Fall 2002 Features

Editor: Paul Carlstrom
Design: Mark Mazziotti

433 Swimmers Participate in Club’s Annual Alcatraz Invitational Swim
SERC Volunteers Made the Difference at the Alcatraz Invitational
Strong Showing for South End Hosts of Annual Bridge-to-Bridge Regatta
Sheer Pluck: Coleen Voyvodich’s English Channel Challenge

433 Swimmers Participate in Club’s Annual Alcatraz Invitational Swim

By Pedro Ordenes, Vice President and Race Director

The Eighth Annual South End Rowing Club Alcatraz Invitational Swim held on Saturday, September 14th was a resounding success – both for participants and for the Club’s coffers. The race from Alcatraz back to San Francisco’s Aquatic Park was also one of the more difficult swims in recent memory, thanks to a combination of strong participant competition and Mother Nature’s decision to delay the appropriate tides needed for a successful swim. Still, almost all of the 433 swimmers completed the swim.

The sold-out event began with hordes of swimmers from around the world being ferried from Pier 9 to “The Rock” on the California Spirit luxury yacht, skippered by SERC member Mike Rogers. Because the currents were more challenging than anticipated, the swim was longer than usual, and no speed records were broken on the 1.25 mile course. ;the fastest swimmer reached our beach in 31 minutes and 27 seconds, and the last plucky soul to reach the finish line took over two hours to return to shore. Recognition was given to the best finalists in men’s and women’s divisions, wetsuit and non-wetsuit divisions, as well as overall and age group winners.

We were pleased to host swimmers from Russia, Chile, and 21 states throughout the Union. The presence of three young swimmers from Chile brought noted visitors to the Club, such as Chilean Consul Fernando Varela and the president of the Northern California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Omar Helfman. In addition to these guests, we were also honored to have Lynne Cox, the internationally renowned open-water swimming pioneer, act as our mistress of ceremonies.

It must be noted that the swim could not have taken place without the volunteer efforts of many SERC members. All of their contributions were vital to the event, and three South Enders in particular deserve special mention:

• Bill Wygant, the assistant race director and volunteer coordinator. Bill ensured key sponsorships and a high volunteer turnout so that every aspect of the race ran smoothly for our guests.
• Dan Needham, our swim commissioner and Invitational race coordinator. His careful planning and experience with Alcatraz swims made the event as safe as possible.
• Bob Roper, our legendary director and founder of the South End Sunrisers. Bob’s unsurpassed skill in piloting and directing other pilots made the crossing from Alcatraz to San Francisco a success, despite difficult conditions.

Because out club boasts thousands of successful swims from Alcatraz – more than any other athletic organization – the Alcatraz Invitational carries a mystique of authenticity unmatched by any other swim from “The Rock”. The event is an extension of our rich history of 129 years of athletic achievement, and allows us to extend our experience and love of San Francisco Bay to the international swimming community. And, perhaps, it allows us to realize how lucky we are to swim in extraordinary surroundings and conditions. As participant John Wagner of Philadelphia said shortly after the event, “I had the best swim of my life.” Something to think about the next time you take a dip in the Bay!

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SERC Volunteers Made the Difference at the Alcatraz Invitational

By Bill Wygant, Volunteer Race Coordinator

Without the volunteer participation of many South Enders at the Alcatraz Invitational, pulling off a major event for 433 participants would have been impossible. Not only did club members perform the tasks they signed up for, but they also simply filled in where needed. The following is a partial list of club members whose help made lasting, positive impressions upon our guessts on September 14:

• Sue Free for her three month registration work
• Gary Emich and Peg Gerard for their quiet organizational skill at check-in
• Robin Dintiman for handling the meal that keeps them coming back every year
• Mike Berline for getting all the swim bags handled with incredible efficiency
• Lee Block, our in-house t-shirt vendor, who sold everything not nailed to the floor
• Kevin O’Keefe and Bob Isaacson for handling the finisher area
• Wayne Black for handling just about everything and being a handball expert
• Fred Crisp for bringing us Boudin bread and transportation for the swimmers
• Rhys Ludlow and Vivian Cordial for working three jobs with smiles
• Paul Weiss, John Sasson, and Bob Roper for bringing ‘em back alive
• Trudi DiLorenzo for making that last swimmer feel special
• Pat Peyton for putting up historic club pictures previously removed in anticipation of the construction project
• Mike Rogers for ferrying the competitors to Alcatraz on the California Spirit

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Strong Showing for South End Hosts of Annual Bridge-to-Bridge Regatta

By Paul Carlstrom, SERC Newsletter Editor

Under sunny skies and near perfect rowing conditions, SERC rowers took half of the 12 first place spots in the 2002 South End Rowing Club Bridge-to-Bridge Regatta on Sunday, September 8.

The regatta, a yearly Club rowing event since the mid-seventies, features two separate courses: A long route of 10.5 nautical miles and a short route of 5.25 nautical miles. This year’s event, which featured 31 boats and 41 rowers, included competitors from the Dolphin Club, Sausalito Rowing Club, Marin Rowing Club, and Santa Cruz Rowing Club.

