Olympic Swimming History Question

Lake Ontario can be an easy swim or a deadly swim. Kinsella was lucky it was a good day and the water was warm all the way accross. He had everthing going his way. The wind direction was perfect for his swim. He is right very choppy waves. The waves in Lake Ontario are very close together (very Choppy) and I have had the water disappear from under me and you can fall 10 or 15 feet back into the water. The lake is a very deep lake, I have seen the temperature drop from 74 degrees to 38 degrees on the hottest days of summer. All you need is an off shore breeze for a couple of hours and the temperature drops. I have never raced in Lake Superior it can be cold but every time I trained in it it was nice and warm about 60 degrees. It gets rough there but different then the rough in Lake Ontario. But if you want rough, Lake Erie can be very rough but it is very shallow and the water is quite warm.

Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim the channel. The first person was Captain Matthew Webb. www.dover.gov.uk/.../swim1.asp

Syd you will know when I am joking. Earnest Verkotter a great Channel swimmer was in my escort launch for the race accross Lake Ontario in 1964. They called him the Black Shark even though he was a white man. I should have asked why they called him that. There are several paragraph about her in the book Wind Waves and Sunburn. Pages 57 to page 61, trells about her exploits. At 13 she joined the Womens Swimming Association. At 14 she won the New York Bay 3 mile swim. She struggled with back problems in later life.

I used to swim in Superior. My grandparents lived in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and we'd swim in the lake when we visited in the summer. Even in the middle of the summer I remember it as being pretty icy! I regularly swam in Lake Superior when I was younger. It stayed pretty chilly year round. I grew up in Upper Michigan, about 15 miles from Marquette.

Just think a little, predominant winds are westerly. Channell winds www.weatherweb.net/eastchannelwindgrid.htm

I'm thinking its the quality of the food after the race. :bolt: (Sorry, I had to...) :lolup: But wasn't that always a consideration? ;) George, thanks for the link! Just I've heard different opinions on which way is harder. Of course, having no personal experience in the matter, I might go with whoever serves me better :wine: when/if ever I were to arrive. :D (Will swim for wine....)

But lately, I've been hearing that France to England is more difficult. Why the change in opinion? I'm thinking its the quality of the food after the race. :bolt: (Sorry, I had to...)

Of course I have never attempted the Channel. The prize money for the Butlin races was not worth the effort. My brother Tom did it twice. If you do not have the right boatmen. You just do not make it accross the channel witout that expert guide, someone who knows the tides. My brother had sponsors that paid for his swims which made it worthwhile. He came second to Abou Heif in one of the races. He raced Abou about 20 times and that was the only race he lost to Abou Heif. As far as food I prefer a Pizza and beer. Always go with the wind if you can. :lolup: But wasn't that always a consideration? ;) George, thanks for the link! Just I've heard different opinions on which way is harder. Of course, having no personal experience in the matter, I might go with whoever serves me better :wine: when/if ever I were to arrive. :D (Will swim for wine....)

I've done some of these and I must say that I was surprised at how clean the water was. I'd much rather swim in the Hudson or East River than in the Chesapeake Bay. Now, the Harlem River is a slightly different story... -LBJ ditto that leonard. but i will be doing the chesapeake next week anyway!

ditto that leonard. but i will be doing the chesapeake next week anyway! Good luck. I really don't care for that race too much, but to each their own. I hope to get in some races this summer (last summer was a disaster), but it's been a rough couple of years. -LBJ