During the first week of May, a group of us are headed to southern Spain to tackle the Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa! The swim, which starts from Tarifa, Spain and continues across the Strait to Morocco, is one of the Ocean’s Seven challenges. Even better than enjoying this beautiful swim by myself, is that I will be swimming with three other AMAZING people, who will take on the challenge with me! !
Jen Schumacher is a California native who has completed the Catalina Channel, twice, and is one of a few swimmers who are actively pursuing the “Ocean’s Seven”! As a Sport Psychology consultant (website), Jen helps athletes of all caliber pursue their passions by helping them overcome the obstacles associated with training, by focusing on the power of the mind! Jen is a great friend, and I am very excited to have her expertise, and experience along for the journey!
Oliver Wilkinson is the current world record holder for the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, which he set in September 2011. He is also an English Channel swimmer, and has completed numerous other open water events around the world. Ollie formerly lived in Australia with his wife Victoria (who is a Kona Ironman qualifier) yet now resides in England. I had the pleasure to observe Olllie’s 2011 MIMS race, and it was an truly awesome experience! Ollie is an amazing open water force to be reckoned with, and I’m sure he will challenge us all to be our best!
Jamie Patrick is a man who needs no introduction, as he has quickly become one of the most well-known figures in our great sport. Jamie was the 2011 WOWSA Male Swimmer of the Year, as well as completing a very impressive 111-mile, 31-hour swim down the Sacramento River in August 2011. A true ambassador for open water swimming, I am proud to have such an accomplished individual along with us!
I thought I would ask these great swimmers their thoughts on our adventure:
Have any of you had any experience with swimming in a group across a large body of water? If so, how did it go, and was there anything you would have changed?
Jen: Yes, I swam between the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau with Bill Goding, Quinn Carver, and Brian Denaro. The water was warm enough that although our speeds varied a bit, it was comfortable enough to wait. Swimming in a group made the crossing so much more exciting and fun – it was great to have so many others in the water, especially when the taxman made his appearance! The feeds were also fun breaks, for the most part we were all in high spirits and laughing and joking at the stops. It was a fun day out in the water and I love doing tandem swims whenever appropriate. I also swam then length of Lake Tahoe with Emily Evans. Swimming in a pair was an entirely different experience, and very enjoyable. By the end of the swim we were so comfortable swimming alongside each other and it was great to have her company.
Ollie: This will be a first for me, the closest I’ve done was a 14km ‘sportive’ style swim in the River Thames last year with about a dozen other swimmers. There was a great sense of camaraderie, but having a river bank made it logistically much easier than an open water swim. It was a “coolish” swim about 16 degrees/ 61 F and the regular stops to regroup meant you felt the cold more than you might have done otherwise, but I’m not predicting too much waiting around with this group of swimmers!
Jamie: I have done a number of group swims. They have all been training swims. The longest group swim was a 17 mile swim across Clearlake in Northern California. I was the only one to do the entire swim, but there were at least three people in the water at all times. There was nothing that I felt needed to be change. We were all around the same pace and feedings went smoothly. The strategy and pace was discussed before hand.
Even though the Strait of Gibraltar is not regarded as one of the toughest channels out there, what, if any, issues do you believe we might encounter out there together?
Jen: I’m anticipating the potential for fairly rough water. The Strait of Gibraltar is an area that gets heavy winds and a good deal of surface chop. The currents can also be quite strong, so we may need to swim fast during parts of the crossing.
Ollie: Rough water, very busy shipping lane and strong currents might all play a part. Hopefully it will be calm enough for us to get our crossing in that week. You always worry the weather might blow you out.
Jamie: As you know, I am the chicken of the sea. Although sharks are not a common occurrence for this swim, I still have a bit of anxiety. In addition, I have read that wind can play a factor in the crossing. I am treating this swim as an adventure with 3 amazing people and swimmers. Whatever issues arise, I feel it is part of the journey.
