Sea Scouts of San Francisco

 

The 100-year history of the San Francisco Sea Scouts presents a cautionary tale that could have ensnared the Dolphin and South End swimming and boating clubs.  Thanks to the pioneering women in the 1970s who insisted on joining the clubs, we dodged a bullet.

Tamara Sokolov, skipper of Ship 100

Tamara Sokolov came to Sea Scouting in the footsteps of her older brother.  The family lived about a ten-minute walk away from the current Scout Base at the west end of Aquatic Park.  At fourteen years old, her brother was raised as a "free range" kid and left the house one morning with only the strict admonition to "be home by dinner."  As he walked by the Base, he saw a group of kids getting ready to go sailing and they invited him to go along.  When he returned home, he regaled the family with his sea-faring adventure.  As Tamara tells the story, "I'm from a family of five kids—pretty low income—and at the time, Sea Scouts was $60 a year so it became the one extra-curricular.  All of us kids joined after that and went through the program.  When I turned 21, I started running it and I'm still here."  She is now the Skipper of Ship 100.  In Sea Scout terms, a ship is the group equivalent to a Boy Scout "troop." She is also the Vice President on the executive committee of Scouting in the Bay Area.

The boys' boat, the Corsair

The Sea Scouting program in San Francisco is one of the most vibrant in the country.  The program currently has around 100 active scouts and, as reported by Heather Breaux in the August '23 edition of Latitude 38, "It's important that the families living in San Francisco understand that the Sea Scouts is a low-cost resource:  The wild joy and disciplined seamanship the kids possess from their time in Sea Scouts is an invaluable part of the continuing history of the waterfront."  And the program wins national recognition.  Ship 100 was recently honored with the 2023-2024 BoatUS National Flagship Award in recognition as the best ship in the country.  This honor is awarded not only for seamanship, but also for volunteer contribution to the community and leadership in water-based education.  Among other contributions, at Tinsley Island in the Delta, scouts from Ship 22 and Ship 100 helped to clear a former landslide site, retiled a roof, and installed a new sprinkler system.  They provided nautical education to young kids at Aquatic Park on Junior Ranger Day and to visiting cub scouts throughout the year.  The scouts also provide volunteer services to the National Park Service.  One recent example was a Quartermaster Service project in June, 2024 when scouts went aloft on the Balclutha to tar the rigging and help preserve the shrouds and stays of the masts.

Crew of the girls' boat, the Viking

The red Viking is the boat for the girls’ Ship 100.  The boys' vessel is the blue Corsair.  Both boats started life in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the 1930s as lifeboats for an Indianapolis-class cruiser.  The Navy donated the boats to the Scouts in the 1950s.  Now known as whaleboats, these vessels have no motors, but can be sailed as well as rowed.  However, unlike modern sailboats, the sheets do not lead aft where the tiller is located.  This means that a crew must manage the sails. While the adult skippers provide supervision and guidance, the boats are commanded by a Sea Scout.  Steve Welch, the current Commodore, says, "The real masterstroke of Sea Scouting is the leadership skills you get while you're having these adventures like sailing up the Delta on a two-week summer cruise, camping on islands."  Tamara says, "We're cruising with 40 kids in 5 boats together and being able to run and play 'Capture the Flag' on an abandoned island.  We don't allow any electronic devices.  The kids go through weird withdrawals the first 48 hours.  But two days into the cruise, they're playing cards; they're busting out ukuleles and singing.  It's fun seeing teenagers act like kids again."  With no motor, the kids sail back against the wind through the narrow Carquinez straits sometimes doing as many as eleven tacks an hour and facing six-foot swells in San Pablo Bay.

1958 picture of Aquatic Park 
Sea Scouts and
High School Cutter location
SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Commodore Steve Welch came to the Sea Scouts when he was 14 years old.  While picking up newspapers at 24th and Valencia for his paper route near his home in the Mission, a friend told him he'd heard that "boys sailed and rowed their own boats" on the Bay.  Deciding to investigate, they rode two buses from the Mission to the Marina, walked through the Ft. Mason railroad tunnel, found a building they'd never seen before, and were promptly set to sanding a boat.  Steve says, "It was such a cool experience that I came back every weekend all through high school" riding the buses for an hour each way.  Initially afraid of the water, he soon "became a lifeguard, got jobs teaching small-boat sailing, and getting a pilot license at 16."

The SF Sea Scouts were originally based in Marina harbor in the 1920s along with the High School Cutter Program.  In 1938, the Marina Harbor expansion caused the scouts to move to Gas House Cove and the High School Cutter Program to move to the foot of Van Ness. With the start of WWII, the army was uncomfortable having a bunch of small boats roaming windward of their embarkation pier at Fort Mason.  Fortunately, the scouts were able to relocate to share the school district pier.  They built little storage shacks near the Ft. Mason tunnel.  A small gap in the Muni Pier parapet, now plugged with plywood, provided a gate to a gangway leading to floating docks and pilings that formed the pier at the foot of Van Ness Avenue.  Many Dolphins now refer to this early scout location as “the goalposts,” or “Farnsworth Gap.”  As WWII revved up, the scouting program deteriorated significantly.  Many adult leaders and older scouts joined the Navy or merchant marine.  The army posted sentries throughout the park, the motorpool area was fenced off, and Aquatic Park became "off-limits" to the public.

