Amazing 7 year old swimmer

skcin · #1 05-22-2006, 12:47 PM

Holy crap!

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

Quote:

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 -

}

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 · #2 05-22-2006, 12:50 PM

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 · #3 05-22-2006, 02:29 PM

Where's Sparky? I want them to race.

David · #4 05-22-2006, 02:31 PM

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.

strandinthewind · #5 05-22-2006, 02:46 PM

^^^^

and there's earthquakes

DavidMn · #6 05-22-2006, 02:58 PM

What an amazing story!

David · #7 05-22-2006, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

^^^^

and there's earthquakes

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 · #8 05-22-2006, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

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

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

amber · #9 05-22-2006, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

GOTCHA

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 · #10 05-22-2006, 03:40 PM

They dont have Great Whites around there, do they?

David · #11 05-22-2006, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amber

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.

Quote:

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 · #12 05-22-2006, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMn

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 · #13 05-22-2006, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

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 · #14 05-22-2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

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?

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 · #15 05-22-2006, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I didnt realize that. I guess the waters are cold enough for them there then? I know Great Whites like colder water

Yes 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.