Location
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA
Date
June 22, 2003
Distance
4.8 km
About This Swim
In 2003, James became the first blind person to complete a double crossing of the infamous Alcatraz I along with Gary Emich ( who has done the Alcatraz swim more than 1000 times) and a few of his mates on the morning of the 22nd of June 2003 started our swim from next to the Rowing club at San Francisco and we would swim out to Alcatraz Island and then swim around the Island and back to near the Rowing club that being a double crossing of the Alcatraz swim. The water temperture was 11 degrees Celcius and it was a sunny morning. When we got around the Island and started swimming back to where we had started I got involved in another event that were only swimming from Alcatraz Island back to the mainland and I ended up somewhere else on the mainland, but I did complete the double crossing of the Alcatraz swim. .
The Alcatraz swim is one of the world's most famous open water challenges, made legendary by the "impossible" escape attempts from the infamous prison. A double crossing - swimming from Alcatraz to San Francisco and back - requires exceptional skill, strength, and determination.
In 2003, James Pittar became the first blind person to complete this double crossing, navigating the treacherous currents, cold waters, and busy shipping lanes of San Francisco Bay twice in succession - a remarkable achievement that demonstrated his world-class swimming ability.