The Shark Fin, Brighton Beach

photo by Hsi-Ling Chang, All Rights Reserved.

Letter from Capri

SAT JUN 2, 2012

well - what can i say …

cast of characters:

37' boat called Together II (beautiful boat - i love this boat)

boat captain:        ed dottino, with two crew members, mitch and jerry

morty berger:    director of operation - swim capri swim

my crew:        alan morrison and arlene chung

kayaker:            bonnie aldinger

swimmer:        capri djatiasmoro (me)

video: booking to sandy hook

this is all i have, because as soon as we got to sandy hook

we were working and dealing

with the drama on the high seas

i had trained diligently for months

i was ready but mother nature; the ocean and the wind had other plans

full moon made for very fast tidal currents

we were supposed to have a strong current assist pushing north

( this is good )

we were supposed to have wind from the south pushing north

(this is good)

unfortunately - the wind switched to a strong 15-20 mph wind

coming from the west going east

the current at sandy hook was - east going west

this caused a washing machine effect with 6' plus waves

(not fun, but i've been through this before)

i swam to shore and started the swim from the beach

Had to get through some huge crashing waves and

then the washing machine was waiting for me

there were times when the boat could not see us

i couldn't see the boat

sometimes, i could see bonnie in the kayak,

and she was getting blown all over the place

after 45 min of swimming and going no where

(actually, i was getting sucked into staten island bay - not good)

they pulled me - they told me to swim to the boat

i swam to the boat, but the wind kept pushing the boat away

i tried three times to no avail

finally they threw me a life preserver on a line and dragged me into the boat

then we had to get bonnie and her kayak on board

remember - this was in a turbulent washing machine with 6' plus waves

the boat could not hold position

as we were trying to load the kayak on board,

at one point, the boat came down on the kayak and capsized it

bonnie lost her radio, bag with food and water, broke her camera etc.

bonnie is a pro, she kept her cool and dealt with the situation

it took awhile, but we finally got bonnie and her kayak on board

we got out of the treacherous washing machine danger zone

and headed to relatively speaking, "calmer" waters

just south of the verrazano bridge, bonnie with her kayak and i got back in

back into the water - ok, let's try this again ...

i did three feeds at the verrazano - that's a feed break every 45min

i have no idea how far i swam

but i was swimming hard, working my ass off

speaking of ass … at one point near bay ridge, i felt something

very big and slippery smack my left check ass

and go flying over me - it was not a log

i can only assume it was a large fish

then, i was getting bored with the caffe latte feed

i asked bonnie to tell my crew to switch to the other feed - the strawberry vanilla

i was starting to get a little sore, so i took a sip of the liquid Advil

boy, was that a mistake!

it mixed with the caffe latte and came right up

it was a good thing, that the week before, my open water swimming coach,

(patricia sener) had just taught me how to puke in the water.

i didn't want bonnie to see me puking (they would pull me)

so i took a breath

and exhaled in the water puking each time

lovely, isn't it?

this is what open water swimmers do …

i was getting pushed north, but the strong wind from the west was pushing us

into moored barges on the brooklyn side

i made it past one barge and then morty called the event

we were north of bay ridge and south of governor's island

i said … why did you pull me - i made it past the barge

he said … look at all those barges up ahead

it was like a mine field of anchored barges

morty did the right thing

it was too dangerous

later in the afternoon - the wind direction changed to coming from the north

so it would have been brutal conditions - swimming into battery park

let alone dodging a tanker, a cruise ship, barges, staten island ferry

and all the other harbor boat traffic, but this is what i do for fun!

yes, and of course we had the necessary permits, insurance,

and clearance from NYPD harbor patrol, USCG, and homeland security

 so … that's about it for now folks

until the next swimming adventure

see you in the water ;-)

Capri

Free program for nature lovers, in Brooklyn this Sat

Animal Tracks Exploration : : New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Brown fat, my new hero

Fascinating article in the New York Times yesterday, finally an explanation for my sleepless nights! Due to a drunken bet that involves some serious weight loss on my part by Jan 31st, I have kicked my workout regime into overdrive. My body have been so HOT at night that I can't sleep. Like when the furnace turns on in cold water swimming. Apparently, it's the brown fat hard at work burning the white fat. Brown fat, which forms from cold, also forms from exercise. Who knew? Which would explain why the hotter I am at night, the more the scale drops in the morning.

Go brown fat GO!! You're about to win CIBBOWS $1000.00!!

CIBBOWS in the news!

Brooklyn's Swimming Mecca
Brighton Beach Offers Open-Water Enthusiasts the Perfect Spot to Meet and Train

Photos: Kevin Hagen for the Wall Street Journal

Itchy and Scratchy....or, Debunking the Myth of Sea Lice

I've noticed in my many years of swimming at Coney, as the water cools, the itching begins. It starts with one or two red marks. Now, as the water nears 50F, I have about 10 welts the size of a quarter. Everyone calls it "sea lice", which sounds frightening. It is also incorrect, according to this medical article on the Divers Alert Network. No, according to the CDC what I have is the more innocuous sounding "swimmer's itch". Microscopic parasites that are looking for a duck to call home, but they settle for me. Ew. I think I'd rather be lunch for the jellyfish larvae.....

Towel off well, my friends....

Brooklyn Masters Swim Team

As many of you know, I have been dreaming of starting a REAL masters swim team here in Brooklyn for many years now...it looks like I've finally found a pool! Details to come, but I am STOKED!!!!