Letter: Lakewood Swimmer Defeated by Lake Erie & Mother Nature

On July 15, after arriving in Pennsylvania, I stood in Lake Erie prior to a practice swim, as my Uncle watched.

That was the calmest day, during my week in PA, and the lake was never that flat again. My hope, one day that week, was to swim across the lake but Mother Nature, for some reason, had other plans. By Sunday Mother Nature used her constant windy breath and stirred the lake to create 2-3 foot waves. The forecast called for 2-5 foot waves for the entire week that I planned to be there.

I kept in constant contact with my Boat Captain and Monday eve, down at the marina as we listened to the marine forecast radio, he said Wednesday is the best it would be that week. Tuesday eve we met to pack the boat and he said, “if that flag stands out like that in the morning we will not go”. We arrived at the marina, in darkness at 4 in the morning, for our trip to Canada where the swim would begin. The flag consistently flapped in Mother Nature’s breath but was not standing straight, like the night prior. During the 2 hour trip to Canada the boat surged up and down over the waves which seemed to only grow as we got to the middle of the lake.

We arrived at the starting point by sunrise, where Capt Jim Armstrong snapped a picture of me and my brothers, who were there as my kayak support.

I got in the water and my brothers into their kayaks and all started out well. The sand bar of Long Point, Ontario provided some shelter from the waves but within half a mile that hiatus ended. The Lake Erie waves, on Wednesday July 20, only grew the further I swam. The 2-3 foot waves not only hindered the rhythm of my stoke but also washed over the side of the kayaks. At about 2 miles, as I lifted my head to sight the boat for direction, I saw it turn back and as I stopped to see why I watched the kayak closest to me also turn back. Even though they were “sit on top self-bailing” kayaks, with each wave one of them allowed water into the inner air-void of the hull. With 21 miles in the journey to go, the kayak had flipped, my brother needed to be pulled out of the lake. We regrouped and I continued my swim. I swam for the next 3 hours, for a total of 4, and completed a total of 7.5 miles. The effort it took me to swim in those waves, and calculating it would take another 8-10 hours, I waved towards the boat, to summons a pick up.

As soon as I grabbed onto the boat I felt defeated and most of the trip back I sat in the stern of the boat reflecting. During the trip back, my brother mentioned to the Captain that he thought the waves were getting bigger, and the Captain agreed and said there were some 4ft waves in there. Once back at the marina the flag, mentioned from the night prior, straight out.

To give context to the waves on Lake Erie the last picture is one I took. It is the same beach very near where I was in the water with my Uncle watching.

With that update I want to say Thank You to everyone for the amazing support and kind words. Before I decided to swim, my Dad said to think about how many people go to Mt Everest base camp and wait for weather to clear and never does. My brothers were very encouraging and one said if you try and don’t make it with the conditions you will never have to second guess not trying. With the time I have had to reflect and talking with lots of extended family in PA I am glad I attempted the swim. Initially, I was content with the results, but I would be a liar if I didn’t admit I have already thought about going back next year to try again.

A very positive outcome of this fund raising swim has been the almost $6500 in donations raised for Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. It is not to late to show your support for May Bridge by making a donation at www.JustGiving.com/LakeErieSwim

I want to give the biggest THANK YOU to everyone who has supported this effort financially. I know the economy is not the best, so giving may have taken away from another need or want.