Lake Ontario Crossing

On August 11-12,2011 I completed over 41k of swimming across Lake Ontario swim from Port Dalhousie to Oakville (see my blog: http://melaniepriceadventures.blogspot.com/2011/08/touching-that-rock.html).  (To learn why I choose this route to Oakville, see my destinations blog:  http://melaniepriceadventures.blogspot.com/2011/03/destinations.html ).  I was without a wetsuit and was not allowed to touch the boat or another pacer, and could not draft.  I swum for just over 18 hours (my estimate of 15 to 21 hours was pretty good).  Starting at midnight was an extra challenge! My training also included learning to eat in the water!   Completion was far from guaranteed, as there are lots of elements in open water swimming which are out of my control!  But with a little luck (particularly temperature wise), and an amazing team around me, I persevered!

Why did I want to attempt this?  Because I want to push the limits; because I love Lake Ontario and could probably just shout it from a mountain top, but this seems more appropriate.  I started training in Lake Ontario with the Lake Ontario Swim Team (LOST) when I was training for Ironman Louisville and in doing so, I discovered a "Great" Lake right in my own back-yard.  I want to help other people discover it and help keep it "Great"!  I decided to raise funds for Lake Ontario Waterkeeper (LOW) through the swim. LOW is a great charitable orgnization working to restore the ability to swim, drink and fish in Lake Ontario.  Donations can be made to LOW at: http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=82468

As of the end of the 2011 open water season: these are the successful Lake Ontario swim crossings (compiled from information on Solo Swims of Ontario's website)  (Up-dated for successful yet un-ratified 2012 crossings to date):

