Marathon Swim Training Escort Boat: 4-Hour Charter on San Francisco Bay

A pilot boat for your training swim

A private escort boat and captain for 4 hours, for swimmers building toward a marathon swim. $1,400 for the boat ($350 an hour), not per swimmer, with up to 6 aboard.

What 4 hours is for

Four hours is long enough to rehearse your feed routine in cold water and find out how your suit, or your skin, holds up over time. It's also a sensible first block before a longer event, especially if you haven't swum beside an escort boat in the Bay.

What the pilot boat does on a training swim

• Holds station beside or behind you, never in front, for the whole swim.
• Feeds: your coach or crew hands feeds from the boat on the schedule you set, so you can rehearse your feed plan in cold water.
• Coach or observer aboard: official observers are welcome, and a coach, crew and family fit within the 6 aboard.
• Traffic and weather: Captain Molly watches ship traffic on AIS and radar and makes the call on fog, wind, chop and smoky air.
• Thermal recovery: the heated cabin is for warming up after you get out, or for anyone aboard who gets cold during the swim.
• Kayaker: available at extra cost; ask for the price.

Miss Molly is a 27-foot Shamrock Mackinaw 270 with a heated cabin and a private bathroom, radar, a FLIR thermal camera, AIS and an EPIRB. Captain Molly holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master license (100 GRT, Near Coastal) with a Radar Observer endorsement, and is trained in First Aid and CPR.

How to book a marathon training swim

These swims are quoted, not booked straight from the calendar. Send Captain Molly your plan with the Ask Molly button: the date you have in mind, your target event, your recent long swims and cold-water experience, your feed plan and who will be aboard. She replies in writing within 24 hours. Use /jumptime to see how the current runs on your date.

Up to 6 aboard in any mix, per boat, not per swimmer. Payment is in full when the swim is confirmed. Cancellation is free up to 7 days before; if Captain Molly cancels for weather, you get a full refund or a new date.

Other blocks: 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours. For a set route, see the Bridge to Bridge 10k or the swim around Angel Island, and read the guide to open-water swim support on San Francisco Bay.