Throw Me In The Ocean
People
Swimming the Straight of Juan de Fuca: Andrew’s Account of Preparing for an Unprecedented International Channel Crossing
Tomorrow morning, Andrew Malinak will set off swimming from Vancouver Island (Canada) to a beach on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula (USA). The water will be cold and the conditions challenging, to put it lightly. For some perspective, understand this: crossing the Straight of Juan de Fuca is intimidating to boats, and only 8 swimmers have ever … Continue reading
Not Until I Circle Manhattan: Why the English Channel Can Wait
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
Wanna be like Josh
As soon as I was old enough to pick out my own clothes, I only wore his hand-me-downs. When mom took us to get haircuts, I made him go first so that I could say, “I want mine just like his.” He ran from me throughout our house as I raced after him with arms … Continue reading
You Inspire Me Daily, Hannah Rosen
I tell her occasionally, but I’m not sure if she ever really believes me: my 14-year-old niece Hannah is my daily inspiration. Before there was a coach Nick, or a support swimmer Peter (see this post), there was a Hannah. In order to understand how I call upon Hannah for strength, let me first introduce … Continue reading
My Father’s Ocean
My dad, Michael Rosen, 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 Yankee Stadium receiving … 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...
