Today SF Boat Support and The Crew of the vessel HyperFish are resting after the 19 hour journey that delivered Jo Locke to his record breaking swim from the Farrallon islands.
We loaded the HyperFish in her berth at Fishermens Wharf in San Francisco at around 7 PM on Friday the 18th
Captain Brent McLain and Captain
Daniel Lazzari loaded the supply’s and made sure that the boat and crew were ready for the trip.
At about 8 pm we called in our float plan and intentions in to Coast Guard Vessel Traffic and got clearance to head out the Golden Gate.
The forecast said that we would have a 4 to 6 foot swell with a 1 to 3 foot wind chop.
This did not sound like record breaking swim weather to the crew and after all the failed attempts we were concerned about our chances.
Once the HyperFish made it out the Gate we were pleasantly surprised to see that the weather man had lied!!
The ocean was flat calm and we had smooth sailing all the way to the Faralon islands.
We arrived early, just before 11:00 PM so the swimmer and the crew decided to take an hour to rest before the jump time. Only one problem, the islands were alive with sea lions and sea birds it sounded like we were in the middle of a jungle! Very Loud!
12:08am Jo Locke greased up strapped a device called a shark shield on his ankle and jumped into the darkness. Jo touched the bouy at Fishermens cove and then swam Briskly toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
The HyperFish set the corse to the bridge and had to keep Jo on course just off the starboard quarter of the Boat.
The captain had to take the boat in and out of gear to maintain the 2 knot swimming speed and hold the course to the bridge.
This was very challenging in the dark and with the swimmer 5 to 10 feet from the boat for the majority of the swim.
The currents never really gave much assistance to the progress of the swim and Jo only stopped during his feedings he did the free style the entire way!
We arrived at the Golden Gate at about 1:23 pm on Saturday, July 19, 2014 and it felt like we were getting some ebb tide although the chart said it was slack.
We picked Jo up just inside the bay and then headed to the South End club. Jo jumped back into the water and swam to the dock of club.
SF Boat Support is honored to be able to help make Joseph Locke’s dream come true. He has conquered the Farallon Island Swim.

Sincerely,
Captain Brent McLain