		plq							Pt
swim	swimmer	#	Name	Age	Country	Date	Time	Start Pt - Finish Pt (2)	to Pt
#	#	(1)							(km)
1	1	1	Marilyn Bell	16	Canada	08-09 Sep 1954	20:55	YTN-MBP
2	2	2	John Jaremey	36	Canada	23-Jul-56	21:13	NOTL-CB [Jetty]	47.8
3	3	3	Brenda Fisher	28	England	12-13 Aug 1956	18:51	NOTL-CB [RLH Hydro Plant]	47.8
4	4	4	Bill Sadlo	57	USA	23-Aug-57	25:01	b
5	5	5	Jim Woods	41	USA	26-Aug-57	18:35
6	5(2nd)	6	Jim Woods	45	USA	2-Sep-61	17:07
7	6	7	Cindy Nicholas	16	Canada	17-Aug-74	15:10	d YTN-MBP
8	7	8	Diana Nyad	24	USA	30-31 Aug 1974	18:15	??-PD
9	8	9	Debbie Roach	17	Canada	16-Aug-75	18:30
10	9	10	Angela Kondrak	17	Canada	22-23 Aug 1976	23:48	NOTL-CNE
11	10	11	Kim Lumsdon	19	Canada	27-Aug-76	21:27	YTN-???
12	11	12	John Kinsella	25	USA	16-Aug-78	13:49	a NOTL-MBP (3)	50.5
13	12	13	Claudio Plit	23	Argentina	16-Aug-78	15:01	NOTL-MBP (3)	50.5
14	13	14	Raul Villagomez	27	Mexico	16-Aug-78	15:09	NOTL-MBP (3)	50.5
15	14	15	Magdy Mandour	23	Egypt	16-Aug-78	15:19	NOTL-MBP (3)	50.5
16	15	16	Bill Heiss	26	USA	16-Aug-78	15:57	NOTL-MBP (3)	50.5
17	16	17	Loreen Passfield	21	Canada	1-Sep-79	15:43	YTN-CNE
18	17	18	Jocelyn Muir	15	Canada	5-Sep-81	15:55	NOTL-???
19	18	19	Marilyn Korzekwa	26	Canada	01-02 Sep 1983	21:29	NOTL-LSS	45.3
20	19	20	Cam Kamula	29	Canada	03-04 Aug 1984	20:07	NOTL-OP
21	18(2nd)	21	Marilyn Korzekwa	27	Canada	17-18 Aug 1984	21:00	LSS-PD
22	20	22	Kim Middleton	26	Canada	16-17 Aug 1985	18:34	NOTL-MBP	50.5
23	21	23	Vicki Keith	25	Canada	14-15 Aug 1986	26:59	LSS-PD
24	21(2&3rd)	24	Vicki Keith	26	Canada	05-07 Aug 1987	56:10	i LSS-PD-QQT
25	21(4th)	25	Vicki Keith	27	Canada	29-30 Aug 1988	23:33	g NOTL-LSS	45.3
26	22	26	Rick Wood	31	Canada	19-Aug-89	21:33	NOTL-MBP	50.5
27	23	27	Bob Weir	46	Canada	23-24 Aug 1989	22:08	NOTL-LSS	45.3
28	21(5th)	28	Vicki Keith	28	Canada	03-04 Sep 1989	31:00	h NOTL-OP
29	24	29	Paolo Pinto	52	Italy	28-29 Jul 1990	23:57	NOTL-MBP	50.5
30	25	30	Colleen Shields	38	Canada	10-11 Aug 1990	17:56	NOTL-LSS	45.3
31	26	31	Patty Thompson	45	Canada	14-Aug-91	19:18	NOTL-LSS	45.3
32	27	32	John Scott	31	Canada	07-08 Aug 1992	14:50	NOTL-MBP	50.5
33	28	33	Carlos Costa	20	Canada	22-23 Jul 1993	32:43	NOTL-LSS	45.3
34	29	34	Shelagh Freedman	17	Canada	12-13 Aug 1993	26:03	NOTL-MBP	50.5
35	20(2nd)	35	Kim Middleton	34	Canada	04-06 Sep 1993	29:00	HBP-JH
36	20(3rd)	36	Kim Middleton	35	Canada	30-31 Jul 1994	26:14	HBP-B
37	27(2nd)	37	John Scott	33	Canada	12-13 Aug 1994	14:42	NOTL-MBP	50.5
38	30	38	Rick Goodwin	36	Canada	27-28 Aug 1994	27:06	NOTL-LSS	45.3
39	31	39	Ingrid Martin	38	Australia	11-12 Aug 1996	23:25	NOTL-MBP	50.5
40	32	40	Paula Stephanson	17	Canada	16-17 Aug 1996	22:30	NOTL-MBP	50.5
41	33	41	Nicole Mallette	31	Canada	8-9 Aug 1997	16:10	NOTL-LSS	45.3
42	34	42	Dan Foster	33	Canada	15-Aug-98	19:12	NOTL-LSS	45.3
43	35	NA	John Munro	50	Canada	25-Aug-01	18:48	HB-KING [MacDonald Prk]	35.0
44	21(6th)	NA	Vicki Keith	40	Canada	25-Aug-01	18:48	HB-KING [MacDonald Prk]	35.0
45	35(2nd)	NA	John Munro	52	Canada	12-13 Aug 2003	35:15	SH-CP	59.0
46	36	43	Gregg Taylor	19	Canada	13-14 Aug 2003	19:23	c NOTL-MBP	50.5
47	37	44	Peter Gibbs	56	Barbados	7-8 Aug 2004	18:40	NOTL-LSS	45.3
48	38	45	Melissa Brannagan	23	Canada	9-10 Aug 2005	16:11	NOTL-MBP	50.5
49	39	NA	Jenna Lambert	15	Canada	18-19 July 2006	32:18	BP-KING [Lake Ontario Prk]	33.0
50	10(2nd)	46	Kim Lumsdon	49	Canada	5-6 Aug 2006	26:38	NOTL-MBP	50.5
51	40	47	Samantha Whiteside	16	Canada	8-9 Aug 2006	15:11	NOTL-MBP	50.5
52	25(2nd)	48	Colleen Shields	54	Canada	12-13 Aug 2006	16:30	e NOTL-MBP	50.5
53	41	49	Stephanie Hermans	21	Canada	10-11 Aug 2007	18:05	NOTL-MBP	50.5
54	42	NA	Natalie Lambert	14	Canada	27-28 Aug 2007	23:15	SH-KING [Confederation Prk]	54.0
55	43	50	Jay Serdula	35	Canada	28-30 Jul 2008	41:01	NOTL-LSS	45.3
56	44	51	Shaun Chisholm	40	Canada	15-16 Aug 2008	19:23	NOTL-MBP	50.5
57	45	52	Jade Scognamillo	15	Canada	31Jul-01Aug/09	19:59	NOTL-MBP	50.5
58	46	53	Susanne Robinson	39	Canada	10-11 Aug 2010	24:28	NOTL-LSS	45.3
59	47	54	Miguel Vadillo Sanchez	40	Mexico	10-11 Aug 2010	18:03	NOTL-MBP	50.5
60	48	55	Rebekah Boscariol	17	Canada	5-6 Aug 2011	15:33	NOTL-MBP	50.5
61	49	56	Christine Arsenault	35	Canada	8-9 Aug 2011	22:22	NOTL-MBP	50.5
62	50	NA	Melanie Price	38	Canada	12-Aug-11	18:09	PD to OAK [Wilder Park]	41.6

