Trio trains to escape ‘The Rock’

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, July 8, 2001

3 Snohomish Co. men to take the plunge in annual Alcatraz swim

By Janice Podsada

Herald Writer

Eric Bornfleth of Mill Creek will attempt what Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly never dared — swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco.

Fortunately, Bornfleth, 35, won’t be a lone shark.

His two buddies, Scott Clausen, 48, of Brier, and Pat Gibbs, 35, of Everett, will accompany him.

The three Snohomish County swimmers are preparing this month for the July 29 event dubbed "Sharkfest." Charter boats will take them and 500 other swimmers into the chilly waters of San Francisco Bay.

The drop will occur during a slack tide, when the Bay’s strong currents won’t pose a threat to swimmers.

Their starting point is just outside the walls of Alcatraz. Otherwise known as "The Rock," the former federal penitentiary once housed such notorious prisoners as Capone, Kelly and "The Birdman," Robert Stroud.

Like the rock’s former inhabitants, this group of swimmers will be under the gun. They must complete the 1.5-mile course from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco’s Aquatic Park in less than an hour — before the tide begins to stir.

Those who can’t cut it, who can’t do the time, will be pulled from the water into boats. A $75 per person entry fee pays for the boats and crew.

But don’t expect to see the ninth annual event on television, Bornfleth said.

"(Long distance) swimming isn’t much of a spectator sport," said the Boeing worker. "It’s kind of like watching paint dry."

The trio has been planning the caper since January, when "they got it into their heads to do this," said Bornfleth’s girlfriend, Cindy Woods of Mukilteo.

Their practice schedule includes laps around the pool at the Lynnwood Recreational Center and open-water swims. Every Thursday at 5:30 p.m., they can be glimpsed criss-crossing Silver Lake in Everett. The original free-style crawl is the preferred stroke.

Clad in wetsuits and bright green, yellow or red swim caps, they usually complete the 1.25-mile Silver Lake swim in a little over 30 minutes — longer when they’re dodging sailboats and fishing lines, said Gibbs, who works for the Northwest Kidney Foundation.

What makes open water a challenge is you have to navigate as you swim. Unlike a short stretch in the pool, there aren’t any white lines to keep you on the straight and narrow. Even a small navigational error can turn a half-mile swim into a mile; and the extra mileage saps your energy, Gibbs said.

But despite cranky geese and freshwater itch, Silver Lake ain’t no San Francisco Bay.

"There’s sharks," Bornfleth said. And the Bay’s water temperature hovers between 55 and 62 degrees. "The tide and the cold are more of a challenge than any shark."

Which is why so many attempts by prisoners to escape from Alcatraz ended with their drowning — an escapee was more likely to "swim with the fishes" than swim to shore.

Rumor has it that only three inmates ever successfully escaped and swam to safety. Tough guys Capone, Kelly and Stroud, however, never took the plunge.

Sharkfest swimmers can boast of at least two advantages.

"The inmates didn’t have wetsuits or tide tables," Bornfleth said.

The sleek wetsuits help keep their bodies warm and buoyant. But even wearing a wetsuit, "your arms get numb from the hands to the elbows after only an hour in 70-degree water," said Clausen, who works for Grainger Industrial Supply in Everett.

The three Snohomish County men say they aren’t intimidated by the Leopard or Soupfin sharks.

More than anything they fear the disgrace of not completing the course in the time allotted and having to be plucked from the water by one of the "collector boats."

"After about an hour they make a sweep and pick up everybody that’s still in the water," Bornfleth said.

Rounding up swimmers before the tide rolls in protects them from the dangerous currents, Clausen said.

But, he added, just like former inmates of "The Rock," the last thing you want is to be hauled in.

You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.