Thank you for participating in the South End Rowing Club’s 16th Annual Alcatraz Invitational Swim!
With the swim just a week away, we are providing the following briefing and important information to help make sure your experience is successful and enjoyable. Please read it in its entirety.
Guest of Honor
Renowned open water swimmer and author Mike Jennings from Great Britain is flying over to compete in the swim and to entertain us with tales of his remarkable adventures, both in and out of the water. About Mike
Twitter
Follow the event on Twitter for information leading up to and on the day of the event. Via text: send "follow AlcatrazSERC" to 40404.
Happy Hour
On the Friday evening before the swim, we will host a welcome “Happy Hour” at the South End from about 6-9 pm for you and your guests with beer, wine, mixed drinks, non-alcoholic libations and cocktail party food – all put on by volunteer members of the South End. The club takes nominal donations to cover the costs of drinks and food. It’s a great way to socialize and unwind the night before the swim!
PRE-EVENT RACE BRIEFING
6:00 am: Check-in
Check-in begins at 6:00 a.m. in front of the South End club, 500 Jefferson Street at Hyde in San Francisco, 94109. Check-in ends no later than 7:30 a.m. You should plan on physically being in line no later than 7:00 a.m.
Provide Photo ID
All race participants MUST bring a photo ID or copy of a photo ID. No Photo ID, no race, no exceptions, no whining!
Check In By Last Name
Registration lines are organized in alphabetical groups – get in the line under the sign showing the first letter of your last name. When you check in you will receive a swim cap, timing chip, personal effects bag(s), an event t-shirt, and any extra pre-purchased t-shirts or spectator tickets. Spectator tickets, which include brunch, are wrist bands which must be worn to get on the ferry. Brunch tickets and clothing will also be available for purchase later in the morning.
Get Body-Marked
Next, a volunteer will mark your hand with your race number and give you a bag-tag with your race number on it that you need to attach to your personal effects bag provided by us at check-in.
Personal Effects Bags
All swimmers will be offered a personal effects bag to drop off at the nearby baggage area near the finish of the swim, which will be monitored and secured by our volunteers (look for “SWIM BAGS” signs). ATTACH YOUR BAG-TAG WITH YOUR RACE NUMBER TO YOUR BAG BEFORE DROPPING IT OFF. Skin swimmers will be offered an additional bag so you can wear clothes to the ferry, then take them off and put them in the bag prior to boarding. ATTACH YOUR BAG-TAG TO THAT BAG TOO. Our volunteers will collect all bags prior to swimmers boarding the boats. This year, skin swimmers are riding one boat, wetsuit swimmers another boat so that we can more effectively keep skin swimmers warm on the ride over to Alcatraz (see below). Any items left on either of the ferries will be discarded. You are welcome to bring your own bag if you prefer, but you must attach the provided bag-tag to it. All bags will be organized by race number in the baggage area so that you can easily find your personal effects after completing your swim.
Temperature / Swim Caps / Earplugs
Water temperature will be approximately 62 degrees. We supply you with a yellow latex cap that is required to be worn over any other head covering. A thicker neoprene swim cap, worn underneath the yellow latex cap, is STRONGLY recommended to help maintain body heat. Many South End swimmers also use a pair of Mack’s Earplugs, which also helps keep you warmer in the water. Mack’s provides complimentary earplugs to our swimmers; please feel free to take a pair from the Mack’s dispenser at the check-in table when you check in.
7:30 am: Mandatory Orientation
At 7:30 a.m. we shut down check-in and hold a mandatory swim briefing at which we will provide information absolutely essential to completing the swim. All swimmers must attend and listen.
7:45 am: Follow the bagpiper to the Blue and Gold Ferries "Suits": You should walk down to the ferries “race-ready” – i.e., with only the items you that you wish to keep. Nothing brought onto the ferry will be returned to Aquatic Park. Many swimmers bring old or cheap flip flops (that they don’t mind losing) for the walk, but most walk barefoot.
"Skins": You can wear clothing on the walk to the ferry if you bring the 2nd personal effects bag we provide (or your own), marked with your race number. Our volunteers will collect your bags BEFORE YOU BOARD THE FERRY and bring them to the Swim Bag area near the race finish. All swimmers board the boat “swim ready.” If you are wearing flip flops there will be a receptacle to place them in that we will transport back to the Swim Bag area near the club and make ready for pick up with your other swim bag when you leave the water.
Immediately following the orientation, a bagpiper will begin playing and we will walk 3 short blocks to the Blue & Gold Ferry. This year we hired 2 boats: one for “Suits” (swimmers in wetsuits) and their spectators, and one for "Skins" (no wetsuits) and their spectators.
WETSUITS: Board the larger ferry at GATE 2
If you are swimming in the "Suits" Division, board the larger of the two boats using Gate #2. We will have volunteers at the ferry dock to guide you.
