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Open Water Weekend 2019

8/15/2019

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​Here are the CRUZ age group results from the One Mile Roughwater and Cruz Cruise Open Water Swims.   Full results can be found at bigskyendurancesports.com

Congratulations to all the CRUZERS who participated and helped with our Open Water Weekend to make it such a great success.   
THE ROUGHWATER 1 MILE SWIM

John Chapman        2nd        19:12
Tesla Profumo        1st        19:14
David Lederman        1st        19:46
Kate Dwelley            1st        20:12
Roland Nagel (wetsuit)    1st        20:18
Luc Vantalon (wetsuit)    1st        20:30
Jeremy Becker        3rd        20:38
Coach Joel            1st        20:56
Valerie Thorp            3rd        21:02
Dan Besocke            2nd        21:15
Henry Bates            3rd        21:22
Cyndy Hertzer            1st        21:29
Jesse Bausell            4th        22:01
Sarah Broker            3rd        22:43
Martha Seaver (wetsuit)    1st        23:12
Rick Risso            7th        23:17
Linda Locklin            1st        23:12
Ann Cardoza            9th        24:10
Meredith Walsh        6th        24:32
Marta Bechhoefer        4th        24:54
Samantha Forde (wetsuit)    2nd        25:45
Kevin Gallagher (wetsuit)    1st        26:47
Coach Monica            8th        27:27
Tisha Brady (wetsuit)    2nd        27:48
Beth Blackwell        10th        28:02
Deb Melnikoff (wetsuit)    1st        28:23
Tryntje Young (wetsuit)    4th        29:00
Cam Day (wetsuit)        1st        29:17
Crystal Oregon        7th        30:52
Alida Canale            5th        46:38
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CRUZ CRUISE 2 MILE SWIM    (Actual length 2.3 miles)

John Chapman        3rd        48:34
David Lederman        1st        50:13
Jeremy Becker        3rd        50:39
Valerie Thorp            2nd        52:46
Kate Dwelley            1st        53:10
Coach Joel            1st        53:25
Dan Besocke            2nd        54:16
Cyndy Hertzer                3rd        55:33
Sarah Broker            2nd        55:53
Stefano Profumo (wetsuit) 1st        56:12
Linda Locklin            1st        58:42
Martha Seaver (wetsuit)    1st        59:00
Meredith Walsh        1st             1:00
Ann Cardoza            9th             1:01
Sean D’Souza (wetsuit)    1st             1:02
Beth Blackstone        7th             1:14
Cam Day (wetsuit)        1st             1:14
Tryntje Young (wetsuit)    3rd             1:15
Suzanne Riedinger        1st             1:22
Tom Canale            4th             1:29
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CRUZ New Year's Day 2018

1/8/2018

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Bright, energetic,  and cheerful CRUZERS gathered together New Year’s morning on Cowell Beach to bring forth the swimmingly beautiful New Year with a dip in Monterey Bay, brunch at Aquarius, and an epic air hockey tournament .
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​As you can see from the beach photos, we enjoyed sunny, warm weather during our dip into the Bay.  Mr. (or Mrs Whiskers) curiously joined us for part of the swim.   Some people ventured to the end of the pier, some out as far as the lifeguard tower, and other CRUZERS swam various routes in-between (see Cyndy's route on the right here).



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Bruce Sawhill provided an appropriate after-swim libation and the Canale’s and Cardoza's provided jugs of warm water to pour over our heads after the swim (ooh, that feels good); after that, we shivered into our sun-warmed clothes.

We ordered many hot chocolates at Aquarius while we savored a variety of breakfast treats ( including bacon almost as good as Tom Canale's!!).

Then to the arcade where we unveiled our true competitive instincts  on the air hockey tables.  After dozens of games, everyone was declared a winner and we then ventured to, where else, the Big Dipper.  We declared it, still, the best ride ever!!
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​We’ve started a new year, a new month, and a new quarter.  That’s a gentle reminder to bring your payments to the pool (or mail them to our new CRUZ address at 340 Dakota Ave., Apartment B, Santa Cruz, 95060) and also remember that your CRUZ payment should include our $10 annual team fee.
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​I want to encourage all of you to join with your lane mates to encourage each other to continue to show up regularly at workout and make the most of your time in the water.  Always know that the CRUZ coaches want to help you reach your goals for this coming year.  We are there for you!


HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you CRUZERS.  All the best for you and your families in 2018.
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November 2017- Recognizing Swimming Achievements

11/20/2017

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​The weekend of November 11 and 12 was a great one for recognizing swimming achievements!  On Saturday, on the Santa Cruz Pier, the Monterey Bay Swimming Association celebrated the year of open water swimming in Monterey Bay with a gathering of swimmers, MBSA members, and family and friends.   In the photo is MBSA board member Scott Tapley presenting the award to Monterey Bay solo swimmer, Amy Gubser.  She swam the 25 miles across the bay in 16 hours, 49 minutes.  The stinging nettle jellies were waiting for her on the Monterey side of the bay, and she did get stung, but that did not deter Amy from finishing the swim.  Congratulations!!

​On Sunday, Cyndy Hertzer and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet an amazing Olympian at the Pacific Masters annual gathering.  Note in one of the photos below is Natalie Coughlin, Olympic champion and world record holder.   She participated in three Olympics:  Athens, Beijing, and London.  Some of you might note, too, that she starred on Dancing with the Stars and one of the TV chef shows.  It was truly a pleasure to meet her and hear her talk about her swimming career and what she’s doing with her life since then.

You, too, can meet an amazing Olympic champion if you attend next year’s gathering.  The gathering takes place the second weekend of November.  Pac Masters offers a morning workout, a tech talk, a great lunch, and then you meet and listen to a world renown swimmer.  Best of all, it’s free for Pac Masters members.   

Cyndy swam the morning workout as I was on deck helping the other coaches “crack the whip”.   This happened at Acalanes High School.  Lots of fun and a great way to start the day!  Then, at St. Mary’s College, I sat on a panel with other open water swimmers to talk about the many aspects of open water swimming.

Both Cyndy and I were recognized as Pac Masters Open Water Champs for 2017.  You, too, can be an open water champ by attending the great swims planned for 2018.  Get in touch with me if you have any questions.  New, additional information about Pacific Masters is posted on our bulletin board located on deck at the pool.   
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The 2017 One Hour Swim

3/12/2017

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Fifteen CRUZers completed the One Hour Postal National Championship on February 25.  While the One Mile swim was a swim to see how long it took to swim a mile, the One Hour swim is about how far you can go in an hour.  You can swim any stroke, you can swim Individual Medley, you can stop as much as you want. 

​Some people swim this event in 100’s, swimming on one interval for the hour.  You can also change the interval during the swim.  There’s lots of flexibility with this swim, making it possible for anyone at any level of swimming to do the event.  


Listed here are the distances that CRUZers swam in the One Hour.  Also listed are their 500 yard splits. 

​ Like the One Mile swim, the idea is to try to keep each 500 at the same pace, or as close as possible.  Ideally, and with a lot of practice, you descend your 500’s (each 500 a little faster than the previous 500).  See Rick Risso’s swim for a really good example.  
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Alida Canale zooms through her hour...
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The distances completed are sent to the host club, which this year was Club O*H*I*O*.  The results are compiled from the entries that come from around the USA, and you can compare how well you did with other people in your age group.  As a team, we swam a total of 60,360 yards (that’s 34.3 miles).

