A Flashback To A Cold Water Marathon Swim
International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee Ted Erikson remembers his first Farallon Islands attempt in 1966. “After ~17 hours and a starting water temperature of 52°F, the water decreased to ~48 °F (9°C), or less as night fell. I sank into a very weird state of oblivion being unable to respond coherently or understand directions from Captain Kinley. Ike Papke was instructed to dive in and retrieve me back on the Mother Ship still flailing my stroke at ~20 strokes per minute.
Wrapped in a blanket, all motion ceased and the nurse, unable to find a pulse, reported me dead. Following return to harbor, I barely became aware of surroundings (Col. Donovan, my contracting officer was unrecognizable). After arriving at hospital an hour later, I requested a warm (not hot!) bath and returned to real life.
I still have flashbacks when I swim in water below 56°F any length of time, although I can still tolerate 32°F for less than 20 seconds, without dying so far on January 1st in Lake Michigan.”
Ted completed his Farallon Islands swim on September 17th, 1967 in 14 hours 38 minutes by swimming under the Golden Gate Bridge, covering a total of 26.4 nautical miles. This was the last time a solo swimmer successfully completed a Farallon Islands swim.
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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