The long route started just outside the opening of Aquatic Park with the sounding of the starting horn at 8:30 in the morning. Rowers headed west and fought a building flood tide as they rowed toward the Golden Gate, where the course requires competitors to perform a counter-clockwise circumnavigation of the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. After circling the south tower, long course competitors then turned eastward – and with the flood tide now behind them, raced eastward to circle the westernmost tower of the Bay Bridge, before returning to the finish line at the mouth of Aquatic Park.

The long course in this year’s regatta was dominated by the SERC mixed doubles team of Diane Davis and Tom McInerney whose time of 1:30:53 in an old Dragonfly Maas shell far outstripped competitors in newer – and considerably lighter – carbon fiber Maas 30 shells. Club member Nancy Rose also earned a top spot in the long course by winning the women’s single division. Other SERC rowers who also placed favorably in this highly contested long route were Jim Flack and Sunny Blende.

Just minutes after the long course competitors sped toward the Golden Gate Bridge, the short course competitors began as rowers started this race just outside Aquatic Park and hurried toward the Bay Bridge to circle the far western tower before returning to the starting point to complete the course. SERC rowers dominated the short route, with Daniel Marshall and Oskar Mielczarek clocking in with the route’s fastest time of 50:51 to take first-place laurels in the men’s doubles division.

Shortly after Marshall and Mielczarek’s division-winning heat, there was m ore good news for the SERC rowing program. Joe McInerney and Tom Abbot managed to take first place in the Viking doubles division after a close race with visitors from the Dolphin Club. The formidable Jensen siblings, James and Lisa, took first place in the heavy doubles division, while Peter Sahmel emerged victorious among 24-foot men’s singles class.

And, in a very closely contested race, our own Tom Lundgren just missed taking first place in the heavy singles division by 12 seconds. SERC members Doug Cameron and Edison Peinado also participated in the short course of the regatta.

According to SERC rowing commissioner Daniel Marshall, the club used nearly all of its serviceable rowboats and shells for this year’s Bridge-to-Bridge Regatta.

With the rowing complete, participants returned to the SERC clubhouse for a midday barbecue directed by John “The Animal” Payne, a former club member whose knee injuries have kept him from returning to the rowing program. SERC swimmer and Steelhead Brewmaster John Hathaway slaked the thirst of regatta competitors by donating a keg of beer, and Dan Macchiarini’s recent repair of the barbecue itself was critical to the event.

The hard work of many club volunteers ensured the success of the regatta, and the SERC rowing program also wishes to thank Mike Alvarez, Wayne Black, Robin Kincaid, Kimberly Howard, Dave Kennedy, Jon Meyer, Rory Moore, Dan Needham, Pat Peyton, and Norm Peterson.

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Sheer Pluck: Coleen Voyvodich’s English Channel Challenge

By Paul Carlstrom, SERC Newsletter Editor

Just as this issue of the South Ender was about to be sent to press, we received word that favorable conditions had finally emerged to allow Colleen Vojvodich’s long-delayed attempt at swimming the English Channel.

There are no guarantees for those who wish to swim the English Channel – but Colleen faced an extraordinary number of setbacks and delays that would have sapped most people’s resolve.

After several disappointing weeks in July waiting for favorable weather conditions that never appeared, Colleen’s official English Channel crossing window closed, and she was forced to return to San Francisco.

Would she, she wondered, be prepared for a second trip with similar uncertainties? After much soul-searching, she decided to fly to England in the middle of September just before the end of the Channel crossing season. Yet on this second trip, the winds and tides still would not cooperate, and Colleen prepared herself for the likelihood of leaving England once more without being able to try the swim.

Then, on the evening of Thursday, September 27, Colleen was given notice that weather conditions would be favorable in the early hours of the next day. At 3:15 AM on Friday, September 28, Colleen slipped into the water and began swimming in the dark toward France.

Seven and a half hours later, Colleen asked her pilot escort crew to tell her when she had reached the halfway point – and was elated to learn that she had already passed that mark. Yet, the strong tides of this busiest of shipping channels can be stronger than any swimmer. As the crow flies, the distance between England and France measures 21 miles, but even in the best of circumstances, the fluctuating currents that surge perpendicularly against the direct route force the swimmers to tack on extra miles.

After twelve hours in the water – and with the French coast approximately five miles away – the piloting crew concluded that the currents had grown too strong for Colleen to continue. After much coaxing, Colleen was convinced to climb aboard the escort vessel with her targeted landfall in sight.

Drew Downs, who also swam the English Channel this year, spoke for many swimmers when he told Colleen:

I would call your swim a grand success. You have done what very few people would ever imagine doing. You have bucked every possible difficulty; you swam in one of the most difficult bodies of water in the world (and I believe you swam it in a spring tide, of all things) after the water temperature had dropped dramatically; and you were willing to persist for another 12 hours. It was truly a heroic swim. You had no less an experience than anyone else who has swum those waters. You will never forget it. Nor will anyone else.

Colleen’s willingness to fight heavy odds until the bitter end will be an inspiration for SERC swimmers for years to come.

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