Plan to participate in one or both of these swims next year!  Get in touch with me if you have any questions about these swims or any of the upcoming Pacific Masters events.
ALIDA CANALE -  2875 yards  10:04 / 10:05 / 11:22 / 10:16 / 10:30
VERONICA FLANAGAN - 4105      7:05 /  7:13 /     7:12 /  7:18 /   7:21./ 7:30 / 7:39 / 7:24
CYNDY HERTZER - 4770   6:12 /  6:13 / 6:13 / 6:14 / 6:13 / 6:15 / 6:20 / 6:20 / 6:26
MIDORI HOOK - 4420   6:29 / 6:45 / 6:53 / 6:54 / 6:53 / 6:57 / 6:55 / 6:52
YUKO HOOK -  2565  11:32 / 11:27 / 11:45 / 11:52 / 11:47
MICHELLE IGNOFFO - 3930    7:28 /  7:31 / 7:33 /  7:35 / 7:47 / 7:44 / 7:46
JERI JENSEN - 3115  9:15 / 9:38 / 9:38 / 9:40 / 9:48 / 9:47
JONATHAN KAHANA - 2995  9:26 / 9:57 / 10:20 / 10:14 / 10:12 / (10:03)
COACH JAMES LAMB - 5055  6:00 / 5:55 / 5:53 / 5:57 / 5:58 / 5:57 / 5:55 / 5:53 / 5:51 / 6:01
DAVID LEDERMAN - 4600   6:09 / 6:08 / 6:11 / 6:37 / 6:36 / 6:38 / 6:52 / 6:48 / 6:46
ERIC NELSON -  2740  10:45 / 10:47 / 10:58 /  11:05 / 11:10
RICK RISSO - 4395   6:57 / 6:57 / 6:53 / 6:50 / 6:49 /  6:48 / 6:48 / 6:45
CHRIS TAINTY - 4920   6:08 / 6:08 / 6:05 / 6:07 / 6:05 / 6:04 / 6:05 / 6:04 / 6:06 
KARL TALLMAN -  5075     5:46 / 5:40 / 5:43 / 5:41 / 5:55 / 6:03 / 6:04 / 5:57 / 6:06 / 6:02
MITCHELL VICTORIA -  4800     6:05 / 6:07 / 6:12 / 6:14 / 6:31 / 6:10 / 6:19 / 6:19 / 6:23
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Karl Tallman on his way to 5075 yards
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Eric Nelson, our most seasoned One Hour CRUZer
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One Mile Postal Swim

2/17/2017

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Fifteen CRUZers participated in this year’s One Mile Postal Swim.  There are one or two more who may do it if they can get past the various maladies that are currently afflicting many of us:  flu, bronchitis, bad colds, sinus infections.  Hasn’t it been a particularly challenging season of illness?!
 

The mile seems like such a long swim but, when you break it up, you focus on each part and the whole swim goes by really quickly.  A simple way to approach the swim is to section it into 4 pieces, each 500 yards, plus a final 150 yards (or you can make each section 550 yards if you want to divide it evenly into three parts).  The strategy is to swim the first 500 fairly easily, add more energy for the second 500, and more still to the third 500, trying to make each 500 faster than the previous 500.  Some people like to break the third 500 into 5 x 100, descending 1 to 5. Our swimmers' 3 500 splits are listed below, after their overall times.  You’ll note that Veronica Flanagan, Marta Bechhoefer, and Rick Risso all descended their 500’s. Very cool!

The CRUZ results are posted below and we’ll get overall results in about a month.  Thanks to Glenda Carroll and the TAM Masters for hosting this swim, a benefit for cancer support groups.

Marta Bechhoefer:  22:32.66  - 6:53.24/6:50.06/6:47.66
Beth Blackstone:  26:37.80 - 7:49.81 / 8:05.60 / 8:14.09
Thea Egelhofer:            - 8:19.64 / 8:39.65 / 8:39.30
Dion Farquhar:  38:16.39 - 11:27.89 / 11:41.41 / 11:38.05
Veronica Flanagan:  23:42.88 - 7:14.54 / 7:13.59 / 7:10.23
Samantha Forde:  26:11.85 -  7:49.30 / 7:58.72 / 7:57.06
Cynthia Hertzer: 20:06.96 - 5:59.75 / 6:05.25 / 6:11.21
Chris Kamimura:  27:20.61 - 8:08.93 / 8:28.56 / 8:19.87
Christine King:  32:49.86 - 8:58.84 / 10:21.10 / 10:21.21
Coach James Lamb:  19:22.83 - 5:42.99 / 5:52.39 / 6:01.39
Bridget Lyons:  23:01.85 -  6:58.36 / 7:06.04 / 6:59.23
Melissa Mahoney:  27:20.69 - 8:14.72 / 8:21.19 / 8:19.57    
Rick Risso:  21:44.44 - 6:38.91 / 6:37.95 / 6:35.50
Genine Scelfo:  28:50.03 -  8:36.52 / 8:46.03 / 8:48.66
Mitchell Victoria:  19:05.52 - 5:41.81 / 5:48.78 / 5:56.07

