Team MotionBased

Alcatraz record holder Gary Emich (username - gemich) has one of the more unusual applications of a Garmin GPS that we've ever seen: he wears it under his swim cap to plot his Alcatraz and other open water swims. You may remember Gary from previous post: Tracking Escapes and Island Hopping in Croatia. On Wednesday afternoon October 18, 2006, Gary and fellow swim criminal Steve Hurwitz completed their 399th and 400th Alcatraz crossings (without wetsuits). Starting just east of Fisherman's Wharf, they hurtled out to Alcatraz on a strong outgoing tide in an astounding 26:45. On the return trip back to the shores of San Francisco, they were nearly twice that time (47:25) as they battled turbulent waves, wind and chop and then were forced to stop mid-way across to wait for an incoming freighter (note the westward drift on the GPS plotted course). Gary and Steve now have their sights set on Alcatraz 500! See more photos (photo credit Colin Gift)