Windermere 1-Way Wonders by Karen Smith

Windermere 1-Way Wonders

By Karen Smith

August 10, 2017

What a busy week for Gemini Warrior, with four swimmers being successfully guided on their 1-way Windermere swims.

The first was the amazing 82-year-old athlete, Ken Heathcote, who faced the most challenging conditions of the week. While the water temperature was a beautiful 16–17 degrees, the wind was a major hindrance and made this a gritty swim. However, a smooth swim would have been boring for this supersonic athlete! After a few hours of uncertainty, Ken pushed through and touched the jetty after 9 hours and 55 minutes. This was a truly inspirational performance, especially as he took on no fuel and only a few sips of water.

Next was Uswim regular Daniel Ralph, who is training for an even bigger challenge with us next year; this was a stepping stone toward that goal. Dan had a beautiful, calm lake, but it was by no means an easy swim. He had been experimenting with his feeding regime, and something at the three-hour mark did not agree with him. It was a gutsy performance, with failure never being an option. 6 hours and 46 minutes later, Lake Windermere was conquered.

"Double trouble" came next, with two friends choosing to take on the lake together. After training together, it was decided that Stephen Bottomley would wear a wetsuit (being the slightly faster swimmer) and Stephen Tyler would brave it in skins. This swim was always going to be a laugh, as these two are truly a duo on a mission. It was a beautiful afternoon to guide them; the swim looked effortless and was an absolute joy to be part of. In a stupendous time of 5 hours and 38 minutes, they were met at the finish by their families—and a tray of chips!