While Penny Palfrey will swim from Oahu to Kauai in water between 72-74°F (22.2-23.3°C) for an estimated 30-40 hours, Karen Rogers will swim in water in the low 50’s (10-12°C) in her 30-mile (48K) swim from the Farallons Islands to San Francisco and Jamie Patrick will swim in low-60’s (15-17°C) in his unprecedented 66-mile (106K) triple crossing of Lake Tahoe.
Whether the water is 10°C, 15°C or even 22°C, it can feel cold when you are swimming for that long.
With a nice kick-off with three successful swims in the Cook Strait already by Michelle Macy, Steve Junk and Emily Morris – and many more great solo swims and races scheduled, 2010 is shaping up to be the greatest year in the annals of open water swimming history.
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.