San Francisco
Round-Trip Angel Island – 10 Miles (16.1 km)
‘Round-Trip Angel Island’ has a minimum course distance of 10-miles (16.1-km). This island circumnavigational loop swim begins and ends in Aquatic Park Cove at “Swimmer’s Beach”, between the South End Rowing and Dolphin Clubs then encircles Angel Island State Park in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.
The route crosses three major shipping channels (twice), 16 ferry routes, and is predominantly cross-current, where peak ebb tides can amount to a volume of as much as 60 million gallons/second (200 million liters/second) flowing under the Golden Gate Bridge just three miles west. Water temperatures vary throughout the year between 48° – 62°F (9° – 16°C).
This course is for advanced open water swimmers only. To date, more have failed in their attempts than have been successful by a ratio of approximately 2:1.
2022 Administration & Ratification Fees (learn more):
– Solo Attempts: $195
San Francisco
3 Rocks – 6.2 Miles (10 Km)
3 Rocks, aptly named for the waypoints of this course, is a true 10-km (6.2-miles) marathon swim in the San Francisco Bay.
Starting southwest and directly adjacent and west of Anita Rock on Crissy Field South Beach, the course requires you to swim across the flooding central bay to Harding Rock. After rounding the north side of the Harding Rock buoy, you swim east, cross-current, to Alcatraz (“The Rock”). After rounding the island on the east/southeast, you swim southwest, rounding the north and west sides of Anita Rock and complete the course by clearing the water on the beach adjacent to Anita Rock. The shortest distance of this course is 10-Km (6.2-miles).
The course may be swum clockwise or counterclockwise and all waypoints of the course must be adhered to in strict accordance in order for the swim to be ratified.
This cross-current course traverses two of the three traffic lanes and requires speed, accuracy in sighting, and the correct timing of the tide cycle. As is the case for RTAI, it is a requirement of the USCG, District 11 that USCG ColRegs Rule 9(b)(d) shall be adhered to in all attempts — in short, this means all vessels >20m utilizing the SF Bay eastbound, westbound, or deepwater traffic have priority over vessels <20m and shall not be impeded.
This course is ideal for open water swimmers who are looking to complete a challenging moderate length course or a marathon training swim for someone working their way up to longer marathon swims. The length of this swim should not be considered a gauge for its level of difficulty. As is the case for RTAI, the challenges of this swim are not its distance.
Developed by the Northern California Open Water Swimming Association, 3 Rocks is a smaller version of Round-Trip Angel Island, and gives a 10-Km challenge to open water swimmers looking to work their way up to longer swims.
2022 Administration & Ratification Fees (learn more):
– Solo Attempts: $150
Lake Tahoe
Length – 21.3 Miles (34.3 km)
The Length is the most difficult course on Lake Tahoe. The course typically proceeds South to North, beginning in South Lake Tahoe, CA at Camp Richardson and proceeds north to Incline Village, NV. The minimum distance for this course is 21.3 miles (34.3 km).
All Lake Tahoe attempts are managed through the ‘Lake Tahoe Open Water Swimming Association‘ which follows all of the same rules, course descriptions, has unbiased observers, and has implemented transparent operations to ensure your marathon swimming attempts are recorded, ratified, and reported in timely, unbiased, and professional manner.
2022 Administration & Ratification Fees (learn more):
– Solo Attempts: $450
– Relay Attempts: $550
Lake Tahoe
True Width™ – 12 Miles (19.3 km)
This moderately difficult swim on Lake Tahoe typically starts on the west shore, just north of Homewood, CA and proceeds east to Glenbrook, NV, for a minimum distance 12 miles (19.3 km).
All Lake Tahoe attempts are managed through the ‘Lake Tahoe Open Water Swimming Association‘ which follows all of the same rules, course descriptions, unbiased observers, and transparent operations to ensure your marathon swimming efforts and recorded, ratified, and reported in timely and professional manner.
2022 Administration & Ratification Fees (learn more):
– Solo Attempts: $395
– Relay Attempts: $495
Lake Tahoe
Vikingsholm – 10.5 Miles (16.9 km)
This beautiful swim on Lake Tahoe starts at the Cave Rock Boat Launch in Nevada and proceeds southwest to Vikingsholm ‘Castle’ in Emerald Bay, California, for a minimum distance of 10.5 miles (16.9 km).
All Lake Tahoe attempts are managed through the ‘Lake Tahoe Open Water Swimming Association‘ which follows all of the same rules, course descriptions, unbiased observers, and transparent operations to ensure your marathon swimming efforts and recorded, ratified, and reported in timely and professional manner.
2022 Administration & Ratification Fees (learn more):
– Solo Attempts: $395
– Relay Attempts: $495