Who We Are

Built by Swimmers, Trusted by Thousands

Pacific Open Water Swim Co. is the West Coast’s most experienced and trusted provider of professionally escorted open water swims. Since 2017, the company has delivered full-service piloting, safety oversight, and coaching for adventure, marathon, and channel swimmers—across San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, and beyond.

How It Started

The company began in San Francisco Bay in 2017, after co-founder Sylvia Lacock, recovering from a swimming-related injury sustained during her 2016 solo English Channel attempt, needed a more dynamic, open-water environment for training. Bryan Temmermand launched his family’s lake boat into San Francisco Bay, and they got to work—training in deeper, more dynamic water than what was available near shore. Within weeks, friends and fellow swimmers were asking to join. That momentum led to the formal founding of Pacific Open Water Swim Co., with a focus on safety, challenging open water swims, and focused swimmer support.

Swimmer Sylvia Lacock crossing the English Channel in open water, with the White Cliffs of Dover in the background—an image capturing the moment before a swim-ending injury that later inspired the founding of Pacific Open Water Swim Co. — **The swim that started everything.** Sylvia Lacock in the English Channel in September 2016—moments before an injury forced her to withdraw. From that heartbreak came hundreds of marathon swims, numerous channel training swims, thousands of successes in San Francisco Bay, and the founding of Pacific Open Water Swim Co.

Founders & Philosophy

Sylvia is a longtime member of San Francisco’s historic South End Rowing Club (est. 1873) and the Dolphin Club (est. 1877) and has over 22 years of continuous, year-round Bay swimming experience, as well as a background in marathon and channel swimming. Bryan, also a South End member, grew up locally, swimming competitively and playing water polo before moving into adventure sports and endurance events. Throughout, he has documented these pursuits through photography and video—a craft that continues to shape the company’s media presence and communications.

Both are U.S. Coast Guard–licensed captains, each holding 25-ton Near Coastal Master endorsements (valid up to 200 nautical miles offshore), and lead every aspect of the company’s operations—from route planning to risk management and full coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard before, during, and after every swim.

In addition to their work in open water swimming, both founders bring careers in technology, finance, and entrepreneurship—experience that drives the company’s disciplined approach to planning, execution, and risk management.

San Francisco Bay Operations

Pacific Open Water Swim Co. began in San Francisco Bay and quickly grew into the region’s most active and experienced swim operator. Starting with classics like Alcatraz, Bridge-to-Bridge, and the Golden Gate Bridge Swim, the company expanded its offerings by piloting nearly every viable tide window, route, and course—both within and beyond the Bay. Many of these swims were developed, tested, and refined in-house, building unmatched, hands-on knowledge of the region’s currents, vessel traffic patterns, and changing conditions.

Today, the company operates more SF Bay swims than any other provider, offering year-round adventure swims, private routes, and channel training experiences. For 2025, over 165 swims are scheduled—including 75 public Alcatraz crossings—supported by a full-time team and a dedicated fleet of three Bay escort vessels.

Group of swimmers escorted by a Novurania LX700 RIB in San Francisco Bay, with the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island visible in the background. — An early swim escorted by one of our first vessels, a Novurania LX700 RIB—fast, agile, and a key step (and still an extremely capable vessel) in our continued investment in best-in-class swim support platforms.

Since its founding, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. has organized over 900 small-group swims, with thousands of participants from around the world. The company also offers private coaching, clinics, and structured training sessions—including channel qualifiers and 2–6 hour cold water swims—designed to prepare swimmers for their most ambitious goals.

Expansion to Lake Tahoe

In the summer of 2017, the purchase of a boat on Lake Tahoe led to the development of the True Width marathon course—a 12-mile route across the lake’s widest east–west section, from Tahoma, California to Glenbrook, Nevada. Sylvia completed the inaugural crossing, and that effort laid the foundation for Swim Tahoe, LLC, a separate but affiliated entity focused exclusively on marathon swims on Lake Tahoe. Swim Tahoe has since become the premier provider for alpine marathon swimming on Tahoe’s three sanctioned courses.

Swimmer wearing a yellow cap completing a solo open water swim across Lake Tahoe under a blue sky with mountain ranges in the distance. — Co-founder, **Sylvia Lacock,** completes the **inaugural 12-mile True Width** swim across **Lake Tahoe in 2017**, pioneering what would become a sanctioned marathon swim route from Tahoma, CA to Glenbrook, NV. Note that this crossing is the first and last East to West swim.

Unmatched Marathon Swimming Experience

A Track Record Built on Passion and Scale

Over nearly a decade of operations, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. has become the most trusted and active provider of marathon swim support in the western United States. As of January 2025, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. has piloted 355 unassisted marathon swims, including:

286 in Lake Tahoe (173 True Widths, 71 Lengths, 42 Vikingsholms)
69 in San Francisco Bay (including 46 Round-Trip Angel Island swims)
Additional swims on the California coast, including Anacapa to Oxnard (12.2 miles / 19.6 km) and Monterey Bay (25 miles / 40.2 km)

The company has also guided 24 Lake Tahoe Triple Crown completions (all three Lake Tahoe courses) and supported hundreds of swimmers training for the Oceans Seven and Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.

Swimmer Sylvia Lacock approaching San Francisco from Alcatraz with the Golden Gate Bridge visible in the background during a 2018 crossing. — Sylvia swims the Alcatraz Escape route in 2018, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. By this time, she had completed the crossing hundreds of times—eventually losing count somewhere past 350.

Looking Ahead

Building on its reputation for safety, professionalism, and scale, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. is preparing to expand its operations further in 2025 and beyond. The company is actively developing a new offering for Monterey Bay marathon swims, tackling the 25-mile course’s extreme distance and exposure.
It is also expanding its San Francisco Bay swim offerings, marathon training programs, and merchandise lines, continuing to support the growing needs of serious open water swimmers worldwide.

Swimmers in San Francisco Bay near an Axopar escort vessel with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. — One of our modern Axopar escort vessels stands watch as swimmers approach Escape from Alcatraz to SF—part of our continued investment in safe, high-performance support for adventure and marathon swimming.