Amy Gubser completes historic swim in shark-infested waters off San Francisco

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by patrick riley

She calmed down and continued swimming.

A California grandma completed an incredible 47.6-mile, 17-hour swim in frigid, shark-infested waters off the coast of San Francisco. While the apex predators kept their distance, nosy sea lions and seals were stung by jellyfish. They are tagged together.

On May 11, Amy Appelhans Gubser, 55, became the sixth person in history to daringly swim across the treacherous waters from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay to the tiny Farallon Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

According to the Marathon Swimming Federation, she is also the first person to complete the grueling dive from the mainland, rather than starting from an island and swimming to shore. [MSF]named the Farallon Islands one of the “13 toughest swims” in the world, due to the cold water, strong currents, unstable weather, and, of course, great white sharks.

“I know there are sharks out there, and I'm just thankful they weren't interested in me,” Gubser told the Post.

Anyway, there were lots of wild animals. She was repeatedly stung by jellyfish while swimming, which she “didn't enjoy”.

She was also followed by the curious seals and sea lions that frequent the waters around the Farallon Islands along with their predators.

Gubser said his team found several “half-eaten” seals as they approached the island, raising concerns that there were predators nearby. She's thankful they didn't tell her that.

She said she knew there was a real possibility of a shark attack. Her support team brought in additional emergency medical equipment just in case, and took on the burden of potentially witnessing her friend being eaten alive.

“I don’t think people really understand that.” [my team] If I signed up to participate in this swim, there was a chance they wouldn’t see me come back,” she said.

Before dawn on Saturday, Gubser jumped into the water at the base of the Golden Gate's eastern pier, starting his historic journey about an hour late to allow the giant container ship to pass.

This daunting endeavor was closely monitored by a support team of seven people who followed her through dangerous and volatile conditions in kayaks and boats. They fed her her meals every 30 minutes to maintain her energy and made sure she was okay while recording her progress.

One of the team members who followed them in a kayak used a “shark shield” that emitted an electric field to keep them away.

During the 17-hour, 3-minute journey, Gubser faced a variety of conditions including fog, wind and frigid water temperatures, which at times reached a bone-chilling 43 degrees Celsius. She made some of her ocean voyages through eerie darkness where her vision was limited to her fingertips.

Mentally, she struggled to stay calm as time passed, sometimes like a battle against waves, but she persevered.

“It's difficult. You have to entertain yourself, but you also have to try not to overthink it, because then negative thoughts will come to you,” says the song in your head. She said that was effective.

“While I was swimming, if someone asked me what time it was, I wouldn't be able to answer. I just entered a place where I didn't want to be conscious of the passage of time,” Gubser added.

“It's healthy insanity.”

But her greatest enemy turned out to be the cold she was prepared for.

“I knew it would be down to the low 40s, but 43 was an unprecedented number for me. I'm not an ice swimmer,” she said. “It was really cold and I knew when I was going to feel those patches of ice and if I had to keep it up for a long period of time it wasn’t going to end.”

Gubser, a fetal cardiology nurse at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, had been planning this epic swim for five years, but had to postpone it multiple times due to weather and tidal conditions.

“It took a very long time to make this work, so everything went so smoothly that it feels so great to be able to finish it and do it successfully,” she said. I did.

She swam in college, but didn't start doing this extreme open water swim 10 years ago when her youngest son graduated from high school. And she felt, “It's time for her to do something for herself.”

“When I discovered open water swimming, it was the first time I was able to truly release the stresses of work and life,” she said.

“The kids thought I was crazy, and I love that, because that's healthy crazy,” Gubser added.

She met other open water swimmers in the community, which helped her achieve these big goals.

She has participated in open water events around the world, including a 34-mile swim across the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland in 2018, and a 13.9-mile swim across the Strait of Gibraltar in 2015.

Last year, she completed a 49.5-mile journey around Manhattan.

She is just one of six people in the world to have completed at least three of MSF's 13 toughest routes.

After Saturday's adventure, Gubser said she felt better and was already back to work at the hospital on Tuesday, which she attributes to her intense recovery training.

Now, she says, she can always point to the island and tell people she once swam there.

“Every time I see those islands, I'm drawn to them. They're so mesmerizing on the horizon, it's kind of eerie. It's just amazing,” said Gubser, who lives in Pacifica and can see the islands from the coast. said.

“That's funny! I think that's really funny — who would do that?” she said.

Gubser said that with training, anyone can accomplish such a gigantic task.

“What I want people to know is that I'm just an average-looking guy, not this totally chiseled, ripped, elite athlete kind of guy. I kind of look like my mom. Right?” she continued.

“I'm very proud of that and I hope it's an inspiration.” [others.]”