Then And Now In The San Francisco Bay
Then And Now In The San Francisco Bay
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The photo on left from the Dolphin Club archives shows swimmers jumping into San Francisco Bay for a Golden Gate Bridge swim in 1931.No goggles. No wetsuits and an escort boat crew dressed nicely with jackets, coats and hats.
The photo on left is from the South End Rowing Club archives of Bill Pickelhaupt that shows swimmers in San Francisco Bay in the 1930’s.Tough men from tough times.
Now dial forward seven decades.
Endurance athletes abound. Extreme sports are booming with popularity. We see many athletes with wetsuits getting in the Bay and hear of ice caps melting due to climate change. So are the oceans getting colder? Hmmm, we think not for there are still many hardy swimmers who swim as their predecessors did in the 1930’s.
Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association
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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