I was saddened to hear that a swimmer died this weekend while attempting the Alcatraz Challenge. My thoughts are with the family and friends of Sally Lowes of Houston.
I'm not sure which Alcatraz event you're referring to since there are 6 commercial ones but if you're alluding to the Alcatraz Challenge which I run, the truth is that we had more support boats out there - both power & kayaks - than in past years. What may have caused you to believe there were fewer is that because of the choppy water that kicked in during the race swimmers got more spread out than normal.
Also, as both a swimmer & kayaker out in the Bay, I know when you're swimming with your head only 3-4 inches out of the water, your field of vision is very limited whereas I know as a kayaker sitting 3 feet out of water I cover a lot more ground visually. In other words, you the swimmer may not see any kayaks around but most definitely the kayaker can see you.
Hope this helps.
Gary
I'm not sure which Alcatraz event you're referring to since there are 6 commercial ones but if you're alluding to the Alcatraz Challenge which I run, the truth is that we had more support boats out there - both power & kayaks - than in past years. What may have caused you to believe there were fewer is that because of the choppy water that kicked in during the race swimmers got more spread out than normal.
Also, as both a swimmer & kayaker out in the Bay, I know when you're swimming with your head only 3-4 inches out of the water, your field of vision is very limited whereas I know as a kayaker sitting 3 feet out of water I cover a lot more ground visually. In other words, you the swimmer may not see any kayaks around but most definitely the kayaker can see you.
Hope this helps.
Gary
