From Salt Lake City to the Bay: Hedman Family Joins Odyssey Open Water Swimming for a Berkeley Swim
“The people were friendly and the event was set up in a way that it was easy to feel comfortable. You guys clearly have a lot of experience running these events seamlessly.” -- Samantha Hedman
Odyssey Open Water Swimming absolutely loves escorting swimmers from around the world on fun and low-pressure open water swims. Recently, Samantha and Brigham Hedman traveled nearly 900 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah, to San Francisco to swim with Odyssey on June 5, 2022, and to tour Alcatraz Island.
The Odyssey team reached out to Samantha Hedman to learn about their Odyssey Open Water Swimming experience. Samantha, who was on a swim team in her youth and was also a lifeguard and swim instructor in high school and college, had never swam in the open water. “This was our first open water swimming experience,” says Samantha. Samantha and her husband love to go scuba diving on vacation and swim in the ocean, but they had never done an “official” open water swim. After swimming together at a local pool a couple days a week, they were ready to take their swimming adventures to a new level.
When planning for their vacation to San Francisco, Samantha’s mother came across Odyssey Open Water Swimming and “thought it would be the perfect thing for us to try and see if we could potentially do the Escape from Alcatraz swim,” says Samantha. The two also took a night tour of Alcatraz Prison.
Samantha and her husband used the Odyssey Berkeley swim as an experience and to learn more about participating in an Alcatraz swim. Learn more about upcoming public Odyssey Alcatraz swims here.
Asked about her first Odyssey Berkeley swim, Samantha says, “The experience was great… your website is very thorough and helped us prepare for the swim.” Samantha and her husband rented wetsuits from The Sports Basement, and said the Odyssey staff “made us feel super prepared and safe.”
When asked why swimmers should consider swimming with Odyssey, Samantha says, “I think other people should swim with Odyssey because you guys are experienced and make it a super fun and enjoyable experience.” Samantha says that she felt nervous before coming to the event, but “after I got there and talked with the two coaches. I felt confident.”
Based on her experience, Samantha would give the following advice to fellow swimmers:
Read the website -- it will answer most questions
Rent a wetsuit without sleeves and with shorts instead of long pants
Check the water temperature to see if you do need a wetsuit or not
Talk with coaches and staff before the swim to learn about the body of water you’ll be swimming in
Samantha credits Odyssey Open Water Swimming with helping make her trip to San Francisco “super fun!”
Thank you, Samantha and Brigham!