Proposed Sea Scout Base, 1936
San Francisco NHP Historic Documents

In June, 1936, City architect William Mooser, Jr. began to develop designs and draft plans for the buildings intended for the nascent Aquatic Park.  The central building was the Bathhouse, now the Maritime Museum.  In a sign of the respect that San Francisco held for the Sea Scouts, he also developed plans for a boathouse for them in the same Streamlined Moderne style.  Because of complications and delays during the three years of construction at Aquatic Park, plans for the scout boathouse (and new buildings for the rowing clubs) were abandoned.

According to Stephen Canright, Curator of Maritime History, in the Fall 2017 San Francisco Maritime Sea Letter, “The structure that now houses the Sea Scout Base … was built by the Army Port of Embarkation in 1942.”   When the war ended, the Army transferred use of the building and wharf to the Sea Scouts in a deal with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks department.  By 1950, the scouting program was back in full swing.  A 1948 aerial photograph shows the Sea Scout building, dock, and wharf in spiffy condition and surrounded with perhaps six active whaleboat ships and three or four powerboat ships.

1962 picture of functioning wharf with dinghies ready to launch SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY In 1977, the City and County of San Francisco, headed by mayor George Moscone, handed over to the National Park Service (NPS) the real property that is now known as Aquatic Park.  This transfer included the Sea Scout building and wharf.  The cable car turnaround property remained in city hands for obvious reasons.  The swimming and rowing clubs almost went over to the NPS too.  In September, 1977, the SF Progress reported that just prior to City approval of the transfer, the NPS "sent the matter back to committee for further hearing."  The reason given at the time, according to Supervisor Dianne Feinstein, "is that the transfer has been complicated by pending court action involving private rowing clubs located in this part of the City's northern waterfront.  The litigation involves questions of public access and membership discrimination."  She was referring to the lawsuit that Joan Brown and five other women successfully pursued to require the SERC, the Dolphin Club, and the Ariel Club to admit women.  The June, 1980 version of the Cultural History of GGNRA states, "Today the Dolphin and South End Clubs are the only nineteenth century rowing and swimming clubs still active in San Francisco County. Although now under city control the rowing clubs at Aquatic Park will be transferred to GGNRA after legal complications are corrected [emphasis added]. Recommend their inclusion in the National Register nomination for Aquatic Park when they are under National Park Service management."  Thankfully, that didn't happen.  Otherwise, the clubs would have been vulnerable to the whims of the National Maritime Historical Park (NMHP). NPS space occupied for over 30 years and still unavailable for scout use A good example is what happened to the Sea Scouts who operated fairly independently under the National Park Service until 1988 when Congress established the NMHP and it took over the Aquatic Park environs.  Within a short time, the convenience stations were shuttered leaving the scouts (and the public) with no readily accessible restrooms.  For a while, an outpost of the Park Police was housed at the Sea Scout base.  Although the police quickly relocated, the space has remained under NMHP control to the present day and has been unavailable for scout use for over a quarter century.  The space currently appears unoccupied and a bit disheveled but Paul DePrey, Superintendent of the National Maritime Historical Park maintains that this space is earmarked for future use in a sailing education program managed by the NMHP in concert with a partner that has yet to be identified.  Compare that to our building in 1988. What is now the Zahler Hall, women’s locker room, and Sancimino Room was a recently constructed empty shell.  Imagine what a tempting morsel that might have been to the Superintendent of NMHP at the time.

The April, 2009 issue of Argonaut360.com (Vol. XXVII No. 4955) reported on one of the darkest days for the scouts with the NPS.  The Superintendent of the SF Maritime National Historical Park had sent a non-negotiable and apparently vindictive Special Use Permit, in January of 2009, to the SF Sea Scouts with the following operating parameters which would, in effect, shut down the Scout Base.

• No vessels may be hauled out
• No maintenance work of any kind, including sanding and painting, may be done
• The ongoing historical whaleboat restoration project must be relocated
• The storage lockers, sail lockers, and workshop must be emptied
• Removal of all maintenance tools and material from the Base

In the couple of months following issuance of the Special Use Permit, assistants from the offices of Senator Dianne Feinstein and Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as retired admiral Tom Brown of the Navy League attended a meeting between the Sea Scouts and George Turnbull, the Assistant Regional Director of the NPS.  “After the meeting, the NMHP Superintendent rescinded the order to vacate lockers and buoys by March 31.  She reinstated the prior agreement which was a Cooperative Use Agreement.”