63

51

NA

Madhu Nagaraja

Canada

28-28-Jul-12

24:26

PD to OAK [Coronation Park]

41.3

64

52

NA

Rob Kent

Canada

13-14-Aug-12

20:52

PD to OAK [Lakeside Park]

42.2

65

53

57

Annaleise Carr

14

Canada

18-19-Aug-12

26:41

f NOTL to MBP

50.5

(1) Listing on plaque is only available for swims starting or finishing in Toronto
(2) Records for youngest, oldest & fastest are only kept for NOTL to MBP
     a: Fastest Male, 13:49                            d: Fastest Female, 15:10
     b: Oldest Male 57y 116d                        e: Oldest Female, 54y 329d
     c: Youngest Male 19y 218d                    f: Youngest Female, 14y 158d
     g: 24 Miles Fly                                       h: All Butterfly
     i:  First two-way
(3) Professional race
Start-finish abbreviations:
B: Beamsville, Ont
BP: Baird Point, NY State
CB: Cherry Beach, Toronto, Ont
CNE: Cnd National Exhibition, Toronto, Ont
HB: Hays Bay, Point Peninsula, New York State
HBP: Humber Bay Park, Toronto, OntarioJH: Jordan Harbour, Ontario
KING: Kingston, Ontario
LSS: Leslie Street Spit (aka Vicki Keith Point), Toronto, Ontario
MBP: Marilyn Bell Park, Toronto, Ontario
NOTL: Niagara-on-the-Lake
OAK: Oakville, Ontario
OP: Ontario Place, Toronto, Ontario
PD: Port Dalhousie, Ontario
QQT: Queen's Quay Terminal, Toronto, Ontario
SH: Sackets Harbor, New York State
YTN: Youngstown, New York State

Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. (SSO) http://www.soloswims.com/sso.htm is a non-profit organization that sanctions all long distance Lake Ontario solo swims as well as sets various regulations (complete regulations can be found at http://www.soloswims.com/SSORI.pdf, including the boat requirements which are the swimmers responsibility to obtain and secure for their swim.
The following is the swimmers responsibilities (from SSO):

Large Boats:
Two boats, each at least 30 feet for a swim on a Great Lake. Although not mandatory, it is recommended that the "lead" boat be a sailboat and the "tail" boat be motor powered. In case of emergency, for evacuation purposes, one of the boats should be capable of a speed of at least 15 knots.

The navigational system on at least one of the boats should be GPS. There should be compass back-up and a chart of the lake.

All accompanying boats should have lightning rods and/or be properly grounded. A radar reflector is highly recommended.

