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My name is Jax Cole and I am preparing to swim across the 21 miles of ocean between Santa Catalina Island and Palos Verdes.
I'll share a little about me and why I'm doing this.
I'm a former ocean lifeguard for 18 years and have lifeguarded at start and finish of the swim, Rancho Palos Verdes and Catalina Island.
What really inspired my taking this on was the story of my Grandpa Jack, for whom I'm named.
Hans Jacob Guggenheimer was a teenage Jew in Germany in the early 1930s when times started to get tough for the Jews. He was also an avid swimmer and boxer. Shockingly to his family, he would swim laps across the Rhine River from Cologne into France. His best friend was recruited to the Nazis and refused to participate. The nazis threatened Jack'a friend trying to force him. He wouldn't budge and the two families stayed close despite increasing pressure. One day in 1935 after school the brown shirt Nazis attacked Jack'a friend and beat him up. Jack followed the 4 men and using his boxing skills he pummeled all 4 of the Nazis and they would never harass the friend again. Jack had to get out of Germany ASAP so he did what he had done so many times, he swam across the Rhine river to France. From there he bicycled and ran across the country to a harbor. With the help of the French Resistance he stowed away inside a barrel on a cargo ship headed for NYC. He did isometric exercises to stay fit and sane. When the ship entered NY harbor weeks later, he was given a signal and dove overboard. He swam the rest of the way to Ellis Island. From the USA he implored his family to join him. He was able to help his sister escape in 1936.
This swim honors him.
The swim starts at approximately 11pm on October 7. On average a successful crossing takes 11-12 hours. I'm attempting to do it in under 10 hours. This is my Olympics.
There are a thousand preparations for something like this. Ocean swims 2-6 hours daily for months, assembling and training a support crew, determining feed components and quantity and frequency. Perhaps the hardest part is maintaining an income while devoting one's life to this.
This spring I lost my job as an ocean lifeguard after 18 years. It came as a complete shock. Currently I am looking for a job and while paying interest on the Catalina expenses, and juggling the usual bills. 3/4 of the expenses are the day of the swim.
I am very careful to conserve funds.
Thank you for your love and support. It means a lot to me and my family that you see my dream and be part of it coming true. Come see the finish at Terranea cove Saturday October 8 arriving most likely between 8-9am.
Track the conditions and location here
https://track.rs/jaxcole/
Follow the commentary and periodic live streaming
on facebook.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1736188949967917?ref=m_notif¬if_t=like
For Jack and millions more,
May we never forget.
I'll share a little about me and why I'm doing this.
I'm a former ocean lifeguard for 18 years and have lifeguarded at start and finish of the swim, Rancho Palos Verdes and Catalina Island.
What really inspired my taking this on was the story of my Grandpa Jack, for whom I'm named.
Hans Jacob Guggenheimer was a teenage Jew in Germany in the early 1930s when times started to get tough for the Jews. He was also an avid swimmer and boxer. Shockingly to his family, he would swim laps across the Rhine River from Cologne into France. His best friend was recruited to the Nazis and refused to participate. The nazis threatened Jack'a friend trying to force him. He wouldn't budge and the two families stayed close despite increasing pressure. One day in 1935 after school the brown shirt Nazis attacked Jack'a friend and beat him up. Jack followed the 4 men and using his boxing skills he pummeled all 4 of the Nazis and they would never harass the friend again. Jack had to get out of Germany ASAP so he did what he had done so many times, he swam across the Rhine river to France. From there he bicycled and ran across the country to a harbor. With the help of the French Resistance he stowed away inside a barrel on a cargo ship headed for NYC. He did isometric exercises to stay fit and sane. When the ship entered NY harbor weeks later, he was given a signal and dove overboard. He swam the rest of the way to Ellis Island. From the USA he implored his family to join him. He was able to help his sister escape in 1936.
This swim honors him.
The swim starts at approximately 11pm on October 7. On average a successful crossing takes 11-12 hours. I'm attempting to do it in under 10 hours. This is my Olympics.
There are a thousand preparations for something like this. Ocean swims 2-6 hours daily for months, assembling and training a support crew, determining feed components and quantity and frequency. Perhaps the hardest part is maintaining an income while devoting one's life to this.
This spring I lost my job as an ocean lifeguard after 18 years. It came as a complete shock. Currently I am looking for a job and while paying interest on the Catalina expenses, and juggling the usual bills. 3/4 of the expenses are the day of the swim.
I am very careful to conserve funds.
Thank you for your love and support. It means a lot to me and my family that you see my dream and be part of it coming true. Come see the finish at Terranea cove Saturday October 8 arriving most likely between 8-9am.
Track the conditions and location here
https://track.rs/jaxcole/
Follow the commentary and periodic live streaming
on facebook.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1736188949967917?ref=m_notif¬if_t=like
For Jack and millions more,
May we never forget.
Organizer