Condemned Sea Scout wharf
days before destruction

Since 1948, the Scout Base has had a wharf connected to the concrete dock by a wooden trestle.  As late as 1998, when it was fully operational, the wharf provided a handy place to stow the sailing dinghies—used for training and fun—out of the water and free of sea scum.  The wharf had davits which made launching and retrieving the dinghies a simple, dry operation as opposed to having to fetch them from moorings in the cove.  Over the intervening years, due to a complicated history of neglect, the wharf disintegrated and was closed for use in 2106.  With a functioning wharf, the scouts could double or even quadruple the number of kids participating in the scouting programs.  In June of this year the wharf, already in a state of near collapse, was destroyed and removed on a barge.

Paul DePrey expresses optimism for the future of the Scout Base facilities.  He fully expects the capabilities that the wharf provided will be replaced following a process outlined by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  He expects this process to begin at the end of the year with a “public conversation.”

The lease agreement between the Dolphin Club and the City of San Francisco has a current term of 25 years with an option to renew for an additional 24 years.  In contrast, the agreements between Sea Scouts and NPS have had a standard maximum term of 5 years.  Many times, an agreement with the NPS will expire years before a replacement offers some peace of mind for the scouts.  This fallow period was true prior to the most recent instrument—a Special Park Use Permit, just signed in June, 2024.  This current accord, like the 2009 Special Use Permit comes with a zinger.  The Sea Scouts must pay a use fee in the unprecedented amount of $18,000 per year and their hours of access to the Base are restricted unless they give 24 hours notice.

Iron bars installed for the Park Police outpost

The Maritime Park General Plan of 1997 says, “The Sea Scout base would be rehabilitated for continued use by the San Francisco Sea Scouts. In cooperation with the San Francisco Sea Scouts, the park would explore options to pro­vide sail training at the Sea Scout base.  An appropriate agreement would be established with the Sea Scouts for operation and use of the facility.”  When asked about the change in instruments from agreement to permit, Paul DePrey responded flatly that “The instrument now being used is a Special Park Use permit.  The park had a management review several years ago which determined that the previous agreement was not an appropriate instrument due to the substantive involvement aspect (among others).”  However, the recently expired Cooperative Agreement only committed the NPS to monitor Sea Scout operations and ensure compliance with statutory requirements.  To a lay observer, this hardly seems substantive involvement.

When asked why a General Agreement could not replace the expired Cooperative Agreement, DePrey points to a recent Director’s Order prohibiting “financial assistance in any form (including subsidizing) through a General Agreement” and refers to the use of “utilities such as electricity” as a subsidy.  However, the most recent agreement held the scouts solely accountable for all utilities (including electricity, water, sewer, telephone, and garbage disposal).  It also made them responsible for maintenance and repair of all the facilities used in their operation.  

The reason these responses seem confusing is that Superintendent DePrey is befuddled on the topic.  When asked for clarification, the Section Chief of NPS Financial Assistance states clearly, "General agreements effectively replaced MOUs [Memorandums of Understanding].  A General Agreement cannot be used to exchange funds. Substantial involvement is a condition of financial assistance cooperative agreements, not general agreements."  Of course, the decision to issue a Special Use Permit is a management decision and the NMHP is well within its power to decide how to engage with the scouts, but the visuals are not very attractive.

Despite ongoing shabby treatment by the NMHP, the San Francisco Sea Scouts continue to offer a healthy, thriving program predominantly serving kids from lower- and middle-income families.  May it long continue to do so.  And the rowing clubs can continue to thank Joan Brown and her intrepid group of friends for helping to keep us free of federal control.

Six Old Goats Set an English Channel World Record

 

 Duke Dahlin - Preamble

Duke Dahlin

The story of setting a new American record for swimming across the English Channel began about 26 years ago when I joined the Dolphin Club.  I just wanted to get as far away from Masters pool competition as I could. Outdoor swimming was more fun, exciting, and challenging. I joined a swim pod that consisted of Laura Burtch, Becky Fenson, John Selmer, and Heather Royer. Laura and John had already successfully swum the English Channel. Then Becky followed soon afterward. After Heather completed her Channel swim, I made my second attempt when I was 55 on August 8, 2003, and successfully finished in 14hrs 37mins. John Ottersberg was my coach on the escort boat Sea Satin piloted by Lance Oram from the Channel Swimming & Pilot Federation (CS&PF).

During the Polar Bear season of 2015-16, I had just retired from work and was thinking of another English Channel attempt. My goal was to be the oldest successful solo swimmer. Before I did that, I figured I needed to see where my mind and body were. In 2004, George Kebbe set a new PB record of 356 miles. Ralph Wenzel (2007) and Peter Perez (2013) both tied that number I had been thinking about breaking that record for years, but it would have to be by a lot.  My goal was 400 miles. 

