Carly Miller - Pt. Dume to Gladstones

Pt. Dume to Gladstones

23.8 km (14.8 miles)

8 hours, 45 minutes on 18 August 2022

Observed and documented by Linda Simons

Swimmer
Support Personnel
Swim Parameters
Swim Data & GPS
Observer Log
Swimmer Statement
Photos
Video

Swimmer

Name: Carly Miller
Gender: female
Age on swim date: 44
Nationality: United States
Resides: Gardena, California

Support Personnel

Patricio Libenson - kayak
Linda Simons - kayak / observer

Observer

Linda Simons. Official observer for CCSF and SBCSA.

Escort Vessels

Swim piloted by two kayaks, no powerboat.

Swim Parameters

Category: Solo, nonstop, unassisted.
Rules: MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming, without exception or modification.
Equipment used: Textile swimsuit (The Finals poly/lycra), silicone cap, goggles, earplugs, non-GPS watch.

Route Definition

Pt. Dume to Gladstonses (Enter on north side of Pirates Cove, exit on south side of jetty by Gladstones restaurant at Sunset & PCH).

Body of Water: Santa Monica Bay, Pacific Ocean
Route Type: one-way
Start Location: Pt Dume, north of Pirates Cove. (34.001852, -118.808913)
Finish Location: Jetty @ Gladstones Restaurant, Pacific Palisades. (34.037895, -118.556700)
Minimum Route Distance: 23.8 km (14.8 miles) (map)

History

LongSwimsDB: Santa Monica Bay coastal swims.

Swim Data

Start: 18 August 2022, 06:38:05 (Pacific Daylight, America/Los_Angeles, UTC-7).
Finish: 18 August 2022, 15:13:45
Elapsed: 8 hours, 45 minutes, 40 seconds.

Summary of Conditions

Feature	Min	Max
Water Temp	60F	66F
Air Temp	14.6C	29.6C
Wind	not reported

GPS Track

Trackpoint frequency: 20 minutes. Download raw data (CSV).

Click to expand map.

Speed Plot

Nutrition: See observer log.

Observer Log

Observer Report

by Linda Simons

Day 1 of the Tour of Santa Monica Bay. Today Carly Miller will attempt to swim from Pt. Dume to Gladstones. Pt. Dume is only accessible by a hike which starts in a residential neighborhood. The crew meet at the corner of Westward Beach Rd and Birdview Ave in front of Sunset restaurant. Carly Miller waited patiently in the car as Linda Simons (Observer) and Cat Moore land crew prepared the first Kayak and waited for the second kayaker. Patricio Libenson, support Kayaker, arrived and Jill, his transportation driver prepared his kayak. The plan is to launch the kayaks through the surf in the dark with the use of spot lights and then to paddle down to the southernmost portion of Zuma called Westward Beach where Carly will begin her swim. Also present are Matthew Gerbasi, crew chief and Jim Grande pace swimmer for the first portion around Pt. Dume in the dark.

Everyone assembles at 5:45 a.m., including Carly Miller the swimmer and Linda Simons reads the rules and lays out the course for the day. Carly will swim out from the southernmost point of westward beach and then follow the coastline south to Gladstones restaurant at PCH & Sunset. As Carly passes each pier she will either swim under it or touch it with non-supporting contact.

Carly heads down the road to the start with Matthew Gerbasi and Jim Grande pace swimmer. Cat Moore and Linda Simons take the first Kayak to the water to launch. They wait for Patricio and Jill to bring down the second kayak. Linda and Patricio wait and watch the waves for an appropriate break in the surf. After 10 minutes Linda attempts to paddle out but gets dumped due to kayak orientation to the waves. Patricio attempts and fails. Linda attempts 2nd time but mistimes the surf. Linda attempts a third time and makes it out. Patricio tries again but is unable to make it out. Cat walks down to the start to join Carly. Patricio is going to move his kayak to a more favorable area and try to launch. Matthew returns to see what is taking so long. Matthew helps Patricio through the surf and he is able to join Linda who proceeded to the start to set up observer data.

Once Linda is at the start she prepares the kayak for the day and organizes the observer tools. Patricio calls he is on his way. Patricio arrives. Jim Grande, the pace swimmer, comes out to join us. Carly is given the signal and she walks out to begin the swim. Cat Moore videos the start from land and Linda from sea.

6:38.05 start. Called by Patricio watch time on Linda's Garmin 735xt. Patricio's watch is :40 seconds ahead.

Linda is using a traditional thermometer off the kayak which is read in Fahrenheit. The Anemometer is set to Celsius for air temperature and 'ms' meters per second for wind speed. Units were left as is for the day as changing in the middle of the swim would be confusing in the log.

The weather is cloudy and foggy. We will stay within sight of the coast for safety.

Carly Miller had CoVid about 2 weeks ago. She is well trained. However, recovering from CoVid has made her acclimation to the cold challenging. Prior to CoVid she did not have any issues maintaining her body temp in cold water. With the temperature being low and her early comments about the water being cold. Linda requested hot tea at the Paradise Cove Pier to be picked up at the Malibu Pier.

