Gracie & Neil's Blog

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Gracie is home! She spend 5 days in a hospital after her Catalina record swim - believe it or not, from an infection she got after stepping on a sea urchin at the end of her swim. It ended up being MRSA which was highly resistant to antibiotics and they had to contact CDC due to its ability to be contagious. Folks visiting her in the hospital had to wear gowns and gloves, but after a long and hard marathon of a battle, she was able to come home and serve out her "no swimming for a week" sentence at home.

It was a real scare and frankly, though the constant pain and nausea should have been an indication how bad it was, the doctor was even more concerned when he noted another two days wait could have cost her, her foot (if it reached the bone). Our prayers were answered and all the beautiful folks Gracie got to know trough swimming, coaching, and related activities, poured out their love and support to ensure she gets to rest and not worry about the house or other issues distracting her from getting better. Our thanks to every single one of you, the swim kids, as well as the pool team for understanding her predicament and filling the gap.

God bless!
N&G

On October 6th, 2012 Gracie set out to swim her first channel crossing starting from Catalina Island to Mainland (21 miles). She trained really hard for this endeavor and knew many factors could play a role in the success or failure of such a bold undertaking. Although she knew she had the fitness and stamina to go the distance (having completed several 4-6 hour training swims lasting up to 18 miles as well as having set the World Record for the longest stage race ... the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim), none of these were quite 21 miles and the element of surprise was always on the side of mother nature with unpredictable currents, swells, wind, tides, and last but not least, water temperatures. The Catalina Channel has been consistently cold the last few years and we have seen many accomplished swimmers defeated by conditions out of their control. It was a real worry for Gracie, but with lots of training and praying, she set off from the Island around 12:45 am hoping this would be a day for something special.

Her dreams came true in terms of favorable water temperatures hovering around 68/9, however, she did not get the "push" she hoped to see when studying surface currents. They turned the last day or so from the N and the "cross-wind" conditions meant for constant correction and hedging to keep a straight line. Lucky for Gracie, it was not a super strong cross-current so she was able to hold a very straight line with the help of the very accomplished Outrider crew.

Knowing her pool splits and timed ocean training swims, she knew she had it in her to do something special. She told her crew the same a few days before the race and everyone knew what their jobs were to make sure there are no unnecessary interruptions or delays during the swim. If she were to threaten almost 20-year old crossing time records, she would have to pull out all the stops. And that is exactly what she did. The start of the race had the most beautiful calm, and placid conditions ... a swimmer's dream. There were no high anxiety levels as anticipated (her practice night swims were not as smooth), and to be honest, her stroke rate and level of calmness suggested the opposite. We later found out she was at peace the whole way swimming in the dark, which was quite a blessing considering the majority of her swim ended up being at night. Yup, she in fact managed to break the elusive 8-hour barrier and set a new world record for the Catalina to Mainland direction in a time of 7 hours, 27 minutes, and 25 seconds. Whohoooo!

Gracie's phenomenal feat drew much attention in the swimming community as well as news stations and set social media abuzz. Yet, through it all she continues to praise those around her for helping her get there seemingly without realizing what she really accomplished. Perhaps it will sink in a little later, but bottom line is we are super proud of her work ethic as well as her accomplishment and believe this sets the stage for even more moments in history. Well done Bokkie and congrats on #9 for 2012!!! (We hope this one sticks at least for a couple of years).

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/sports/kswb-solana-beach-woman-sets-world-record-from-catalina-20121010,0,1436933.story

http://www.cbs8.com/story/19797505/local-woman-sets-catalina-channel-swim-record

Well, she did it!! On July 3rd 2012, Gracie completed the longest open water swimming race in the world (a 120 mile stage race called the "8 Bridges Hudson River Swim"). She endured this week-long race in a total time of 31:47:52 after finishing first and setting stage records in each of the 7 stages. In the process, she also became the first person to ever complete all seven stages consecutively. This year, Rondi Davies was also able to complete all seven stage and the two became instant life-long friends.

We are eagerly awaiting the next challenge (adventure) and hope it will be equally as fun as the 8-Bridges Swim proved to be. Many thanks to David Barra for excellent race planning and logistics as well as Margrethe Holrck-Romanovsky for being by Gracie side ever so steadily and rock-solid all the way (all 7 stages) ... with Margrethe Hørlyck-Romanovsky

Monday, May 7, 2012

8 Bridges

Congrats to Gracie on her invitation to become the first swimmer to complete the 8 Bridges swim (Hudson river). Keep up the hard work and know we are so proud of you!

http://www.8bridges.org/

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Support Kayaker's Equipment Listing

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Tobey Anne Saracino's Triple Crown (Catalina Crossing)

On July 25th, Gracie and Neil were privileged enough to support Tobey Anne in her endeavor to cross the Catalina Channel for her triple crown in open water swimming (English Channel, Manhattan, and Catalina). She completed the swim in just under 10 hours and finished strong enough to swim a 100 yards back to the support boat with rocks in her swim suit!

Gracie was Tobey's assistant observer for CCSF and Neil her support paddler for most of he 21 miles.

Congrats Tobey Ann!

Fun outing with Mallory Mead

http://greatwildlifeadventures.com/2011/ocean-kayaking-a-great-way-to-see-marine-wildlife-in-the-san-diego-area/