After I set the new PB record, I kept mulling over another English Channel swim. I had heard several years ago that a 73-year-old man was the oldest successful Channel swimmer. I thought, okay I’ll wait until I’m 75. Why 75? I liked how the number sounded. In 2021, I started the process of booking my escort boat, the Sea Satin. I wanted to go with Lance again. I was given a swim window of August 16-22, 2023. In order to be totally prepared in 2021, I reserved a pilot boat for a Catalina Channel swim in 2021. 

My organization was coming together and I started to get excited. But my plans were thwarted by medical problems. The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center did some tests and said I needed surgery on my left-rotator cuff, and repairs to the bicep. I canceled the Catalina swim and concentrated on the English Channel. By July 2022, the PT for my shoulder was going great, but I now had shortness of breath. I did a cardiovascular “stress test” and was diagnosed with Peripheral Arterial Disease. My VA doctor discovered that 95% of my left artery was blocked, and they put in a stent.  The doctors signed off on my English Channel solo swim, but my body and mind told me to reconsider.

After a lot of thought, on December 16, 2022, I decided I wasn’t ready for a solo crossing. With my continued shortness of breath, I moved forward with a backup plan—to organize a 6-person mixed relay team of people 70 and over.  Putting together a 70+ relay team from the DC wasn’t as easy I thought it would be. It wasn’t until May when the team was finalized and it was worth the wait. The final team consisted of Sunny McKee, Tom Neill, Julian Sapirstein, Joni Beemsterboer, John Hornor, and me. With no backups, this was our only shot at a world record. 

Team Feet in Dover

Both Sunny & Joni had previous EC relay experience from the 80s and 90s. Tom had swum both the Catalina Channel and the length of Lake Tahoe. Julian and John were a little less experienced, but one hundred percent committed. Our training started off rough. On March 11, three of our swimmers could not finish their 30-minute swim. But on the April 22 swim, everyone did a bit better. A rocky start to be sure. Then by June 27 I was surprised and relieved when all of us Old Goats completed the qualifier swim long before the conservative July 1 target date that I had set for us.

Julian Sapirstein, my husband Joel, and I arrived at Heathrow on August 12. That morning, I received a text from our pilot to ask if the team was ready. With Sunny and John arriving early in the afternoon, and Tom and Joni arriving later that evening, I knew we were. Lance asked that our team meet him at the Marina gate in Dover at 10:15pm August 15. It was an incredibly nervous and excited bunch of swimmers who met him that evening.

Once we got to the Sea Satin, Lance explained the rules and regulations, and introduced us to his crew, Tanya and Mia, and Martin, the official observer. We headed to Shakespeare Beach – about 30 minutes from Dover harbor. As the boat started to maneuver outside of the marina, we could feel it rocking dramatically back and forth and side to side.

Duke Dahlin - 11:10pm to 12:10am – 1^st hour 

Team at the Sea Satin
John Hornor, Joni Beemsterboer,
Julian Sapirstein, Tom Neil,
Sunny McKee, Duke

I must confess, I do not like swimming in the dark—especially when the water is choppy. The Sea Satin shined a beacon of light onto Shakespeare Beach to guide me. As the first swimmer, it was my job to find the beach, emerge completely from the water, and then officially start the swim. Finding a beach in the dark of night wasn’t all that easy even with the spotlight from the boat. But after a minute or so I walked onto land. The lights on the Sea Satin flashed, signaling me to begin. Deep breaths. Time to go.

The water temperature was very comfortable, maybe 65F, but the conditions made it difficult to stay calm and breathe comfortably. I thought about my commitment to the team and told myself to just stay relaxed, remain calm, and keep swimming. There were times when I was ahead of the boat, and times when I was slightly behind. During the first half of my swim, I learned to adapt to the speed of the boat and “go with the flow.” At the end of my hour, I was proud that I had persevered.

Sunny McKee - 12:10am to 1:10am – 2^nd hour 

The good news is when we met at 9:45 Tues. night, Aug. 15, the winds seemed to dissipate. I remember sending a text to my family that said “pretty clear and almost no wind.”  The myth of “almost no wind” was quickly dispelled as we left the calm waters of the protected harbor. It was a beautiful clear night though.

After Duke had swum for about 30 minutes, the observer went over the rules: the current swimmers must swim for one hour. The upcoming swimmer must be standing on the platform at 58 minutes, and when the siren goes off, the upcoming swimmer jumps in and floats behind the current swimmer. The current swimmer swims to the boat and exits the water. Any violation and it’s an instant disqualification. 

The siren goes off and I jump into the water. I have opted to have a spotlight from the boat on me while I swim. This was a mistake because I was truly blinded. The time signal that we had planned didn’t work because the spotlight was so blinding – I would have to stop swimming to really see the whiteboard with the time.  My constant mantra: “I do not want to cause our team to fail.”

One hour later, the siren sounds and I climb onboard so happy to be alive! The first person I see is Duke and we both start laughing and embrace. I laughed so hard. This was one of my favorite moments of this challenge.

