Natalie Merrow - Long Beach Oil Islands

Around Long Beach Oil Islands

10.7 km (6.6 miles)

3 hours, 40 minutes on 26 June 2021

Observed and documented by Cherie Edborg

First

Contents

Swimmer

  • Name: Natalie Merrow
  • Gender: female
  • Age on swim date: 41
  • Nationality: United States
  • Resides: Aliso Viejo, California

Support Personnel

  • Tim Driskell - boat pilot
  • Amber Theders - pace swimmer
  • Wendy Theders - kayaker
  • Julie Flanagan - kayaker

Observer

Cherie Edborg

Swim resume (LongSwimsDB). SBCSA board member. SBCSA and CCSF official observer.

Escort Vessel

Name Type Port
Beyond the Shore Boston Whaler Long Beach

Swim Parameters

  • Category: Solo, nonstop, unassisted.
  • Rules: MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming, without exception or modification.
  • Equipment used: Textile swimsuit (Jolyn one-piece Jackson tieback), silicone cap, Speedo Vanquisher goggles, Bag Balm grease.

Route Definition

From west end of Alamitos Beach, in a clockwise loop around the four oil islands, returning to same location on Alamitos Beach. North of Island White, north and west of Island Chaffee, south of Island Freeman, south and west of Island Grissom.

  • Body of Water: East San Pedro Bay (inside breakwater), Pacific Ocean.
  • Route Type: multi-island loop
  • Start and Finish Location: West end of Alamitos Beach (east of Shoreline Marina). (33.762382, -118.180994)
  • Minimum Route Distance: 10.7 km (6.6 miles) (map)

History

No known previous swims of this route.

Also see: Wikipedia article on THUMS Islands.

Swim Data

  • Start: 26 June 2021, 06:01:00 (Pacific Daylight, America/Los_Angeles, UTC-7).
  • Finish: 26 June 2021, 09:41:34
  • Elapsed: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 34 seconds.

Summary of Conditions

Feature Min Max
Water Temp (F) 66 68
Air Temp (F) 62 76
Wind 0 0

GPS Track

Trackpoint frequency: 5 minutes. Download raw data (CSV).

Click to expand map.

Speed Plot

Nutrition: Tailwind chocolate, every 30 min.

Observer Log

Download PDF

Swimmer Statement

I grew up in Long Beach and wanted to do the first documented swim around these four islands that I grew up looking at.

See: History of Long Beach Oil Islands (Curbed LA)

Photos

Click to enlarge.

Video