Saturday's row nearly didn't happen. The alarm went off at 5:15 a.m., I woke up in a panic at 5:50, and somehow I made it to the boathouse by 6:05 (not much traffic at that hour...).
Some mornings are like that. People ask how I can get up so early and the answer is, "not easily." Many days I don't even fully wake up until about 20 minutes into the row. But on this particular day a monster ebb tide had my full attention. It grabbed our boat and swept us out to the Golden Gate at speeds of eight, sometimes nine or more knots. We rode swells so big we couldn't see Alcatraz in the distance.
Just under the bridge we hit a rough patch. Water rushed over the gunnels and my camera floated in a little pool at my feet. We stopped to open our self-bailers and I grabbed a shot. Here it is – a bit of a blur but nonetheless a beautiful, quiet moment way out there on the water while the city still sleeps.