Nova Masters Swimming (Orange County, CA)

(Report from former Nova swimmer - Scott Zornig)

Well, after almost a 3 year layoff from swimming, I finally was part of a successful marathon (Relay) swim this past weekend. However, it was not the swim which was originally planned. As I learn each time I do one of these long distance ocean swims, you need to hope for the best, anticipate the worst and always, always, always have a back up plan.

Several months ago, I was invited by Forrest Nelson to do a  6 person swim relay with 5 incredible swimmers (why he invited me, I will never know because I could not even begin to carry one of this groups, french cut Speedo's which they so proudly wear). The swim was planned to begin from San Nicholas Island (The most distant Channel Island) and end at Pt Vincente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. This is a distance of 72 miles and something which has never been done in recorded history. I really wanted to do this swim, but just did not know if I had it in me. After a lot of sole searching, I finally committed to do the swim in July which only gave me 6 weeks to get my fat tush in shape. I swam 2 and 3 times a day during August in hopes that I would not completely embarrass myself.

I cannot say enough about this elite and very accomplished group of marathon swimmers (two of the guys recently had sucessful English Channel crossings and two others recently crossed the Catalina channel), but this also concerned me greatly because I believed that the only way this group of type A's would not be successful would be because of me. These guys were determined to have a successful swim and I was convinced that I was the only thing which stood in their way.

On Friday evening, we boarded a boat called "The Outrider" and ended up leaving the San Pedro harbor around 11pm. The plan was to head to San Nicholas Island and begin swimming from the Island as soon as we arrived which would be very early Saturday morning.

Well, after getting thrown around the boat all night like a Raggedy Ann doll and avoiding the bags of bile that people were carelessly carrying around the boat, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise at what we thought was San Nicholas Island. Unfortunately, we soon found out we were at the wrong channel island. We actually landed at Santa Barbara Island because the seas and weather were terrible and the forecast was even worse. Our boat captain had made the decision to park in front of Santa Barbara island until there was a break in the weather. So we waited a few hours and then set off for San Nic. The conditions continued to deteriorate and we had to make a team decision as to whether we should continue continue on to San Nic. Unfortunately, I voted last after everyone else said "let's do it" so I succumbed to peer pressure......therefore, we continued on a 3 hour tour....a 3 hour tour.

We finally arrived at San Nicolas, a very beautiful, but desolate island which is owned by the military. It was very cold outside as we were getting gusts of winds from 15 to 25 knots with occasional gusts up to 35 knots. We also had some big seas which were a frigid 63 degrees (63 feels a lot colder when you have cold wind blowing on you). This combination makes for terrible swimming conditions. The safety of the swimmers and the chance of success came into question. Dave Clark, of the Catalina Swim Federation, thought that due to the conditions, we only had a 10% chance of making it across the channel, so we took another vote and this time it was 6 to O in favor of canceling the swim. I think out lead off swimmer (Peter Attia) was the most relieved as he was going to have to share the beach with hundreds of seals including some very plump elephant seals who all appeared to know they could swim faster than Pete. This seemed to make them very happy as he moved them a little higher on the food chain if for only one day.

We had rented the boat and crew for 3 days so we all immediately tried to think of a back up plan which would be challenging and almost guarantee success.....of course it had to involve swimming since that is all the 6 of us know how to do. After a few ridiculous ideas by me, David Clark suggested that we attempt a swim around Catalina Island. The thought was that the conditions would be a little better at Catalina and the island would protect us from the elements. Also, the swim would only be 50 miles instead of the 72 so we had time to complete the swim before we had to pay overtime for the boat. The bad news was that this swim had been done twice before....once by the legendary Cindy Cleveland who did the swim solo (one of the greatest feats in swimming history) and another time (15 years ago) by three 6 person relays who did the swim together. Since we were not going to get our "First", we had only the time record of 25 hours to shoot for.

We motored over to Catalina and arrived there around 5:30pm on Saturday evening and quickly put our first swimmer in the water on the northern tip of Santa Catalina. Peter was very glad to find a beach free of shark food (elephant and harbor seas). Our swim rotation was Peter (34) San Carlos, Marc Lewis (45) of La Jolla Aka "Doctor Drugs", Forrest Nelson (42) from Los Angeles, Ed Reynolds (47) who resides in Tustin and can sleep longer and more soundly than any human being I have ever met, Phil Garn (47) from Coronado and finally, yours truly. Yes, it is true, I went last as I was the oldest, slowest and fat-est (not fastest). I also figured that I might get to do one less swim than everyone else which is always a benefit of being the final swimmer.

