Amazing 7 year old swimmer

[skcin]

Holy crap! :eek:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/22/alcatraz.swim.ap/index.html

Boy, 7, completes swim from Alcatraz

Monday, May 22, 2006; Posted: 12:31 p.m. EDT (16:31 GMT)


SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy has become one of the youngest, if not the youngest, person to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco's Aquatic Park.

Braxton Bilbrey is a second-grader from Glendale, Arizona, who has completed several short-scale youth triathlons.

Bilbrey was accompanied on the estimated 1.4-mile swim by his coach, two other swimmers and a Coast Guard boat.

As he reached shore, Braxton was besieged by reporters. He told them he considered his accomplishment "pretty cool."

Asked what the hardest part was, he replied: "The swimming." {This is me - :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: }

Asked if the strong current was a problem, he said: "Not really."

And asked about being a "brave little boy," Braxton responded: "I think I am."

Stacey Bilbrey originally wasn't sold on the idea of her son swimming from Alcatraz, but she accepted it once he proved he was dedicated to his goal.

"For a 7-year-old to be that motivated and stick with a goal that long is amazing," she said.

Alcatraz, once a notorious federal prison that housed some of the nation's infamous criminals, including Chicago mobster Al Capone, is now a tourist site that attracts about 1 million visitors a year. It also draws a fair share of swimmers who attempt the crossing as part of the annual Escape from Alcatraz triathlon.

Braxton got the idea when he saw a magazine story about a 9-year-old boy who made the swim. Johnny Wilson, a fourth grader completed the swim in 53-degree waters last October.

[amber]

Wow. I'm such a slacker, I should be doing that right now!

seriously, that is cool. I'm scared of the ocean, especially here in the polluted, freezing, red triangle. Quite an accomplishment.

[skcin]

Where's Sparky? I want them to race. :laugh:

[David]

It seems grossly irresponsible to let such young kids swim that water. Where are the parents? Are they just bloody morons? That cold water is filled with great white sharks. They're multitudinous all around the Farallons & the SF Bay.

http://students.washington.edu/erikmax/images/ranpic168%20great%20white%20shark%20san%20francisco%20morin%20park%20beach.jpg

[strandinthewind]

^^^^

and there's earthquakes :shrug:

[DavidMn]

What an amazing story!

[David]

^^^^

and there's earthquakes :shrug:
STRANDIE!!! Earthquakes aren't a problem if you're swimming in a bay! Now be serious. There really are great white sharks up there.

[strandinthewind]

STRANDIE!!! Earthquakes aren't a problem if you're swimming in a bay! Now be serious. There really are great white sharks up there.

GOTCHA :wavey: :wavey: :wavey: :wavey:

Seriously, I agree - the shark thing is scary and that kid's parents are nuts.

[amber]

GOTCHA :wavey: :wavey: :wavey: :wavey:

Seriously, I agree - the shark thing is scary and that kid's parents are nuts.
There was hella people right there near him, including Coast Guard. Maybe the parents thought the sharks would eat one of those swimmers first.

[DavidMn]

They dont have Great Whites around there, do they?

[David]

There was hella people right there near him, including Coast Guard.Coast Guard?? But taxpayers -- we -- pay for the Coast Guard. We pay for legitimate duties like rescuing foundered vessels, etc., not for goofy athletic challenges that take the Coast Guard's time & resources. I hate that kind of thing, playing fast & loose with public resources. It's like those guys who scale El Capitan to impress their friends, get stuck on the cliff face, & then have to avail themselves of search & rescue teams -- all on the public dollar -- in order to get themselves out of situations they deliberately put themselves in.
Maybe the parents thought the sharks would eat one of those swimmers first.haahaha!! that's what I'm thinking. Not bad reasoning, at that.

[David]

They dont have Great Whites around there, do they?
You've been misinformed, my friend. Great whites are plentiful all around the Farallon Islands & all the waters off Northern California, from north of Point Reyes down the coast to the Bay & south to Monterey. Every surf season brings news reports from those areas of surfers & divers being attacked by great whites.