There should be VHF ship-to-shore radio on at least one boat.

There should be cooking facilities on at least one boat to heat food for the swimmer and crew.

The boats should permit easy access for transferring crew to and from the lifeguard boats.

Lifeguard Boats:

The swimmer has to provide two inflatable boats, at least 14 feet (4 m) in length, with 7.5 to 15 HP motors, equipped with running lights (bow and stern), sufficient gas, life jackets, throw ropes, a tested towing system, and safety equipment as required by the coast guard.

Kayaks:

Only ONE kayak is allowed on a swim. Someone in the lifeguard boat has to be assigned to lifeguard the kayak. Vigilance in watching the kayak is especially required at night and in waves. SSO strongly recommends the use of the sit-on-top (unsinkable) model of kayak. All paddlers using the spray-skirt type kayak should be proficient in the Eskimo roll. There should be room on one of the Large Boats in the flotilla to accommodate the kayak in the event of unfavourable conditions or evacuation.

Life Jackets:

The swimmer should ensure with the owners of the accompanying boats that there are sufficient life jackets for every crew member on all boats, plus one for the swimmer.

Walkie-Talkies:

There should be a fully-charged walkie-talkie for each boat, including both lifeguard boats. The walkie-talkies and their recharger should be pre-tested.

A cellular phone is recommended, for emergency use and for media contact.

Food:

It is the swimmer's responsibility to provide food for everyone, including swimmer, coach, pacers, crew, all personnel on the accompanying boats, and the Swim Master. Be environmentally conscious; no Styrofoam cups. For the swimmer, use recyclable or paper cups or, better still, retrievable plastic cups or plastic feeding bottles attached to the lifeguard boat on a string.

Other:

• One large flashlight on each boat for use by swimmer's crew.
• Blankets or sleeping bag for swimmer at conclusion of the swim or if pulled out because of cold.

Optional (provided by swimmer)

• Feeding stick.
• Spotlight to train on swimmer in darkness.
• Spare GPS or LORAN system for potential use in the inflatable support boat.
• A third boat, a high-speed power boat, with ship-to-shore radio to serve as an evacuation boat.
• Sea anchors.
• Light to illuminate stern of lead boat.
• Bullhorn/loudspeaker for the rear boat and lifeguard boat #1.
• Net on a long pole to retrieve cups, goggles,
• Earplugs: Custom-made (available from hearing specialists), or silicone, or wax (both of which can be purchased at a drug store), or other form suitable to the swimmer’s needs. If earplugs are used by the swimmer, it is advisable to have more than one pair available.
• Tinted, ultra-violet swim goggles during the day, clear swim goggles at night, and thick bathing caps.
• Vaseline or anhydrous lanolin, or other suitable non-allergenic grease that does not clog the pores of the skin.
• Pacers (Not allowed to swim at night for safety reasons).
• Wetsuits, flippers, pull-buoys, kickboards, paddle boards or closed sea kayaks for pacers only.
• Whistle and a small blackboard for messages.
• Anti sea-sickness sea bands or skin patches for the crew.
• Four hot packs to warm the swimmer.  
• Large, pre-filled thermos flasks for initial swimmer feedings to minimize contact with the accompanying boats in the beginning hours of the swim, which is usually in darkness.
 

Thank you to all those who helped me out with the above requirements & beyond!!  


To steal & slightly alter a quote from Gold in the Water by P.H. Mullen:

To make this is going to be so sweet, to fail will be disappointing. Either way, it is going to be painful, but the experience of a lifetime, and life will go on. But those who strive, those who leave nothing on the table, those who will take the risk, will all be winners.  Life is truly sweeter for those who truly live it. The world belongs, and will always belong, to the people who participate. Don't stand on the outside, take a risk, you might fail, but you will understand the beauty of each breath of life. So don’t feel sorry for those who fail, feel sorry for the majority that never participate. They’ll just never understand, let alone feel, all that life can and should be.