Tom Neill - 1:10 to 2:10am – 3^rd hour

Tom in the Channel

The pilot boat was not well-lit onboard, and the darkness added to my nerves as I looked for
my equipment. It was simple: Just a cap, ear plugs, low light goggles and swim suit. I plunged in the dark choppy water.

I swam past Sunny, as she completed her first leg and was left alone in the dark with a few lights on the boat. Nerves and excitement pushed me along and soon I passed the bow and kept swimming into the darkness. I focused on my stroke. My attention was broken by shouts from the boat. I stopped and was told that I was swimming towards England. The boat turned me around and we headed back towards France.

It seemed like a very long leg, and I became impatient and tired of the repeated chop which caused me to exaggerate my rotation for air and repeatedly filled my nose with sea water. Finally, my hour was over. I did not hear the siren but did notice the light flashing across my face. I was very happy. 

Julian Sapirstein - 2:10 to 3:10am – 4^th hour 

That first swim was the hardest, starting in the pitch black and rough water. The boat was going in fits and starts, so sometimes it was ahead, sometimes behind and sometimes right beside me. Being ahead of the boat was particularly distressing because I didn't expect it and its location was not immediately obvious. The water was warm, so I didn't fear hypothermia, but the stress of night swimming took a toll and I was shivering when I got out at the end of the hour. The rough water and darkness had been a challenge, but I felt good after finishing, knowing that my next swim would be in daylight.

Joni Beemsterboer - 3:10 to 4:10am - 5^th hour

As Julian climbed aboard, I headed into the darkness. Soon the team shouted that I was too far out. The current made the correction difficult. There were moments when it felt like the water calmed and I could get into my rhythm only to be knocked by a wave or two. Some Channel swimmers report lumpiness in the water—an apt description. The goal is to find that swim zone that makes each stroke feel rewarding, satisfying and ideally productive. Such zones were fleeting. It was so damn dark.

John Hornor - 4:10am to 5:10am – 6^th hour

I’d mostly recovered from partial knee replacement (12/10/21) and rotator cuff repair (5/6/22) but recovery had limited my usual exercise routine, so after I said yes to Duke’s invitation to join the relay team I knew I had to get in shape. I joined the USF Masters swim program at Koret with coach Chris Wagner, started weight training, and stopped drinking alcohol.

The sky was brightening with first light as I jumped off the stern of the Sea Satin into the dark, 63-degree Channel. I swam into position behind Joni and officially started my first leg. I was confident, happy to be finally swimming. I got lost in my stroke, started daydreaming, and before I knew it Tom was waving his arms.

Duke Dahlin - 5:10 to 6:10am – 7^th hour

It’s so nice to swim in daylight!  It seems after John’s swim, the wind started to pick up again. From time to time, I would swallow some Channel. The spectacular sun was rising on my left. I could see Julian with the lap counter onboard the boat letting me know how much time had passed. Having this information was a big relief.  There were times when I caught up to the Sea Satin, got ahead, and swam at the bow like a dolphin. Then I’d slow down so I didn’t get too far ahead. My second swim was about over, and it would have been bittersweet if we reached France before I could swim another leg.

Sunny McKee - 6:10 to 7:10am – 8^th hour

I entered the water and realized the wind had picked up again. Bummer! And, lucky me, there were jellyfish! Some were very long. One wrapped around me and stung my leg, and another got my neck. My first thought was, “Great, I’m going to get stung so much that I’ll have a reaction and die!” I wondered if I was allergic. 

The channel was so choppy, I spent the rest of the swim swallowing water and dodging jellyfish. At least there was daylight. Again, I told myself to shut up and keep swimming.  I finished my second swim, happy to be done and still alive. The jellyfish stings stopped hurting; they weren’t so bad in retrospect.

Tom Neill - 7:10 to 8:10am – 9^th hour

I was eager to touch the water again and glad to be swimming with the sun. Moderate wind continued and I struggled to take a breath without swallowing water. I anticipated the end of my leg and slowed when Julian passe by and I was quickly back to the stern, up the ladder, and on deck where I was surprised to see how close we were to the lighthouse on Cap Griz Nez, the point that reaches out into the Channel and marks the part of France closest to Dover. I was hopeful that we would finish in the next two hours. I went down to the cabin and lay on a bed in the boat’s bow.  When I returned to the deck an hour or two later to watch my swimmer, I noticed that land looked further away. 

Julian Sapirstein - 8:10 to 9:10am – 10^th hour

My second swim was much easier—full daylight and the water was much less choppy. I can't say it was fun though. It was more a matter of just slogging along until the hour was up. I noted a few ships off in the distance when I breathed to the right or when I breathed to the left when I was ahead of the boat. I felt fine when I finished, not cold like after the first time.