I was proposing a feeding system where we would each have a different color liquid for our feedings, that way we do not have any problems when presented with a flotation device with multiple feedings. Do you have any ideas, or thoughts on how we could make the feedings as proficient as possible during the crossing? I could see it getting a little crazy out there!
Jen: I agree, multiple swimmers is always a challenge for the crew. I think either different colored drinks or different colored bottles would be best. We could also write our names on brightly colored duct tape to make the drinks stand out even more. If anyone wants anything in addition to their drink (gels, bars, etc.) we could rubber band them to the bottles so all the feeder has to do is drop four bottles down.
Ollie: I suppose it depends on what particular poison we all want to use. I’m not that fussy, usually on a long sea swim I would stick with a pure carb drink, I currently use the PSP/science in sport variety but have used maxim successfully in the past. If we only have one or two varieties of drink then it gets a bit less complicated but otherwise coloured drink bottles would be a simple solution. I’m a fan of Powerbar gels hourly, so as Jen said; stick them on your bottle.
Jamie: Yes – I have a floating feeding unit that hold 6 bottles and can be towed behind a kayak or lowered into the water. Here is a link to a similar one. It works great!
Anyone have any specific things they would love to do while in the beautiful southern European region? I’m sure we could find some other great swims, or places to visit while in the Portugal/Spain/Morocco area!
Jen: I have heard that the coast of Portugal is phenomenal and would love to visit that region and perhaps do some swimming there. I have also always wanted to explore Tarifa, ever since reading one of my favorite books, The Alchemist. If we have time, it would also be awesome to explore the northern tip of Morocco.
Ollie: I think we are spoilt for choice, we’ve got to check out a bit of Morocco, Tarifa at least. Then Seville is not too far away, Cadiz, Malaga, spoilt for choice. You are of course all welcome to come back to sunny England and stay with me after the swim! Throw in a quick tour of England at the end of the Spanish vacation?
Jamie: I am up for anything. I would love to do some additional swims while we are there. There is a beautiful Lake in Morraco that looks amazing!
Storming the beaches of Africa! How exciting is that?
Jen: Yes, very exciting. Although this swim is not exceptionally difficult, it is iconic and swimming from one continent to another will be amazing.
Ollie: I love the idea of swimming from continent to continent, not too many that you can do that are quite as glamorous, I suppose swimming the Bosphorus would probably be the only easier option, and I’m not sure I want to repeat Lynne Cox’s Bering Strait swim.
Jamie: I can not wait for us all to exit the water together. To share, accomplish and respect this amazing swim as a group will be amazing! I feel very honored to be included with this group.
What causes are you each swimming for, and why are they close to your heart?
Jen: I always try to raise awareness about plastics and the health of our oceans. In modern society most of our possessions involve plastics in some way or another, and single-use plastics are rampant. Contrary to popular belief, most plastics are not recycled and wind up in landfills and – worse yet – the ocean. Swimming along the coast of Southern California has heightened my awareness of this issue; it is rare when I swim in the ocean without encountering at least one plastic bag, and I’m only a visitor. Imagine the impact for the inhabitants. Thankfully, this is a problem with a solution, and through education and innovative solutions we can solve our plastics problem.
Ollie: The three charities that I fund raise for are Pancreatic Cancer (still the most lethal of all common cancers; only 6% of sufferers will be alive 5 years after diagnosis! and sadly the survival rate has hardly change in the last 40 years). The Shark Trust – an environmental charity raising awareness for the marine environment and the beautiful creatures that inhabit it (plus I’m hoping karma will keep them away from me!), and the Sandford Lido – a community run swimming pool and charity here in Cheltenham UK, a beautiful historic outdoor pool that is managed by volunteer trustees for the benefit of the local community.
Jamie: Buena Vista Auxillary – A tutorial program that assists children throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
THANK YOU TO JEN, OLLIE AND JAMIE FOR THEIR RESPONSES! I AM SO EXCITED TO BE TRAVELING WITH MY FRIENDS, AND WORKING TOGETHER TO COMPLETE SUCH A GREAT SWIM!!