Alcatraz swim is part of lesson plan

His wife worries about sharks. His mother frets about frigid water temperatures. His swim students in Stoughton cross their fingers that currents won't prove too strong for a novice ocean swimmer. It's a wonder Rich Gadoury hasn't canceled his plunge in next month's Alcatraz Sharkfest swim across San Francisco Bay.

"I've never done an open-water swim," said Gadoury, the 24-year-old aquatics director at Striar Jewish Community Center, where the pool water is always a soothing 82 degrees. "Still, I think I can do this. I have to do this."

To Gadoury, traveling 3,000 miles by air to swim 1 1/2 miles in numbing waters (expected temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees), the same waters that once sealed the grim fate of inmates at the infamous prison, isn't about personal gain. It's about making a statement to the hundred swim-capped youths who look up to him at Striar.

"I want to show the kids that there's life after competitive swimming ends," he said. "The last time I swam competitively on a team was six years ago" at Chicopee Comprehensive High School. "I want to be a positive role model and show these kids that they can do anything if they just try. I want them to know how hard I'm working at this."

To offer insight, Gadoury has started blogging about his training on the center's website. "As time goes on and I train in the water, I'm getting closer and closer to my goal again," he wrote on May 7. "Sometimes you aren't able to see results right away and it becomes extremely frustrating. Honestly, there are days where I ask myself, 'Why swim today?' My reward isn't going to happen today [but it] could make all the difference on June 10th."

On that day, more than 800 competitors from around the world will gather for the Alcatraz swim.

Entrants eagerly pony up the $120 entry fee to retrace the swim Alcatraz prison inmates Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin attempted in their successful escape on the night of June 12, 1962.

While the three inmates were able to slip guards, it has never been proved that any of them safely made it through the choppy waves and endless currents to San Francisco. Sharkfest organizers proudly promote that in 14 years of the event no swimmer has ever been lost.

"We have 80 kayaks in the water along with people in power boats and Jet Skis," said Dave Horning, a three-time winner of the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon and founder of Enviro-Sports, which organizes the Sharkfest swim. "This is all about safety. We ask that people not enter unless they can swim a mile in under 40 minutes."

And while Horning acknowledges that great white sharks have been spotted in the Bay area, no sightings have ever been made of the man-eaters inside the Golden Gate Bridge. The swim course keeps competitors a mile inside the famous bridge, swimming north to south to the city's Aquatic Park.

"The Sharkfest name is totally in jest," said Horning, 59. "The biggest things are water temperatures and shipping, which we have diverted to the north side of Alcatraz during the race."

The only ships allowed in the area during the race are two large ferries that transport swimmers to within 50 yards of "The Rock," where they will form a long line and await a starter's horn.

"I think that will be the most terrifying part," Gadoury said of jumping into the bay. "That's when you'll hit the water for the first time and reality sets in."

It's a moment 10-year-old Ned Ramsay of Marshfield remembers well. In September, Ramsay, with his father, Peter, by his side, made the swim in 49 minutes 8 seconds. "I felt out of breath when I jumped in because it was so cold," Ned said. "And then everyone's kicking and you get hit. But once you get going, you warm up. Yeah, I heard about sharks and stuff, but I figured they liked warmer water and wouldn't be there. That's what you have to tell yourself."

Ned prepared for San Francisco by treading the chilling waters off Scituate. Gadoury, who lives in Belmont, splits his training between the center's warm pool and Concord's calm, tide-free Walden Pond.

For impressionable Striar swimmers such as 16-year-old Kelley Abbott of Avon, the vital component is Gadoury's insistence in making the challenging swim. "All of the swimmers here are impressed by what Mr. Gadoury is trying to do," she said. "He's a good role model for us."