Claim Ownership2000 Stories from the Dolphin Club
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© A Julie Sunshine Production
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Who are those crazy people who swim and row in the San Francisco Bay? 2,000 Stories is a podcast featuring the fascinating and feisty members of the Dolphin Club in San Francisco.
52 Episodes
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Members of the Dolphin Club always have a lot to teach us...and swimming and boating are usually the least of it. Theresa Kolish, who has been living with ALS for three years, teaches us all with humor, honesty, and grace. Using a text to speech app since she can no longer use her voice, she talks about the disease, why she still feels lucky , what she's learned about herself and others, and how swimming in the Bay, with a little help from her friends, makes her feel amazing.
Amanda Ernzer is certainly not the only Dolphin to have swum the English Channel...but in 2025 she was the fastest American to complete the feat. Amanda tells us how and why and what it took — physically, emotionally, and mentally — to succeed. No surprise, she does it with great humility and a few tears. Amanda credits her friends, family, and most of all fellow Dolphins for helping her train to make the legendary swim from England to France. Learn about Amanda's life, work, motivation, and what she learned about herself and others during her two and a half years of training.
For the first 17 years of his life, Fasica Alemayehu lived and swam competitively in Ethiopia. But in 1986 his family left the country seeking a safer and brighter future. While he never stopped loving Ethiopia, San Francisco — and eventually the Dolphin Club — became his adopted home. Fasica tells us about the challenges of immigrating to the city as a young man, how he found his way back to the water during Covid, what music means to him, and the community he treasures at both China Beach and the Dolphin Club.
It took Thad Carhart a long time to believe he could be a writer. He worked a whole slew of jobs from State Department interpreter to Apple marketer before he found his true love. During a self-imposed sabbatical in Paris, he wrote his first memoir, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, and much to his surprise, it became a New York Times bestseller. Thad tells us stories of life as a military brat, why he became a lawyer but never practiced, his undying love of San Francisco, and why the Dolphin Club will be the subject of his next book.
Maggie Lonergan got her start swimming at night and she still prefers nocturnal swims in the bay. Only problem: the sauna isn't open late enough...and she might just love the sauna more. Hear about winning the official Sauna Squares contest, her quest for a co-ed sauna, how and why she loves piloting swimmers, what intrigues her about fires, and how she found her spirit animal.
In just a few days, on October 25th 2025, Phil Gaal will swim across the Golden Gate for the 16th time. That's a feat for anyone, of any age, but at 90, it's truly golden. Phil exudes a joy for life and endless curiosity about everything from telomeres to technology. His mental attitude and physical fitness are inspiring beyond measure.
You may know him as the Dolphin Club's manager, but John Ingle is far more than the job title. He's also a professional musician, nature lover, chef, traveler, friend, spouse, proud Dad, and I'm sure I left out a few. Working in the place where most of us go to escape work has its challenges. And John is honest about that, as well as his love of the club, its members, and swimming in the Bay...despite a rather disastrous start.
Some siblings squabble. The Kirk siblings swim! And they've intentionally created a home away from home at the Dolphin Club where they can enjoy their passion for open water swimming and be together as adults in their 20s. Mackensie, Patrick, and Dominic share family stories, laugh at each other's traits, discuss what it's like to become friends vs. siblings, and what the club means to them.
Some people collect marble polar bear bricks. Others like Jon Nakamura prefer belt buckles -- especially brass ones with the Escape from Alcatraz logo on them. It's an iconic race and he's an iconic, lifetime Dolphin member. Learning about how and why he swims, bikes, and runs year after year tells you more about the man than the race itself. His passion, kindness, and commitment to the club, his friends, and family are what make him a real winner.
Lindsay Stripling is an artist in more ways than one. Yes, she paints and illustrates as a passion and profession. But she also is honing the art of teaching, helping college students and adults to discover their creativity and develop their practice. At the Dolphin Club, she wears a completely different hat as a volunteer (!) swim commissioner. Lindsay talks about the existential crises inherent in being an artist, why she started swimming in the bay, and just how hard it is to pull off an out of cove Dolphin Club swim.
We are quite a lucky bunch to have an urban swimming oasis at Aquatic Park. But there is still much of the San Francisco Bay where access is limited and swimming is forbidden. That's what Rebecca Groves is committed to changing with Swimmable San Francisco Bay, starting in her neighborhood of Dogpatch and Crane Cove. Hear why urban swimming captures her imagination and what intrigued her about The Nocturnists podcast.
Ever been on Wikipedia? Got thoughts on the Dolphin Club brand? Are there spirits in the wooden boats? What are young fathers thinking about? 15 or so minutes was nowhere enough time to cover the life and loves of Zack McCune. I left the interview with a smile a mile wide as we discussed his career, rowing, film, and fatherhood.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. With photojournalist Laura Morton it may be worth a whole lot more. Laura sees the world through her view finder and tells us all captivating stories about what many of us don't see -- the hidden community of tech workers, her love of Fisherman's Wharf, and why she finds San Francisco so weird and wonderful. Hear about the joys and trials of working as a documentary photographer and why she finds respite in rowing on the Bay. Then take a look at her photographs at http://www.lauramortonphoto.com/
At every opportunity, including her current job at the Bay Area Ridge Trail, Marie Sayles encourages deeper and more meaningful connections to nature -- on land or in water. She's always inspiring others to get outdoors be it to a local park, your backyard, the Criss Cross trail, the bay, or the entire Bay Area Ridge Trail, which when complete will be 550 miles long. Hear how the water clears and calms her mind, why she joined the club at 50, and what she learned at "sauna university".
There's no such thing as a typical Dolphin Club member and Peter van der Sterre is a case in point. A recent octogenarian, Peter hung out in San Francisco during the Summer of Love before becoming a Zen Buddhist priest and general contractor. He finds the practices of sitting (meditation) and swimming very complimentary and approaches them with the same feelings of challenge and possibility. Both are hard he admits. Hear about his fascinating, philosophical and untraditional journey through life.
Just shy of 30 at this recording, Trina Garry's life can make your head spin. She's spent her career teaching college students and athletes about consent and Title IX rights. Now, she's studying to become a lawyer, running like crazy, swimming fast, loving San Francisco...and her fiancé and fellow Dolphin Club member. Their wedding is in just a few days...on June 6th, 2025. Congratulations Trina and Joey. Like everything with Trina, it's a whirlwind conversation about ending sexual misconduct, lifeguarding in Montauk, the proposal at China Beach, and her goals as the new running commissioner.
Actor, mime, journalist, author, magazine publisher, policy advocate, aspiring jazz pianist, husband, father, Dolphin. I hope I didn't leave anything out. Todd Oppenheimer is living a full life, exploring the woes of technology, the wonders of craftsmanship, and the joys of community he's found at the Dolphin Club (including his wife).
We Dolphins love our historic tall ships, even if they're currently on hiatus from our cove. KC Crowell takes that love a step further, sailing them and preserving them for others to enjoy. We talk about being a good shipmate, the importance of national parks, rowing on the bay, Burning Man, and why sailors used to get a pig and chicken tattooed on their feet.
Most parents in San Francisco complain about the public schools. Even if they've never stepped foot in them. Sandra Halladey, decided to do something about all the myths and misconceptions. From her leadership role at Parents for Public Schools to her new passion for creating radio stories, she's become a fierce advocate and storyteller for what's going right in public education.
From journalist and editor of leading magazines to singer and actor, Mark Robinson has become a master of second acts. And he's doing it with gusto. He's performing in plays and singing in clubs with the same passion he gives to everything. Hear about his past and current career and how they have both nourished his heart and soul.
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