Throw Me In The Ocean
Latest Post
Selkie’s New Skin: Building My West Greenland Replica Skin-on-Frame Kayak
My earliest memories, while dreamlike, are indelibly etched into my mind. They are emotionally vivid mental impressions accompanied, in most cases, by hazy visual details. In one such memory I am a toddler, maybe two or three, teetering between awake and asleep. I am in a metal-framed carrier on my father’s back, walking along a … Continue reading
Featured Posts
With the exception of those joyous, carefree, childhood summers that lasted for years at a stretch, I can’t remember a time in my life when I was happier just going about my business day to day. I loved this summer. And on that note, although the last thing I would ever want to do is … Continue reading
As the ocean water warms, and the winter becomes a more distant memory, I reflect on becoming a winter ocean swimmer… But first… I remember a skiing trip my family took when I was around 10 years old with a bunch of other families from Seattle. At night, while the parents sat together over boring … Continue reading
On a trip to England in July (2011), I finally came to know the Channel. Instantly I lost my fallback response to the question, “Do you want to swim the English Channel?” Before, I could just say, “Swim it? I’ve never even seen it!” Now, I’d have to start considering it, or at least come … Continue reading
I met a bunch of English Channel alumni and aspirants in April 2011 in Malta, where I completed my first 6-hour swim. There I was, the lone American among mostly Brits, learning to tackle the cold and persevere through the mental games and physical pain of swimming farther than it seems like one should. The … Continue reading
This is a post about attempting a six-hour swim in 15°C Mediterranean waters. Much of the post takes place inside my head. The first two paragraphs are repeated from the end of the last post, Systematic Breakdown of Body, Mind, and Limits (Malta post 2 of 3) DAY THREE Tuesday was the only day for … Continue reading
From Sunday to Tuesday, deep and dark inner recesses of my mind were discovered and battled with, my body (shoulders, elbows, knees, skin and mouth) was wrecked, and my limits were very seriously tested… About the Malta posts My trip to Malta with SwimTrek was an experience unlike any other. It is covered in three … Continue reading
Michael Rosen & Second Beach My dad was born and raised on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, with little exposure to nature. He escaped New York—his story went—on a plane to Seattle only moments after sitting for his final Fordham Law exam. The story’s punch line: he witnessed from above, just after take-off, the “grass” in … Continue reading
About Me
I learned to swim as a wee one from my dad, who didn't really swim himself, but was tall enough and encouraging enough to send me back and forth to the side of a pool. There were also the terrifyingly wonderful trips on his shoulders out into crashing ocean surf, which instilled in me a fear and respect for the rising and falling, tempestuous beast, on whom he repeatedly admonished us kids to never, ever turn our backs. Read more...
