ESCONDIDO: Minister training for quest of marathon on water

Jim Rauch plans to fulfill lifelong quest to row to Catalina Island

By JOHN RAIFSNIDER - For the North County Times | Saturday, August 2, 2008 11:24 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- As a young boy, during the weekly ride to church from his home in Palos Verdes, Jim Rauch could look out from the back seat of the family car and gaze at Catalina Island.

On some trips, he said last week, the island, 26 miles off the Southern California coast, would be clearly visible.

On others, it would be shrouded in fog. Through sunshine or haze, seeing Catalina from afar during those Sunday rides created a drive within Rauch to someday reach the island.

"When I was a young man, I thought that one day I would swim to Catalina," said Rauch, now 48, who swam on his high school team and was captain of the rowing team for two years at UC San Diego.

"Later, when I took up surfing, I thought I might paddle my surfboard over there. I never did either. I grew up and moved away to go to college, but that longing to cross the ocean to reach Catalina never left me," Rauch said. "Now, after all these years, I'm going to row over there."

Reaching Catalina is his quest, said Rauch, a pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Escondido since 1996. He hopes to accomplish his quest Aug. 22, when he and a support crew of three in an accompanying boat set out in the early morning from San Pedro Harbor bound for the island's Avalon Bay.

Departing from San Pedro will allow Rauch take advantage of a southerly drift toward the island.

"There's a difference between a goal and a quest," he said. "A goal is something you set for yourself. A quest is thrust upon you, and this has been a quest of mine since I was a little boy."

Two years ago, around his 40th birthday, Rauch said, he began plotting his course to reach Catalina. He shared his quest with members of his congregation, who pitched in and bought him a 24-foot scull, a sleek, fiberglass boat.

At least twice a week, Rauch takes the scull to the waters off Oceanside, or to nearby Lake Hodges.

His weekly workout regimen also includes running and weight lifting ---- neither of which, he said, can prepare him for what he believes will be his toughest challenge in reaching Catalina.

"I'm not too worried about my arms getting tired or my legs cramping up, but I am concerned about sitting on this tiny little seat," Rauch said, as he held up an object that closely resembled a slightly padded version of a seat more commonly found on tricycles in the 1960s.

"It's going to be a long row ---- about six to eight hours ---- and that's a long time to be sitting on something like this," he said. "So far, the longest I've been on this seat is five hours, so I've got to get used to it a little more before the trip."

Rauch said he has learned navigational skills and will use a global-positioning system to maintain his course. He has also added safety equipment in the event his rail-thin boat should take on water, capsize or break.

Still, his wife said, she is concerned.

"I'm worried about his safety," said Elizabeth Rauch, who will await her husband's arrival at Avalon Bay with their two teenaged children.

"He's an excellent swimmer and I'm sure he'll be careful and do everything right. He's trained very long and hard for this and I know that he's prepared, but I'm still a bit worried. It's a long way to Catalina."

Rauch said that during training, he has contemplated scripture, developed sermon ideas and found analogies to rowing to Catalina.

"When I was younger, I wanted to run a marathon, but it really wasn't ever something I felt I could do," he said.

"Like a marathon, the trip to Catalina is also 26 miles. I feel like this is my marathon, only it's on the water."