Few clubs in the world have members who regularly ask one another, "Who's planning to swim the Channel this year?" This is a common question, however, at the Dolphin and South End clubs. It's a rare year when at least one person from each side of the shared beach is not aspiring to swim the English Channel solo.
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| Adam in the Cove |
This year, the aspirant from the Dolphin Club is Adam Engelskirchen, one of the club's faster swimmers. His Channel swim window starts in the second half of August and his training is proceeding according to schedule. The last weekend in May, he completed his qualifying swim of six hours in water 60 degrees or colder. This was his last administrative hurdle before climbing onto his pilot boat in England.
He planned his qualifying swim in two parts. In part one, he would swim around Aquatic Park Cove for a couple of hours. Then, David Rich would join him and they would swim to the Golden Gate bridge on the end of the ebb and return to the Cove on the beginning of the flood. Depending on timing, Adam would finish his six hours up in the Cove.
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| David Rich |
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley. The window for starting the out-of-cove portion of the swim was pretty tight. A twenty knot west wind whipping the surface current squeezed the window tighter. A noon start of the annual Master Mariners Regatta in the waters near the St. Francis Yacht Club closed the window to mouse size.
Adam began his swim on schedule, looping around the Cove in smooth, steady strokes. David Rich joined him at the appointed time and they continued around the Cove together. By the time the necessary pilot coverage assembled, the wind had increased to thirty knots and the current was already heading the swimmers when they turned west around Muni Pier.
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| Stinging Nettle |
Adam and David were able to take advantage of some current and wind shadow from the buildings and piers at Fort Mason. Once they lost that protection, though, they were at the mercy of howling wind, steep chop, and unfavorable current. They crept side by side past the breakwater of Gas House Cove, slowing down even more at the opening to St. Francis harbor. By the time they reached the spit of land at the east end of Coughlin Beach, they swam in place for an hour. At feeding time, they shot back east 150 yards and it took them another 30 minutes of swimming to get back to where they swam in place again. The good news is that the rough water and the glacial progress were probably good mental training for the English Channel.
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| Gas House Cove Breakwater |
Adam came very close several times to getting additional preparation for a nasty Channel swim. All week long, stinging nettle jellyfish had been blooming in the San Francisco Bay. They don't show up every year, but they were thick in the water this day. Both Adam and David came within inches of brushing against these nematocyst-encrusted tentacles more than once. I was piloting in a kayak and, with the buffeting wind and waves, had no maneuverability to steer them away from the danger. The noise of the near-tempest rendered verbal warnings impossible as well. Miraculously, neither swimmer crashed into one of these debilitating creatures.
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| Feeding Time |
At the next feeding, the swimmers decided to reverse course and whizzed back toward Aquatic Park. They continued past the opening, plowed through the confused sea there, and zoomed down the east end of the breakwater. Rounding the end, they found calmer water on the south side of the breakwater. At this point, David made his adieus and went back to the club. Adam swam two more "outside-inside" courses and completed his six hours looking strong and relaxed.
Although he has completed the minimum swimming requirements for a Channel attempt, Adam, like most other Dolphins, is expecting to complete a 10 hour swim before heading to England. Given his speed, training, and determination, he's well prepared to succeed.
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