We were pleased to find that the winds were substantially less at Catalina and the water was a balmy 67 to 72 degrees during the entire swim. Our first 3 swimmers enjoyed sun light and dusk before darkness fell. We then spent the next 9 hours swimming in total darkness until the sun began to rise. By this time, we had reached the halfway point at the southern tip of Catalina.  This gave us some piece of mind as the mainland side of Catalina is calmer and offers more protections from the elements.....it also meant that we would get to dodge countless boaters who did not like swimmers in the way during THEIR labor day weekend. Of course, daylight also means that we could now see "what lurks beneath us" and "what Lurks beneath us" could now see us. (I have convinced myself over the years that a shark cannot see a swimmer at night time, but I also convinced myself that they can see us 20 miles away during the day). Why can't someone invent a shark repellant?

Anyway, shortly after making the turn, we passed Avalon and for a few moments, were able to use our cell phones and call our loved ones about the change in plans. I heard that thousands of people were planning to greet us at Pt Vincente upon completion of our swim. We  had to get the word out that the finish line had moved to Catalina. I am sure that all our fans would have shown up in Catalina if the "Catalina Flyer" was not completely booked because of labor day weekend.

We continued swimming throughout the day and are pleased to report that the only marine life we saw were a few dozen seals, a very large ray, an even larger squid and a Jelly Fish which viciously attacked my right arm before I strangled it. My teammates say they did not see this horrific incident, but it really happened. It's funny, they all graciously agreed to urinate on my arm to help the sting go away. My teammates are such selfless and thoughtful people.

After a few more hours of swimming, we moved closer and closer to the finish line. The concern became who was going to finish. As you know, I did not want to finish because it would mean that I would have to do a 4th swim. My teammates did not want me to finish either as I think they were concerned that my picture would end up in the hundreds of newspapers which were covering our event. We were pretty sure that our 5th swimmer, Phil Garns, was going to finish, but I think he decided to slow down on purpose because he had placed some side bets in Vegas that we would finish on our 6th swimmer. So at the 23 hour mark, I entered the water for  a final leg that would end up being a 32 minute, all out, no holds barred, sprint to the finish line. I am pretty sure I covered close to two miles which would be recognized as a new world record if done in a swimming pool.

I arrived at the original beach that we started from the night before, exited the water and then had to get back in the water as I was informed that I was at the wrong beach. After some discussion, we determined that I was, in fact, at the correct beach so I exited the water again and hit dry land. My teammates soon joined me and we posed for the attached picture. If this does not make the cover of sports illustrated, then it is proof that SI discriminates against middle age male swimmers in Speedos.

I am pleased to report that we set a new record of 23 hours, 32 minutes and 53 seconds which is going to be recognized by the Catalina Swim Federation.

In all seriousness, I want to personally thank our pilot, John Pittman who kept us safe and provided meals which were equivalent to eating at a  5 star restaurant; Dave Clark and Don Van Cleve from the Catalina Swim Federation who were on board the boat to make sure we were safe and followed all the rules of ocean swimming; our support crew of 5 who graciously gave of their time and, of course, my awesome teammates who created a memory which will last a lifetime.

Scott Z

The CDM mile swim went great, really just alot of fun! I decided to wear my wet suit just to try it out and although I was too warm, it is incredibly easy to swim in. I need to work on sighting, but overall it went well, I went out easy (too easy) and had enough left to start kicking after the 3rd buoy. My time was 30:30, 2nd in mens wet suit division, obviously not alot of wet suits and 158th overall!(my good friend from Carlsbad who does tri's beat me!).

Thanks for helping get to where I am Mike. Swimming a mile a year ago was not in the cards. Now, it's not too hard. I can't wait for next years open water season.

Bob Johnson

PS: Perhaps I'd make a good Xterra model eh! :):) LOL

NOVA MASTERS RACE RESULTS!

NAME               PLACE  DIVISION   MILE TIME

Jen Schumacher            2^nd        19-24               24:00

Dan Schumacher          5^th        45-49               24:30

Ahelee Sue Osborn      2^nd        45-49               25:12

Chris Roberts               9^th        35-39               25:49

Kai Weisser                 11^th      45-49               26:06

John Dauser                 14^th      50-54               26:34

Bach Le                       11^th      35-39               27.24

Steve Schumacher        15^th      45-49               27:25

Carol Jewell                 1^st        64-69               30:29

Bob Johnson                2^nd        WETSUIT       30:37

Brian Amende              2^nd        25-29               30:39

Kim Thornton               3^rd        55-59               30:41

Sherry Brooks              12^th      45-49               33:37

Paula Fell                     2^nd        WETSUIT       33:51

Heather Schferman       11^th      35-39               34:19

Barbara Schumacher    14^th      45-49               34:38

Jeri Salazar                   13^th      35-39               37:53

Dionne Caldwell           3^rd        70-74               39:25

Monica Jan                   7^th        WETSUIT       50:34