Jen's Big Swim

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:22:47 GMT

Watch Rodericks swim here Boat is the Viking Express shipais.com/showship.php spe.sbs.sapagroup.com/.../portal Water temperature is 59 to 60 F his swim starts at 3:30am Folkstone Time. I just received this email re the swim. Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. This is just to let you know that Roderick will attempt to cross the Channel tonight at 3.30am. There should be regular updates on the following site: spe.sbs.sapagroup.com/.../portal Good evening Anne Lucie I recieved this message in dutch Itranslated it it says No progress, zeeziek and too little sleep our brave swimmer cut down. only really laughed walks he on board of the boat. It is good been. I think his swim is finished He was supposed to swim on Monday but arrived in Folkstone and told he had to get in and swim in 5 hours. He had no sleep.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:02:14 GMT

Roderick is swimming the English Channel Tuesday Sept 23rd. My friend Roderick Boekdrukker from Belgium is supposed to swim the English Channel in the next few days.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:47:49 GMT

My friend Roderick Boekdrukker from Belgium is supposed to swim the English Channel in the next few days.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:42:01 GMT

I was wondering how he had hypothermia in 68 degree water he must not have consummed enough sugar which helps to keep the blood warmer.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:08:42 GMT

Charlie Wittmack, the 31-year-old Des Moines Iowa gets pulled from English Channell swim www.desmoinesregister.com/.../article

RE: Jen's Big Swim

ViveBene — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:22:53 GMT

Thanks for the link. Charlie Wittmack was attempting to become first American to both climb Mt. Everest and swim the Channel. (Next up: the rules of play will call for doing both within the same season.) Lake Michigan was balmy and smooth and he could have swum to Canada. :bouncing:

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:23:56 GMT

Jen's after swim update Hi Everyone, I will write more later, but I just wanted to write a brief explanation for those who were wondering. My swim ended for safety reasons at 9:20PM after 18 hours and 34 minutes. The primary factor was a lightstick failure/shortage. We used lightsticks during the first night so the boat and I could see each other. The lightsticks had faded significantly over the course of the next day. They were next to useless after the sun set, and the boat could not see me. While I could see the boat, the lightsticks were too faded for me to know what direction the boat was pointing. (We used a series of evenly spaced lightsticks along the boat so I could tell the boat's direction.) We didn't have backup lightsticks. My crew could have put a spotlight on me, but this would have resulted in me not knowing the boat's direction or distance from me. Additionally, the boat was yawing in the wind and moving unpredictably. Secondary to this, I was hallucinating. While I've never hallucinated before, they are not uncommon during long-distance open-water swims. I saw giant power towers that were 5-8x larger than the Confederation Bridge, giant leaf-less trees growing out of the water, and giant gray sunflowers in the night sky. I knew they weren't real, but my hallucinations worried my crew, and they really scared me. I was worried about being able to trust my brain. Between the struggles the boat and I were having with seeing each other, and the bizarre and random hallucinations, my crew decided the safety risks were too high. My coach said he thought I should get out. I had to think about this, but after a couple of minutes, I agreed. While I knew it was the right decision, I got onto the boat and I cried. I could see the lights of shore, and it was awful to have come so close and have to give up. Open water swimming is unpredictable -- this is part of the reason I love it. During my double-crossing of the Northumberland Strait last year (NB->PEI->NB), I had the second-fastest known crossing of the Strait at 6h37, but the return trip took 12h40 -- nearly double -- when tides, currents and wind worked against me. The challenge of swimming between three provinces in one day is tantalizing, and I know I'll try it again at the earliest opportunity. Next time, I'll have more insight into the tides and currents, and chance of success should be higher.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:11:20 GMT

That little stretch from Cape Torpentine to Borden PEI has massive rip tides. The tides run in 4 directions on a good day who knows what can happen with a major weather change. Throw in the heavy waves and anyone could get in trouble. It is the 9 mile stretch and you could be dragged all over the place and could change into a 27 mile swim. It is one of the toughest swim I have ever swam in. Weather Cam www.theweathernetwork.com/index.php

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:00:42 GMT

On the radio this morning it said she had to abandon before reaching PEI due to, I think, wind and wave conditions.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

ViveBene — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:42:01 GMT

Was she able to complete the swim? No update on her site. Thanks. Later update: She added a note to her site: She couldn't see the boat direction when glowsticks got low (and so didn't know in which direction to swim herself), and she started hallucinating. It was a very difficult stretch for her, but she agreed to terminate the swim even within sight of PEI. What an immense accomplishment nonetheless.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:27:32 GMT

The satellite tracking is amazing it is almost like being there.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

ViveBene — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:20:44 GMT

She started at 2:30 a.m. and it looks like she's just about made it to New Brunswick. I hope that means the conditions are better. Go Jen!