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Cruzers Celebrate New Year's Day

1/12/2017

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Sunday morning, January 1, 2017, dawned with calm water and beautiful silvery light shining on to Cowell Beach.

Over twenty CRUZers and friends gathered to celebrate the New Year with our annual "first-of-the-year" ocean swim.  Many of us jumped in and quickly jumped out, a good number swam to the lifeguard tower and back, and a hearty few swam to the end of the pier and back.
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After pouring warm water over each other (provided by the Tom and Alida Canale), we shivered into our clothes and headed to Aquarius Restaurant, just above the beach, for a delicious post-swim  brunch.  

​The most requested order was, of course, hot chocolate!
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Donner Lake Swim 

8/17/2016

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WOW!!  Was the Donner Lake Swim popular this year with 400 swimmers signed up to do it.  Twenty-three CRUZers attended the swim to enjoy the only Pacific Masters open water event that is "one length of the pool".  This year the swim was designated by United States Masters Swimming as the National Championship event for a distance between 1 and 3 miles and CRUZ finished with 4 NATIONAL CHAMPS!  See results below.
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Donner Lake is listed as 2.7 miles but some of the swimmers wearing GPS show it being as long as 3.0 miles.  Either distance, it's one of most beautiful swims you can do anywhere in the country.  

​Thanks to Sierra Nevada Masters for hosting this swim for the past 34 years.


Here are CRUZ results from the swim..

WOMEN:
Coach Rainey Graeven:  1:11.04  6th place 25-29 

Tesla Profumo:   1:00.37  2nd place 35-39
Allison Athens:   1:15.15  6th place 35-39

Sarah Jordan:   1:13.42  3rd place 40-44
Elle Washburn:   1:41.34   10th place 40-44
Shaggy Strubing:  1:50.04  14th place 40-44
Alice Ma:   1:50.14  15th place 40-44

Cyndy Hertzer:   1:05.41  NATIONAL CHAMP    45-49
Marta Bechhoefer:  1:16.55  9th place  45-49
Crystal Obregon:  1:39.49  22nd place  45-49 

Heidi Troutner:  1:32.50  21st place  50-54
Jillian Chelson:  2:15.25  36th place  50-54
Lori Bradshaw:  2:19.14  37th place  50-54
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Linda Locklin:  1:12.09  NATIONAL CHAMP 60-64
Jan Sollom-Brotherton:  2:07.25  9th place  60-64
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MEN:
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Coach Galen    58.38    NATIONAL CHAMP    25-59

Bernard McGraw    1:22.53  20th place    45-49

Chris Tainty    1:03.46     2nd place    55-59
Dave DeCosse     1:04.23  3rd place    55-59

Matt O'Neil     1:16.19     9th place    60-64
Mark Young     2:20.50  18th place    60-64

Coach Joel     1:04.13    NATIONAL CHAMP    65-69
Scot Kendall     1:40.27    10th place    65-69
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Open Water Weekend

8/1/2016

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Thanks to the many of you who showed up on the beach this weekend to help with and take part in our Open Water Weekend!  We enjoyed great swims and fine company with 321 swimmers in Saturday's One Mile Race and 111 swimmers in Sunday's Two Mile Cruz Cruise.
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Many CRUZers swam in both races.  Full results are posted at the following links:

Roughwater (1-mile) Swim here
Cruz Cruise (2-mile) Swim here

The sun came out for the Roughwater Swim, and it was a very quick sprint around the end of the pier.  

