As with many civil engineering projects in their conceptual stages, naysayers scoffed at the Golden Gate Bridge. They said it would be technically unfeasible or too expensive to bridge the Golden Gate, a 1.7-mile-wide opening separating the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay.

Joseph StraussCharles Alton EllisLeon MoisseiffClifford Paine

four years

The U.S. War Department initially objected to the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge because it feared that Navy ships could be trapped in San Francisco Bay if the span was bombed or collapsed. The military eventually gave its approval, but it wanted the bridge to be covered in garish stripes.

approximately 377 feet

The sharks off Alcatraz are mostly leopard sharks, which are not man eaters, but four to six foot long scavengers. Those drawn down by the undertow may well have ended up, however, not only as a meal for these small sharks but also for bat rays, crabs, and other local sea life.

The water under the bridge is turbulent, and there are always warnings to beware. The majority of the under-bridge adventurers are experienced boaters, but sometimes a few reckless individuals are there to catch a thrill, too.

At several locations in the Bay, currents can be as strong as six knots. As a recreational paddler, you paddle about three knots—four if racing or terrified. Use caution when paddling in a strong current; you could lose control of your boat and capsize or get swept out the Golden Gate.

Just sitting there in the deep. Underneath the Golden Gate Bridge lies the wreck of the City of Chester, a steamboat that sank on August 22, 1890 at 10 a.m. The boat was impaled on the steamer Oceanic, arriving from Asia, and sunk in six minutes. It traveled to the seafloor and settled in, still upright.

At 5:04 p.m. on October 17, 1989, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Bay Area. The upper deck at pier E9 on the Bay Bridge failed and crashed into the lower deck, also causing the lower deck to fail. The bridge was then closed for a month-long repair.

The bay is actually only as deep as a swimming pool. Heck, between Hayward and San Mateo to San Jose it averages 12 to 36 inches. So much for that bridge! With that said though, the water surrounding Alcatraz is on the deeper end of the scale, but still, it’s just an average depth of 43 feet.

Private Alcatraz Swims Odyssey Open Water Swimming is available to schedule private solo or group Alcatraz swims. All Alcatraz Swims include a pre-swim briefing by one of our experienced guides, a yellow silicone swim cap, and an Alcatraz Swim sticker.

The water temperature was 54 degrees on June 11, 1962, when the men escaped.

On March 21, 1963, USP Alcatraz closed after 29 years of operation. It did not close because of the disappearance of Morris and the Anglins (the decision to close the prison was made long before the three disappeared), but because the institution was too expensive to continue operating.

From 1934 to 1963 it served as a federal prison for some of the most dangerous civilian prisoners. Among its famous denizens were Al Capone, George (“Machine Gun”) Kelly, and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz” (the subject of the 1962 film of the same name).