San Francisco artist and triathlete, Tammy Stellanova, created a web comic strip documenting her experience swimming from Alcatraz on August 5th. The comic strip does an accurate job of describing what it’s like, the exception being the frame where she illustrates hitting something under water she can’t see (depicted as a small fish). This has happened to me a number of times while swimming in Aquatic Park but I always picture something closer to Jules Verne’s monster from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. (From the point of contact through the next thirty seconds I’m transformed into an olympic class swimmer.) View Tammy’s the complete web comic.
Some friends and I did the Alcatraz 100 Swim of the Centurions this year on September 2nd. Unlike Tammy’s experience, we were lucky to have clear skies and relatively calm water this time. A few pictures below.
Pre-race photo of the Balclutha at Aquatic Park. No fog and not a cloud in the sky.
Post Alcatraz 100 scene.
Fred suffers an excruciating Charlie horse; Nicole plays nurse. (Apparently, someone behind Fred on the boat landed on his leg, the result of a poorly executed jump. I didn’t say anything at the time but secretly suspected the sea monster.)
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Tammy makes some awesome illustrated wildlife jewelry as well (http://www.stellanovajewelry.com/): all your favorite sea creatures including sea lions, fish, octopus (about the closest thing to a giant sea monster), sea otters, etc.
That photo of Fred is awesome!
[…] 3. Santa Barbara Triathlon. Highlights were the beautiful surroundings and the opportunity to spend quality time with my mom who came from Chicago to see the race. Would like to do this again. (Could even skip the racing part.) 4. Alcatraz 100 (Swim of the Centurions). My second swim from Alcatraz. Somehow I thought it would be easier than the first. Hmmm. Tough swim but great weather and post-race breakfast with friends made for a memorable day. (Right: Nicole tends to Fred’s minor injuries.) […]