[DavidMn]

You've been misinformed, my friend. Great whites are plentiful all around the Farallon Islands & all the waters off Northern California, from north of Point Reyes down the coast to the Bay & south to Monterey. Every surf season brings news reports from those areas of surfers & divers being attacked by great whites.I didnt realize that. I guess the waters are cold enough for them there then? I know Great Whites like colder water

[amber]

Coast Guard?? But taxpayers -- we -- pay for the Coast Guard. We pay for legitimate duties like rescuing foundered vessels, etc., not for goofy athletic challenges that take the Coast Guard's time & resources. I hate that kind of thing, playing fast & loose with public resources. It's like those guys who scale El Capitan to impress their friends, get stuck on the cliff face, & then have to avail themselves of search & rescue teams -- all on the public dollar -- in order to get themselves out of situations they deliberately put themselves in.
haahaha!! that's what I'm thinking. Not bad reasoning, at that.

I didn't even think of that coast guard thing. Well, it's only 1.4 miles and took him 47 minutes - maybe they were hanging around out there anyway? :p
People who ski in places they shouldn't be skiing piss me off for the same reasons, only add skiing dangers instead, and ski rescue people.

DavidMn - The sharks is what I was talking about when I said "red triangle" in my first post. That is what the area David described is called, only I think it goes out to Hawaii, (or something) as well, because what he described doesn't make a triangle.

[David]

I didnt realize that. I guess the waters are cold enough for them there then? I know Great Whites like colder waterYes that's all cold water of the central & northern CA coast. In fact, it's even cold water current off the southern CA coast (that's why people who grew up swimming in the Atlantic who move to Los Angeles complain about the ocean here). The great whites love the water temp off California, & they love the rich abundance of seals, sea lions & walruses.

[sara1998]

Oh well. Aside all the pissing and moaning about the kid, and the dumb-ass parents who allow him to do such a thing, and great white sharks, and tax-payers coast guard... I think the idea of a 7 year old who had such a grand goal in mind- and actually stuck with it- is pretty amazing to me. My 7 year old is more worried about whether or not she can ride her bike to the 3rd or
4th set of mailboxes.....

[catinthedark]

It seems grossly irresponsible to let such young kids swim that water. Where are the parents? Are they just bloody morons? That cold water is filled with great white sharks. They're multitudinous all around the Farallons & the SF Bay.

could not agree more. i'm late in coming to this thread, but this was EXACTLY my reaction (and a few of my colleagues') at our news meeting today. half the people were like, "wow - how cool." the rest of us were like, "where were his parents??" apparently the parents said he was a very strong swimmer, blah blah blah. buy him a pool, i say. this is grossly irresponsible - a parent's quest for fame at the expense of his/her child's health and safety. equal in abuse-factor to the trainer and parents of that 4-year-old boy in India who ran the marathon.


PS we did NOT run the story on the swimming kid today. whoo hoo! :)

[sparky]

Where's Sparky? I want them to race. :laugh:

Lemme at him. I'll kick his little ass ! :laugh:

Actually, the little twerp might beat me. I did the 2k in Oz and it took me 50 minutes. But then, I breast stroked 70% of the time because I couldn't see where the hell I was going. It might be a pretty even race. How humiliating !

I had no idea there were sharks up there. And no idea it was only 1.4 miles. That's not that far of a swim.

[David]

I had no idea there were sharks up there. And no idea it was only 1.4 miles. That's not that far of a swim.It's close but many would-be escapees from Alcatraz drowned in the dangerous currents:

"One of the most poignant aspects of the tour is the realization of how close -- but unattainable -- the city of San Francisco must have seemed from the prison. On still nights, the prisoners could even hear laugher and voices from restaurants and parties across the bay. As a result, many prisoners dreamed of escaping, but standing in their way was the tight security and cold waters with dangerous currents and an occasional shark."

http://www.theinsider.com/SF/Attractions/alcatraz.htm


One of the many myths about Alcatraz is that it was impossible to survive a swim from the island to the mainland because of sharks. In fact, there are no "man-eating" sharks in San Francisco Bay, only small bottom-feeding sharks. The main obstacles were the cold temperature (averaging 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit), the strong currents, and the distance to shore (at least 1-1/4 miles). Prior to the Federal institution opening in 1934, a teenage girl swam to the island to prove it was possible. Fitness guru Jack LaLanne once swam to the island pulling a rowboat, and several years ago, two 10-year-old children also made the swim.

"If a person is well-trained and -conditioned, it is possible to survive the cold waters and fast currents. However, for prisoners - who had no control over their diet, no weightlifting or physical training (other than situps and pushups), and no knowledge of high and low tides - the odds for success were slim."

http://www.bop.gov/about/history/alcatraz.jsp