Preparing for Odyssey Alcatraz: 5 Quick Tips
Are you joining Odyssey Open Water Swimming for an upcoming Odyssey Alcatraz swim?
With six public Alcatraz swims coming up this year, we’re here to help you prepare to crush your Alcatraz swim! Have questions or need training? Reach out to us here.
1. Understand Currents
The Alcatraz swim to Aquatic Park presents unique challenges. Watch the above video to learn about what you can expect in regards to currents. Warren Wallace is the Founder of Odyssey Open Water Swimming and has successfully completed this swim himself dozens of times.
2. Make the Most of Your Trip to the Bay
We published a short travel guide to help you fully enjoy and embrace your trip to San Francisco. View the guide here. The guide includes tips from the open water swimming community, ideas, and information that will help your swim and visit be everything you’ve imagined and more.
3. Prepare for the Cold
The water surrounding Alcatraz Island is significantly colder than water in other parts of the East Bay. All Odyssey Alcatraz swimmers should be prepared for cold water swimming. Swimmers should bring their own wetsuit or rent from the local Sports Basement location.
Here’s our Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Wetsuit.
4. Train, Train, Train
The more you train for your swim, the more confident you’ll feel and prepared you’ll be. Since the conditions in the Bay are likely to be choppy, make sure your training does not solely consist of pool swimming. Before taking on Alcatraz, get experience in open water swimming in the Bay ahead of time.
If you need help with your technique, learn more about Odyssey Technique Training here.
5. Don’t Lose “Sight” of Your Target
Sighting is key for any open water swim. If can be even more important when you’re in a swim with a large group of swimmers. One key tip is to never solely sight off of the swimmer in front of you. “Choose something big/clear enough to see easily — and distinct. This frequently will not be a buoy, and will need to be something behind it - a distinct building, a big tree etc,“ says Jeff Collins.
While there will be plenty of swim support kayakers around, sighting properly will help eliminate mistakes and shorten the distance of your swim.