Joni Beemsterboer - 9:10 to 10:10am – 11^th hour

At the end of my second leg, I maneuvered to be close enough to the boat to make a quick transition so that the pilot could speed on to the new swimmer. On this leg I lost my anti-nausea patch. Once onboard I felt queasy and tried to stay horizontal. Sunny fed me ginger which helped, as did mumbling to myself.

John Hornor - 10:10 to 11:10am – 12^th hour

Sunshine! Warming water! Nothing to worry about now—just the swim. I imagined looking down from space and watching myself as a tiny dot somewhere in the middle of the English Channel. Suddenly shouts of “you’re drifting too far away!” brought me back to earth. I focused on form—not letting my left arm cross over the midline. I recalled Chris Wagner’s advice: “Railroad tracks all the way to France” Suddenly Tom’s arms are waving, and it's time for Duke.

Duke Dahlin 11:10 to 12:10pm – 13^th hour

After Joni and John finish their swim, we can see France. Martin tells us we are at a point in the Channel for solo swimmers called “The Graveyard of Dreams.” It’s a place of strong currents and rougher water, and you are being pushed north away from the closest point. Martin had told us now we needed to swim hard as possible to make it to shore.

 Again, I was so glad to be swimming in daylight. It was kind of bumpy out there. I finally saw the lap counter indicating I had 11 minutes left. And before I knew it, 2 minutes. I heard the siren and yells of my team mates to get out. 

Sunny McKee – 12:10 to 1:10pm – 14^th hour

I jump in and swim as hard as I can. It was very choppy, and I ended up swallowing lots of water. I focused on the whiteboard, never looking up at our destination. This leg felt different because I didn’t think I was going to die. I was just concentrating on swimming as hard as I could. I really wanted to get to France, but I felt like I wasn’t getting any closer. I pushed myself to keep swimming, despite this sinking feeling, and soon it was Tom’s turn. It looked to me like we were no closer to France.

Tom Neill – 1:10 to 2:10pm – 15^th hour

I jumped off the boat on Martin’s signal and swam past Sunny for my third leg. The water was as choppy as before. The boat was not keeping a steady pace. I was at the bow and then the stern in repeated cycles. At one point I was thirty yards ahead of the boat and I stopped because I did not want to repeat my nighttime experience of swimming towards England. 

Towards the end of the hour, I noticed that the captain was lowering a small, motorized inflatable, which he had said he would deploy when we approached land. I was elated. Soon, Martin signaled the end of my swim. I looked up to see the texture of French black and white cliffs in great detail. I climbed the ladder and watched the end of the swim from the deck.

  

 Julian Sapirstein 2:10 to 2:19pm – 16^th hour

John and Julian in France

Tom’s leg ended a few hundred yards from France and I was ecstatic to be able to finish. This time I swam without the boat beside me and headed straight for shore. We just missed a beautiful sandy beach and had nothing but rocky shore for a landing. I didn’t care, but I feared getting beat up on the rocks.  The waves weren’t big, but they were high enough to pose a risk so I was very careful. There were a lot of rocks just under the water, which was going up and down, so I would grab a submerged rock, stabilize myself and pull myself forward to the next rock until I got to the edge of the water. By that time, I was pretty cut up and was bleeding a fair amount but I was so thrilled to be in France that I didn’t care. John Hornor joined me on the rocks and we celebrated.  On the boat, I was bleeding all over the deck but no problem. The deck is designed to take things like blood and wash them off.

Official Time: 15 Hours 09 Minutes (CS&PF Website)
Oldest English Channel Mixed Relay Team in the World

This swim wouldn’t be possible without the support of our families, friends, members of the SF Dolphin Club and USF Masters swim coach Chris Wagner. Thank you to the amazing Sea Satin escort boat captain Lance Oram, crew Tanya and Mia, and official observer Martin for keeping us swimming safely crossing the English Channel.

Seven Swims in the Ancient Seven Seas

Seven Swims in the Ancient Seven Seas
April 2022 - August 2023

David Rich, Life Member, Dolphin Club (33 years)

In 2019, the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) nominated David Rich for the “Offering of the Year Award” to honor his marathon swimming concept: The Ancient Seven Seas. Various cultures at different times have referred to bodies of water along trade routes as The Seven Seas.  The notion entered Western consciousness from Greek literature mostly centered around Mediterranean waters.  David’s choice of seas and track record of marathon swims in these waters includes:

●     10 km in the Arabian Sea: Ras Al Hamra, Oman, April 8, 2022 in 3 hours, 17 minutes

●     10 km in the Red Sea, Hurghada, Egypt, April 16, 2022 in 2022 in 2 hours, 56 minutes

●     10 km in the Mediterranean Sea - Majorca, Spain, June 2, 2022 in 3 hours, 2 minutes

●     11 km in the Adriatic Sea, Split, Croatia, 26 May 2023 in 2 hours, 43 minutes

●     10 km in the Black Sea, Kilyos, Turkey, 1 June 2023 in 2 hours, 42 minutes

●     10 km in the Aegean Sea, Rhodes, Greece, 11 July 2023 in 3 hours, 29 minutes

●     14 km in the North Sea, Deal, England, 26 August 2023 in 2 hours, 47 minutes

David provides the following description of his exploits:

Over the past 30 years, I’ve been interested in doing open water swims as much for the adventure and historical context of the swim locations as for the challenge of an endurance swim. I’ve been drawn to pioneering or exploring new swim challenges around the world before they are widely known. For example, I swam across the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey that separates Europe from Asia in 1993 before cross-continental swims became international events. The same for the Strait of Gibraltar which connects Europe (Spain) and Africa (Morocco) which I swam in 2005.

