Open Water Swimmers to Complete World Record 1000th Crossing of the Famed Alcatraz Channel in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Accomplished open water swimmers Gary Emich and Steven Hurwitz of the South End Rowing Club will complete their 1000^th solo Alcatraz crossings together on Tuesday, June 11, 2013.

Emich and Hurwitz, world record holders for Alcatraz crossings in often riptide currents, will be joined by a flotilla of well-wishers, including Joe Oakes, noted world explorer and original creator of the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon and Bob Roper, swimming legend and Golden Gate Bridge swim record holder.

The 1.5-mile swim coincides with the 51^st anniversary of the famed escape from the Rock by Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers. The event will help raise money for Hospice of the Bay, San Francisco Bay Keeper Foundation and the South End Rowing Club.

The swimmers will leave San Francisco's Aquatic Park at 7:30 am, jump from the East side of Alcatraz at 8:00 am and return at approximately 8:45 am. Media are invited to talk with the swimmers and other event participants on the beach at the conclusion of the swim.

"The 1000^th crossing for the swimmers is a symbolic victory for all those who yearn for freedom – those who have tried to accomplish what doubters said couldn't be done and those who literally tried to escape the Rock against all odds," said Hurwitz, the youngest swimmer in history to complete 500 crossings. "The 1000^th is also an opportunity to say thank you to three organizations that are making a huge difference in the Bay Area."

Accompanying the three swimmers will be a pilot boat navigated by the swimmers' coach, "Napa Bob" Roper. Roper is a 75-year-old Bay Area swimming legend and Riordan High graduate who has accompanied the swimmers on more than 1,300 of their Alcatraz crossings.  

Said swimmer Gary Emich: "Bob Roper just adds to this celebration of San Francisco and the mystique and beauty of an island that has captured the imagination of people around the world. This is a great day for all those who enjoy the splendor of this magnificent body of water and island."

To reach their goals, the two swimmers have been swimming year-round as partners at the South End Rowing Club almost three times a week for the last ten plus years in conditions that range from tranquil to treacherous.

San Francisco Bay frequently is subject to high winds, whitecap waters reaching four feet and myriad types of carnivorous marine life. Adding to the complexity, the swimmers must navigate through extremely strong and tricky currents and endure water temperatures that dip to 46 degrees. None of the swimmers ever wears a wetsuit.

Steven Hurwitz

Steven Hurwitz, 52, holds the record for the fastest two-way Alcatraz at 56 minutes. He has been a member of The South End Rowing Club for 14 years and currently serves on the Club's board of directors. Hurwitz has participated in numerous open water swims, including the ten mile Bay to Breaker swim, the circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, Tampa Bay Florida, Pennock Island Alaska, The Maui Channel swim Hawaii, Key West Florida,  Boston Harbor, The English Channel and Catalina Channel relays. Hurwitz is President of Bay Area Herbs & Specialties, the nation's premier supplier of fresh culinary herbs and specialty produce. He is husband and father of two teenage children.

Gary Emich

Gary Emich, 62, took to open water swimming after he moved to San Francisco in 1990 and saw a group of folks from the South End Rowing club swimming in Aquatic Cove. It was at that point that Gary realized that he had "discovered a previously unimagined passion." In the intervening 23 years, Gary has never again looked at a body of water without analyzing its swimming potential. His swims include the predator-infested Amazon River; Peru's Lake Titicaca (the world's highest navigable lake at 12,500 feet); the peat black waters of Scotland's legendary Loch Ness; Cuba's underwater river in the Cave of Indians; and the 20km Rottnest Australia swim at the age of 58. Relay swims include the English Channel, the Catalina Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Bay of Naples Italy, Tampa Bay and circumnavigations of Manhattan Island, Key West and Pennock Island Alaska.

SOURCE South End Rowing Club