SKINS: Board the smaller ferry at GATE 3
If you are swimming in the "Skins" Division (i.e., not wearing a wetsuit), board the smaller ferry at Gate 3. We will have volunteers at the ferry dock to guide you. We have arranged to have the Blue and Gold Fleet warm up the inside of the boat prior to your arrival since you will not have the benefit of a wetsuit to warm you and you will be giving your personal effects bag to one of our volunteers prior to boarding.
Guests/Spectators: Board the ferry of your swimmer
All spectators who have purchased spectators wrist bands should board the ferry with their swimmer. We will have volunteers at the ferry dock to guide you. You must have a wrist band before getting to the ferries. Please note that spectators are not likely to get back to Aquatic Park beach in time to see their swimmer cross the finish line, depending on their speed.
8:30 am: Ferries Depart For Alcatraz
Race Start! VERY IMPORTANT
The swim is currently set to start at 9:15, but that could change somewhat based on the test swim we do the morning before. Regardless of the exact start time, once the ferries are in position, we will signal the start with a loud blast of the ship’s horn. At that time, 750 swimmers need to enter the water in the space of 5 to 7 short minutes via doors on each side of the ferries – QUICKLY BUT SAFELY. This requires that you jump 3 AT A TIME from each door as quickly as possible without jeopardizing (i.e., landing on) any swimmers in the water. As soon as you get to the door with 2 other swimmers and have a clear place to jump, JUMP! THEN START SWIMMING IMMEDIATELY. You MUST get away from the ferries as fast as possible. Do not wait for friends, take pictures, etc. It’s critical for your own and others’ safety that you swim away from the ferry as soon as you hit the water. br>
Timing Chips
As soon as you cross the timing mat at the ferry exit, your timing chip will be activated, and that will be your race start time. For that reason, it won’t matter if some swimmers jump much later than others. See below for race course guidance.
Get Body-Marked
Next, a volunteer will mark your hand with your race number and give you a bag-tag with your race number on it that you need to attach to your personal effects bag provided by us at check-in.
Race Course and Currents The distance between Alcatraz Island and Aquatic Park is about a mile and a quarter. At the start of your swim, find Ft. Mason’s yellow and red wharves west (to the right) of Aquatic Park (don’t worry; we point them out to you on the ferry ride to Alcatraz) and use them as a landmark to swim towards. The current will first push you slightly west (towards the Golden Gate Bridge). This is what is supposed to happen; do NOT compensate by swimming east.
Somewhere between half-way and two-thirds of the way across, the current will gradually shift, carrying you east (away from the Golden Gate Bridge), so you’ll want to make sure that your position during the entire swim is WEST (to the right) of the opening to Aquatic Park. We will place a huge yellow buoy near the opening so it’s easy for you to spot.
The day before the event, we will do a test swim and based on what we learn from the currents and conditions that day, we will provide you with the best up-to-the-minute advice and guidance we can during the mandatory race briefing the morning of the swim. In the meantime, the following is some general guidance based on our many years of collective experience swimming from Alcatraz.
Safety / Problems If you get off course, our kayakers and rowers will guide you. Please listen to them and follow their directions. In certain situations we may choose to reposition you to a more favorable and safer location. Please don’t argue or resist. Your SAFETY is our utmost concern in taking these actions.
We encourage you to give it your best effort getting across and completing the swim. But if you find yourself in trouble in the water, wave an arm over your head and a kayaker or rower will come to assist you. Hold onto the front or back of the kayak - NOT the middle - until motorized help comes to your aid. There are plenty of motorized craft on the course. You are permitted to re-enter the water later if you so choose.
Finish Line
Once you reach the opening near the yellow buoy, you are almost there! It’s about 400 yards to the finish line from there, which will be marked with an inflated arch on the beach. As you run through the finish line, our volunteers will collect your chip and put a medal around your neck. Your friends and family are welcome and encouraged to greet you there and take photos. Congratulations! You have just done what was once thought by many people to be impossible!
Brunch
After you get your medal, proceed to the Swim Bag area to retrieve your personal effects and then head over to the big tent in front of the club for your well-deserved BRUNCH! If you need extra food tickets for friends or family, they will be available for $15 (cash or check) at the club as soon as the ferries leave the dock for Alcatraz at approximately 8:30 am.
Finish Times
The timing company we hired for the Invitational, Pacific Sports Events and Timing from Hawaii, will post finish times along the front of the South End clubhouse near the stage and brunch tent as soon as they become available.
Awards Ceremony
Our Awards Ceremony will begin at about 11 am. We provide awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for Men and Women in both the Skins and Suits divisions and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons for 14-and-under male and female swimmers.
THANK YOU! Bill Wygant (Race Director) and Kim Peinado Howard (President)
Thank you in advance for participating in the 16th Annual Alcatraz Invitational! Every South Ender is looking forward to seeing you September 17. We hope you have a truly memorable experience.
South End Rowing Club