It was at the Dolphin Club over 25 years ago that the idea of the Seven Seas swim came to me. People sailed the Seven Seas, why not swim them?  It would be a series of adventures to many parts of the world to experience new cultures, people, and seas. I did research on the seven seas and found a rich history, but had to file it away. Living in San Francisco at the time made the distance and cost to reach these destinations, which are located in Europe and the Middle East, unrealistic at the time.

The inspiration for this project came from Lewis Pugh, the British environmental campaigner and ultra-marathon swimmer. In August 2014, he created and completed the WOWSA-recognized project “Seven Swims In The Seven Seas For 1 Reason” to bring awareness to the need for ocean conservation and marine-protected areas around the world.

I met Lewis in 2019 and after a discussion about his Seven Seas swim, I proposed it as a new marathon swim challenge which the World Open Water Swimming Association recognized in 2019. I thought a swim challenge of more obtainable distances (10km marathons) as an alternative to the ultra-marathon distances (30-40km+) of the existing Oceans Seven campaign would appeal to a broader range of people.

With a move to London in 2020, I was within geographic reach of the seven seas and the opportunity to achieve my swimming goal. After the world came out of Covid, I realized it was now or never, so I jumped on the challenge starting in April 2022.

I faced three major hurdles throughout this 16-month journey.

While these swims were marathon swim distances of 10km and required training, logistics was the biggest obstacle I had to overcome! Traveling to 7 countries in the Middle East, Europe, and the UK over 5 separate trips in 16 months required a lot of planning across flights, hotels, and swim locations.  I also needed to accommodate my work schedule as a marketing executive for a global technology company.

Second, this challenge took me to seas where there were no governing swimming organizations.  A good example is the Channel Swimming Association which provides a wide range of information and support for those who want to cross the English Channel. While Lewis shared some helpful insights, I was largely on my own to select a location in the sea for each swim; find a boat, captain, and crew; and to chart a course based on currents and tides in each country. This was trial and error, and I optimized my planning and approach as this journey went along. I reached out to swimmers for advice through online swimming forums and networks, which yielded some helpful support, but information was still limited since these were new solo swims.

The last challenge was communications. English was not the first language for most of these boat captains or crew, and they had never piloted a long-distance swimmer before. It took a little time to explain that I didn’t want to rent their boat to fish, scuba dive or snorkel, but simply swim for over 3 hours alongside it. When they got the concept of the Seven Seas swims, the captains and crew were excited to support my goal. At times, it felt like a comedy as we attempted to speak in broken sentences and hand gestures while pointing at images of coastal maps on my phone to determine where to swim and the direction of the current. We didn’t always get this right. What follows are my notes on some of these adventures.

Oman - the Arabian Sea - the first of the seven swims

A British swimmer living in Oman, [dr1] who responded to my request for information through an online swim forum, suggested we start 2 miles offshore from Al Fahal island, swim toward land and then south along the coast. My Omani captain and Pakistani crew member understood those directions after pointing to the island on a map on my phone and then waving my arms south. Beyond that, they had little ability to aid me as a distance swimmer. I was glad the captain waited until after I finished the swim to tell me that Al Fahal island where I started the 10k is also called Shark Island, for a reason

My wife, who was my support on each swim, enjoyed discussing with the crew their daily lives as fishermen and boat pilots in Oman. In fact, this was the best part of these swims for Noelle as she struck up conversations with each crew to learn about local customs and life in each country. After the swim, the proud Omani captain motored us past his little coastal village to show us his rustic house by the shore where he and his wife and 8 kids lived.

Egypt - the Red Sea

This swim was like a comedy on the Red Sea. Originally, I signed up for a 10km race in the Red Sea to give me a break from the logistics and planning. The night before the race, I learned it consisted of swimming laps in a small cove near the hotel. I thought there’s no way I’ve come all this way to Egypt to not swim out over the famous coral reefs and sea life in the Red Sea. So, I scrambled with the help of the hotel manager to find a marina that could rent me a boat with a captain. The next morning, we went to the marina at 8AM ready to go, only to learn that things move at a different pace in Hurghada, Egypt. The first boat they offered me the night before, had engine trouble and would not be available. The second boat they offered could accommodate 40 people and was far too big. The third boat was a small rib-style boat that was just right, and finally a few hours later, we were off.

