is a beautiful swim, and can have some serious natural challenges. Blue bottles (painful to get stung by) and tremendous surf being the two biggest. You swim from the Bondi Icebergs club to the other side of the bay and back.

Agia Roumeli to Vritomartis Beach - 2016

As part of the Big Blue Swim, I spent a week swimming from Agia Roumeli beach to Vritomartis Beach in Crete. It was an amazing week of swimming and ancient history. I still cannot believe how calm and clear the mediterranean water is. The most challenging part was the 105F heat in August.

Angel Island to Aquatic Park - 2015

This swim was very challenging for me, as it is a 5 to 6 mile swim (depending on the usual drift from currents) across the bay from Angel Island to AAquatic Park. I had an amazing kayaker with my friend and I out there, who kept us going with water and energy packet breaks. By the end of the swim I was at my limit with the cold and my shoulders felt like they were going to explode, but it was all worth it in the end.

Pier 7 to Aquatic Park - 2016

This was a true South End classic. After pea soup fog made the summer club Alcatraz swim unattenable, we did a last minute switch to a Pier 7. Pier 7 is much further from the club than Alcatraz, and on top of this, a strong flood current was scheduled to start ripping against swimmers before the swim would be finished. The flood was the least of our problem, as a tremendous amount of recreational and commercial boat traffic was in the water that morning. We had to stop the swim for 5 different ferry boats, and at one point, the pilot was standing up in the inflatable boat warding off the ferrys. What a morning!

Golden Gate Bridge - 2015

This swim is relatively short (about one mile), but it's extremely intimidating crossing from the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge to the north. Most of the bay is no deeper than a swimming pool, but the water here is hundreds of feet deep and this is a very busy shipping lane.

Alcatraz - 2015

This is the famous "Escape From Alcatraz" swim. You don't actually get to jump from the island, but off a boat very close to the island. This swim is different everytime depending on the currents. I was swiftly reminded of this on the July 11th, 2015 club Alcatraz swim. Currents were so tough I finished the swim in an hour and five minutes, compared to my goal of 35 to 40 minutes!

ATT Park to The Cove - 2015

I did this swim in the late summer of 2014, jumping in next to ATT park and swimming halfway around the city back to The Cove. Due to a cruise ship coming into port and a container ship passing through, this swim was a real adrenaline rush at times. I was still able to finish the swim.