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:05:34 GMT

Jen Alexander is going to attempt the reverse swim. Here are the links to follow her swim. marathonswimmer.livejournal.com (voicepost updates)www.chartmyworld.com/swim (Real-time GPS tracking)

RE: Jen's Big Swim

ViveBene — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:48:26 GMT

Thank you for posting this reverse swim attempt. I'm fascinated, and will be following along. Makes what I have to get through in the same time period much smaller by comparison. :cheerleader: Go Jen!

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:48:08 GMT

What a woman! She's such an inspiration. Thank you George for posting. Was great to read and follow her journey before my (now seemingly very puny!) swim.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:41:09 GMT

It is the first time I have been able to follow a swim from my living room more than 3000 miles away. Almost in the accompanying boat and offer a word of encouragement. It was a pleasure to let everyone in on her ordeal.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

ViveBene — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:29:43 GMT

Thank you for posting this trip and the various Web sites, George. That is an extraordinary feat. Regards, VB

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:13:54 GMT

I have not discussed the reason for the take off time. I imagine it would be a recommended time by people who would know the tidal flows. When you swim the straits, you have water flowing in at least 4 directions. Anytime you swim in the ocean you have to take advantage of tidal flows or you will run into very long swims.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:06:49 GMT

Thanks for the update, George. My question was about her take off time. According to her blog they started at 2 p.m. I'm wondering why they didn't start at dawn to avoid some of the jellyfish encounters, since they are out at night. Perhaps due to currents or weather?

RE: Jen's Big Swim

ViveBene — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:07:16 GMT

So the provincial boundary goes through the water? That would make more sense than the way it is drawn. This is quite a feat unfolding before our satellite eyes. VB

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:30:48 GMT

Here is her first report in writing. Sink or Swim: Swimming the English Channel with Type One Diabetes Previous 20 Jul. 12th, 2008 Memories I'll write a more encompassing report tomorrow, but I wanted to write something before I head off to bed. I have some amazing, hysterical, funny memories from the swim, and I want to write them down before I forget them. Telling reporters that it is nearly every woman's nightmare to appear on the evening news in her bathing suit. (They smiled in empathy, but kept shooting.) Former Olympian and open water swimmer George Park (who once called the narrowest part of the Northumberland Strait "the toughest nine miles had ever raced") calling to wish me luck. Not getting stung - at all - on most of the PEI side of the swim. :) Getting stung uncountably many times on the NB side of the swim. I figured I had to actively be bleeding to be in as much "flesh wound" pain as I was in. I got tangled up in two, and actually squeezed one between my armpit and my side. Several times, I swam over more moon jellies than I could even count (40+?). The boat captain saw one of the jellyfish swarms and exclaimed that there had to be a thousand of them. He was exaggerating, no doubt, but I could not even push them out of the way without churning up more of them. As I swam through the thick of them, there were at least six touching me at any given time, and I am grateful that moon jellies tickle instead of sting. It was still creepy being touched by so many of them, though. :-) Swimming through a gorgeous sunset. My coach telling me to follow the moon... and then to follow Mars... and then to follow the Milky Way, as he helped me self-navigate. (The boat was getting tossed around in the wind at that point, and was having trouble maintaining its heading.) It was good that most of the lion's mane jellyfish encounters were at night: I probably would have said, "Y'know... we don't reeeeeeally need to hit New Brunswick..." had I seen how thickly the jellyfish were packed. At one point, I counted the seconds between stings. (!!) I am so uniformly red that you can barely tell where I was stung. My shouts of "I made it! I made it!" when I stood up in New Brunswick waking up the neighbours and prompting one to fire his shotgun into the air twice. I mentally envisioned the headline "Swim Aborted Due to Gunshot Wounds", and got back into the water post-haste! My coach telling me that jellyfish were known for coming out at night to hunt their prey. This violated my "no jellyfish jokes, please!" rule, but was so funny that it made me smile for at least an hour. My coach, it must be said, is wonderfully wonderful. He always seemed to have a perfect response to everything that happened, including the swim ending early. He could not have been more supportive. Vomiting. ( Cut for high disgust factor ) Someone messaged the boat, saying that they'd distracted the diabetes fairy for me. This was hilarious! I'm going to figure out who it was tomorrow... It made me feel so connected to the diabetes community. (My blood sugars, by the way, were mostly amazing.) Fifty million texts, voice mail messages, and e-mails during and after the swim, each of which I treasure. Thank you all. More later...

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:26:28 GMT

Here is here voice post after her swim. marathonswimmer.livejournal.com/ She had a little trouble with sickness.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:30:47 GMT

I enjoyed watching Jen's progress yesterday and look forward to reading her review of the experience. Thank you for posting this, George.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:11:08 GMT

The map is a little misleading on the provincial boundary, she has touched New Brunswick, she has to get across the bay to touch land in Nova Scotia. It looks like she is going to swim along the shoreline for a while before crossing.

RE: Jen's Big Swim

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:37:26 GMT

Lindsay you are right, it looks like she just wants to get to any place she can land in Nova Scotia. Halifax is impossible I don't know the geography well on the east coast.