Coach Galen finished 5th overall (18:36), and Wesley Whittlesey was 10th overall (19:17). Cyndy Hertzer was our first CRUZ finisher for the women (21:31).  Pierre Meunier was first wetsuit CRUZ male to finish (17:13) and Hilary Walecka our first wetsuited woman (23:29).

Cyndy was also the first CRUZ woman to finish the 2-Mile Cruz Cruise (52:16), and Bridget Lyons was the first wet suited female CRUZer to finish (54:31).

John Chapman (4th overall, 45:53) and Greg Lindahl (8th overall, 47:59) were the first CRUZ men to run up the beach and cross the finish line.  Cheers to them!
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​And cheers to Jan Sollom-Brotherton for showing 
tremendous fortitude in completing the One-Mile Swim and getting around the pier in 38:55.
Special congratulations to Alida Canale for swimming both swims and, on the 2-miler, remaining determined and focused for an hour and thirty-six minutes to finish her swim.  Tom Canale finished in an hour and twenty-three minutes and claimed that he would have been ten minutes faster if he hadn't had to wrestle a sea lion blocking his way on his second trip around the end of the pier.  Anyone get pictures of that because there's a rumor that he got a grip on it and rode it to the finish!
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I recommend finding the results for one or more of your lane mates and plan on joining them for next year's swims.
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Pacific Long Course Champs

7/27/2016

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Last Sunday, four Cruz women attended the final day of the Pacific Long Course Masters' Championships  in San Mateo.  

Cyndy Hertzer, Marta Bechhoefer, Kim Lau, and Bridget Lyons camped out on the College of San Mateo's pool deck, quite happy to be enjoying MUCH warmer weather than the four of us did at our last meet (Short Course Champs - where we stood in the showers between events to avoid hypothermia!)  
Because we all happen to be in the same age group, our main objective was to dominate the women's 45-49 year old relay scene - or at least, to show up for it and have a good time swimming together.  We came in second in the 200m free relay, with a time of 2:16.88, and, okay, we CRUSHED the 400m medley relay at 5:45.99!  (Yes, we won.  Yes, we were also the only all women's team entered from our age group.) 
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And in the meantime, Cyndy, Marta, and Kim each pulled in some impressive individual performances as well.  Here's a summary of their results...
100 Free - Kim Lau - 3rd place, 1.12.53
400 Free - Cyndy Hertzer - 2nd place, 5:27.87
                        Marta Bechhoefer - 3rd place, 6:05.11
50 Breast - Marta Bechhoefer - 2nd place, 44.42
200 Breast - Cyndy Hertzer - 1st place, 3:14.11
                            Marta Bechhoefer - 2nd place, 3:24.59
200 Fly - Cyndy Hertzer - 1st place, 3:27.03
200 IM - Cyndy Hertzer - 3rd place, 3:02.54
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Applegate Lake

7/20/2016

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On July 16 and 17, four CRUZers, including Coach Joel, headed to the USMS open water swims at Applegate Lake, about 30 miles southwest of Medford, Oregon.  On Saturday, we participated in either the National Championship 10K Swim or the 5K race.

 In the 10K swim, Cyndy Hertzer won her age group with a time of 2 hours and 39 minutes.  Marta Bechhoefer took third in the same age group with a time of 3:15.  Coach Joel won his age group with a time of 2:37.
Ann Cardoza won her age group and was third, overall, in the 5K swim, with a time of 1:25.  

On Sunday, Cyndy, Ann, and Coach Joel swam two events.  The first one was a 1500 yard swim. We each won our age group.  We also participated in a "hat draw" relay.  You swam a 500 yard loop with two other people drawn from the hat.  Each person was given a handicap so that the relays started at different times, the goal being to have each relay finish close together.  The relay was a lot of fun in that we did all finish close together and each of us from CRUZ Masters met and teamed up with swimmers from other teams.

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​Rogue Valley Masters hosts this event each year and they do an excellent job!  I encourage CRUZers to make the trip north for a fun time in a beautiful place.
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