Carly struggled all day with the cold. She was encouraged to kick harder to increase her heat production. An attempt was made to increase her caloric intake but she has a weak stomach. Despite the cold and frustration of not feeling her best Carly continued.

She finished on the south side of the jetty by Gladstones. It was high tide so there was no dry sand at the finish. She swam in and went as far up the beach to the rocks as possible. When the surf receded, she was clear of the water, but the sand was wet. There was no way to proceed farther up the rocks. Carly reentered the water and swam around to the north side of the jetty to exit on the sandy side of the jetty in front of Gladstones.

Swimmer Statement

by Carly Miller

3 Days in the Bay: August 18-20, 2022

The idea for this swim came up some time during the planning of the Santa Monica Bay width swim I did in 2021. It was suggested to me by my friend and fellow marathon swimmer Linda Simons who thought it might be a fun idea to swim the bay along the coastline in stages. So, we started thinking about how we could go about doing it.

I love Santa Monica Bay; it’s my home water. And the swims I most like to do are the ones that are emotionally significant to me. Soon after my dear friend and fellow swimmer Scott Goldberg passed away from cancer in late 2021, I knew that this would be a challenge worthy enough to do in his honor. Since his favorite charity was Heal the Bay and I’d been wanting to do a fundraiser for HTB for a while, I thought this would be the perfect way to remember and honor Scott.

Linda and I set about planning the courses of each day. I started gathering crew and reaching out to some folks for advice and suggestions. I knew I wanted to attempt it without motorized support. We also got connected with Heal the Bay so we could partner with them for the fundraiser.

Swimmer Narrative - Day 1 (8/18/22)

Point Dume to Gladstones (Approx 15.9 mi)

Crew: Linda Simons (observer), PL (kayaker), Matthew Gerbasi (land crew), Cat Moore (land crew), Jim Grande (support swimmer)

Day 1 was a shit show from the get go. Call time for the crew was 4:30 am at Point Dume. When we arrived at that time, only Linda, Cat and Jim were there. The second kayaker (Patricio Libenson) was nowhere to be found. It was still dark, but you could see how thick the fog around Point Dume was. I stayed in the vehicle until both kayakers were ready to launch. Then I exited the vehicle for the reading of the MSF rules with the whole crew. After the rules were read, Matthew and I started to head down to the swim start point, which was several hundred yards behind a closed beach gate. The kayakers were to launch from where the cars were parked and paddle down to me.

Patricio had major issues with the launch and created a situation in which we were almost an hour late starting the swim. So, while we had planned to start around 5:45 am, we didn’t start until about 6:45 am. I stood on the beach for a long time trying not to get frustrated.

When everyone was finally at the start point, I thought I was good to start so I walked into the water. But my team was not ready so I was called back out. I climbed out of the water and wait for the kayak and land observers to be ready. When I was told, I walked into the water. It was cold at Point Dume. I swam out to where my kayakers and support swimmer were waiting. I exchanged some words with Patricio briefly and we were off. I was in a horrible place mentally from the start. I remember still being on the beach thinking that I wouldn’t even get home until after 5 pm. This was a 3-day event and we were already fucked.

I tried to put the rushing negative thoughts out of my mind. I tried to breathe and look at Linda and calm myself. I knew this was going to be a long day, but I also knew I had to push through. None of these circumstances were ideal: thick fog, horrible second paddler, 61-degree water, late start…..but I just had to keep swimming.

I was freezing and I couldn’t figure out why. After a few minutes I realized that this was how my recent bout of Covid was going to affect me. When I had Covid in 2020, it had taken about a year to reacclimate to low 60s temps. This time, I had 2 weeks. Just keep swimming, I thought.

I had planned to feed after the first hour then every 30 minutes and I was supposed to alternate between water and Nuun. After the first few feeds, I was super nauseous. At some point, hot liquid was lowered down to a paddler and we had that (and would better plan for it on Days 2 & 3). The bottom line is I couldn’t take much in, liquid or solid, on Day 1.

I was miserable and nauseous. Patricio kept saying all the wrong things and also kept almost hitting me in the face/head with his kayak. It was awful. I tried to ignore that he was even there, except when I would feed. I wanted to quit and kept telling Linda that I couldn’t finish it - this day, all 3 days. I was spinning out of control. She kept telling me we could get out of the water, but I knew if I called it now, the whole thing would be over. And all I could think about was Scott’s family - Cheryl, Zack and Drew.

I just kept pushing through to the finish. I wasn’t going to quit. It was a long day, more than 8.5 hours. But, finally, I could make out Gladstones. After climbing out over the rocks on the south side of the jetty to complete the swim, I swam back around the jetty and exited the water.

(Between Day 1 and 2, there was a lot of serious thinking. Two kayakers were required by MSF to make the swim eligible for ratification. If I swam with only 1 kayaker on Day 2, we would not be able to submit that segment for ratification. But, ultimately, the conclusion I came to was that I was swimming for Scott and his family and to raise money for Heal the Bay. Ultimately, the ratification of the swim became secondary to its purpose and to simply just finishing the task at hand, official or not. After speaking at length with Matthew, Linda and Cat, I decided that if any issue arose with the arrival or launch of Kayaker #2 on Day 2, he would be sent home by my other crew members.)