A California woman became the sixth swimmer to cross the Farallones Bay alone off the coast of San Francisco over the weekend. She also became the first swimmer to swim outward to the Farallones Islands, a known feeding ground for animals. Great white shark. Pacifica resident Amy Appelhans Gubser, 55, swam across the bay at 3:30 a.m. Saturday. She completed the swim in 17 hours, 3 minutes, and 58 seconds. This challenging swim involves approximately 30 miles of rough, cold water. Temperatures range from 43 degrees to 57 degrees. Appelhans Gubser followed the rules of marathon swimming and swam without a wetsuit. “It makes the sport more transparent,” she said. Appelhans Gubser told her sister station KCRA on Wednesday that she has already returned to her job and that she feels “really great” after her swim. “I trained hard to recover perfectly and quickly,” she said. The other five swimmers who completed the swim started from Farallon Island and swam to the Golden Gate Bridge, but Appelhans Gubser swam in the opposite direction. Appelhans Gubser had to battle strong currents on the Golden Gate Bridge during the first part of her swim. But she said the reverse route best suited her ability, speed and her “strong aptitude” for handling cold water. “As we got closer to the island, the influence of the continental shelf increased and the water temperature dropped,” she said. The island she arrived on is known as a breeding ground for great white sharks. “Because who would want to swim to Shark Island?” joked Appelhans Gubser. She says large scale migrations of sharks occur around this time of year. But the “residents” remain. “My crew knew that if we accepted this challenge something would likely go wrong,” she said. Appelhans Gubser doesn't yet know what her next challenge will be that could top this swim, she said.
A California woman became the sixth swimmer to swim solo across Farallone Bay off the coast of San Francisco over the weekend.
She was also the first swimmer to swim toward the Farallones Islands, a known feeding ground for great white sharks.
Pacifica resident Amy Appelhans Gubser, 55, swam across the bay at 3:30 a.m. Saturday. She completed the swim in 17 hours, 3 minutes, and 58 seconds.
It's a challenging swim, covering nearly 30 miles in rough, cold water with temperatures ranging from 43 to 57 degrees. Appelhans Gubser followed the rules of marathon swimming and swam without a wetsuit.
“It makes the sport more transparent,” she said.
Appelhans Gubser told sister station KCRA on Wednesday that he had already returned to work and felt “really great” after the swim.
“I trained hard to recover perfectly and quickly,” she said.
The other five finishers started from the Farallon Islands and swam to the Golden Gate Bridge, but Appelhans Gubser swam in the opposite direction.
Appelhans Gubser had to battle strong currents on the Golden Gate Bridge during the first part of his swim. But she said the reverse route best suited her ability, speed and “strong aptitude” for handling cold water.
“As we got closer to the island, the influence of the continental shelf increased and the water temperature dropped,” she said.
The island she arrived on is known as a breeding ground for great white sharks.
“Because who would want to swim to Shark Island,” joked Appelhans Gubser.
She says sharks migrate from the island in large numbers around this time of year. But the “residents” remain.
“My crew knew that if we accepted this challenge something would likely go wrong,” she said.
Appelhans Gubser said he doesn't yet know what his next challenge will be that could top this swim.