The blue waters felt magical, and were incredibly clear with colorful coral reefs, and underwater caves and vistas. There was a variety of marine life and at one point a pod of dolphins escorted me for about 10 minutes. The water was quite warm at 78F.

Two hours into the swim, the engine of the third boat stopped working. A fourth boat was called to come out and fix the engine. At that point, the captain told me just to keep swimming and that they would catch up to me when the engine was fixed. With no estimate of when that would be, and no swim float for safety on the vast Red Sea, I chose the rational solution and tread water nearby.

 The best moment was floating next to the boat and fully appreciating that I was swimming in the Red Sea, the cradle of ancient civilization and religion. All the while, three men frantically worked to fix the engine. It also dawned on me that Ramadan, Easter, and Passover were being celebrated on that same day, just as they had for thousands of years in that part of the world.

Black Sea - Turkey
I put this swim off for a year due to the war in Ukraine.  Though I was going to swim my 10k course about 200 miles south of the fighting, the conflict loomed in my mind. I dedicated that swim to the people of Ukraine.

This swim was an example of meeting local people and swimmers along the way who shared the same passion for endurance swims in the sea.  It was difficult to find a boat, captain, and location within an hour of Istanbul where we were staying. I was able to get an online introduction from a swimmer on the island of Mauritius who knew a swimmer in Istanbul who might be able to help me.

Sure enough, the Turkish swimmer, Kamil, was not only an accomplished long-distance swimmer (first Turk to complete the Triple Crown), but a swim organizer. He coordinated the boat, captain, and swim course off the north coast of Turkey, and then hosted me and my wife for a wonderful Turkish breakfast overlooking the Black Sea after the swim. These connections along the journey resulted in new friends and fun memories that made this whole endeavor special.

Aegean Sea - Rhodes, Greece

This was by far the most torturous of the swims, not only due to the windy conditions and strong currents, but also because the raging winds of 25-30 knots pushed my swim out 3 days in a row. With one day left on Rhodes, I changed my plane home to London to get one more attempt to swim.

The day of the swim started with mild winds at 7-9 knots an hour, and some rolling swells, but the forecast called for the winds to die down as the morning went along, so I jumped in and took off. As I passed the ancient Greek acropolis from 280 B.C. high on the cliff outside the town of Lindos, I was once again reminded of the historic context that makes the Ancient Seven Seas so unique.

Over the first 2 hours it became clear that things had become worse instead of better. Violent conditions had moved in and we found ourselves in 6-7 foot swells with large white caps breaking, and howling wind. It was the first time in a solo swim that I was more concerned about the crew in the boat than myself. I could see the small boat bouncing off the waves and knew it was tough for them to safely stay near me without getting swamped by waves. It was at that point, as well, that my son, Dillon, called out that I had been swimming in place for the last 20 minutes. The current had apparently changed course and was now heading straight into the wind creating major turbulence. The skipper’s boss was on the radio and wanted us to abort the swim and come back as he thought the conditions were too dangerous. Noelle intervened, knowing that this was my last shot to complete the swim, and convinced the skipper to stay out there with me.

After a few minutes of yelling across the waves and wind, we agreed to turn and head directly to the coast where there was a series of small islands that might provide some break from the wind. We banged our way through the waves and eventually got to a semi-sheltered section of the coast. By this time, the rough conditions had taken a toll on me, but I got through the final hour and a half to complete the Aegean swim in 3 hours and 29 minutes.

It was 1PM and we had a flight home to London scheduled to leave in a few hours. We quickly motored back to shore, said our goodbyes, and jumped in the car for the hour drive back to the hotel. We collected our luggage, raced the rental back to the airport and jumped on a plane to London. When we arrived home around 11PM, rather than celebrate the completion of the Ancient Seven Seas, we went straight to bed!”

The WOWSA Offering of the Year nomination reads, “The Oceans Seven is a difficult challenge that has attracted some of the world's foremost channel swimmers - only 18 have completed it to date. A new swim challenge, the Ancient Seven Seas offers a similar global concept with the goal of inspiring and expanding participation through more accessible marathon swims. At a minimum of 10 kilometers in each of the Ancient Seven Seas (Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and North Sea), this unassisted solo challenge takes swimmers through the cradle of civilization with different cultures, religions, and views. Swimmers can select and create their own preferred courses in the Seven Seas and do not necessarily need to be shore-to-shore or point-to-point. For building bridges with other cultures while interacting around a common love of the oceans and swimming; for creating a serious yet accessible marathon adventure, in terms of time and training, that enables more swimmers to participate; and for advancing the long history and concept of the Seven Seas, The Ancient Seven Seas challenge proposed by David Rich is a worthy nominee for the 2019 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year.”

Pending ratification by the World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA), David Rich will become the first American, and second swimmer after Lewis Pugh, to have completed the Ancient Seven Seas.