Swimmer attempts to swim back and forth across Winni.
 

From the Boston Herald article:

"An official with a New Hampshire group that wants to develop an aquatic center is attempting a double-swim crossing of Lake Winnipesaukee. Maury McKinney’s swim, which started Wednesday, spans 42 miles and will take more than 24 hours. McKinney plans to swim continuously with short breaks for food and water. The plan is to swim from Center Harbor to Alton Bay, returning to Center Harbor on Friday."


http://www.bostonherald.com/news/nat...=recent_bullet

Left from Center Harbor this morning at 6am, heading south for Alton Bay, Maurice 'Maury' McKinney, age 49, in a sleeveless shorty wetsuit, and accompanied by a single kayak,

Which swim side of Bear Island is planned.....that's a long day out on the water......good to go.

The weather and calm water seems real good for this today. Must be a good swimmer, ya think?

Smile of the Great Spirit Swim
 

WOW!, there is someone that really goes all out to support his cause. You really have to admire him for the effort and work involved.

Here is a link to group's home page.
http://www.whitemountainaquatic.com/

and their news story on their site.
http://www.whitemountainaquatic.com/...ge=in-the-news

Originally posted by FLL
A single kayak? How is that going to help him if he gets into trouble?

Go for it!
 

I remember someone named "Harry"? who did a similar swim, but a few more ports of call?

sure hope hes being guided a lil and is able to been seen so he doesnt get hit

Boston Globe article
 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/bre..._swimming.html

Sounds like he has good support, more than just one kayak

Alton Bay: "Looking for a kiss and a Coke" before starting the return swim to Center Harbor at about 6pm, yesterday evening. Great big clear full moon last night with very calm, 72-degree water.

A very long swim considering that maybe 90% of the people reading this could probably not swim 250 yards (10 pool laps) across Lake Winnipesaukee even if they had to. And calm water is much less challenging than choppy water. One small swallow of water going down the wrong pipe can quickly cause panic, sinking, and drowning..........gulp :eek: !

For the record, I can swim 250 yards of Lake Winnipesaukee through burning oil with one hand tied behind my back and blindfolded..........while being attacked by sharp-tooth pickerel......so there landlubber.......arggg!!!!


Did he complete the round trip swim back to Center Harbor?

I swim all winter at the gym pool, generally 1.5 to 2 miles, so there.

He made it!
 

http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsnh/Swimme...2.1161751.html

CENTER HARBOR, N.H. (AP) ― A seasoned New Hampshire swimmer has successfully completed a round-trip swim of Lake Winnipesaukee in 26½ hours.

Winni has been reduced to a "river" in this quote (stolen from AP)

Last year, he swam the 21-mile length of the river from Center Harbor to Alton Bay in 12.5 hours.

Just to answer someones question earlier --

We saw him swimming while we were sunning (adrift in the Broads) - at that time he was between Locke heading for the inside (Southern) of Diamond. There was two motorboats flanking him as well as a Kayaks (two as I recall).

Smile of the Great Spirit Fundraising Swim
 

This is Maury McKinney from North Conway. I am the swimmer that did the double crossing of Lake Winnipesaukee last week. It was an amazing experience for me personally and the support team. It was a successful outing in all respects. We achieved our goals; we did it safely, we had fun doing it and we all came back better friends because of the comaraderie we shared.

This was a fundraising swim for the White Mountain Aquatic Foundation (www.whitemountainaquatic.org), a North Conway based non profit with a mission to build a world class aqautic center in the Mt. Washington Valley Community. My goal was the enliven the local discussion about aquatics so we can dvelop a broad base of support for our project. My original press release said we would leave at 6:00am on Wednesday 9/2 and return at 9:0am on Thursday 9/3. In reality, we left at 6:41am and returned at 8:58am.

The swim to Alton Bay went smooth. I completed it in 11:00 hours, 1.5 hours faster than my single crossing last year. It was on the way back that we encountered 7-8 knot winds and some burly chop all the way from Rattlesnake Island to Birch and Jolly Islands. The Broads beat me up pretty good but we made our way through it. During this part of the swim I was blown 1.5 miles off course. What took me 2.5 hours to cross in the morning took 5.5 hours in the wee hours of the morning under a brilliant full moon.

I wore a blueseventy Helix longjohn wetsuit for overall safety reasons. I had at least one-two kayaks and one motorboat with me at all times. I ate and drank throughout the swim. When I arrived at back at Center Harbor I had a paramedic waiting to assess my physical condition. I won't address my mental condition as my wife thinks I'm crazy. The paramedic found my core temperature to be 98.2F, BP of 120/82, HR 60bpm and a blood glucose at the lower end of the normal range.

I did secure a Marine Patrol Water Event permit for this swim and I followed up with them afterwards. Lake Winnipesaukee is a stunningly beautiful natural and recreational resource.

Twice as crazy
 

Well done and congratulations on an incredible feat !!


ps - Methinks your wife is correct. :D

I'm going to have to agree with your wire but congrats! That's unreal to say the least and something to brag about for sure.

Congratulations
 

Fantastic swim. I wish I could have been there to see you coming in to Centre Harbor at the finish.

Double Crossing Swim Video
 

Here's a link to a YouTube video of the swim:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgXG8RvLAm4

Smile of the Great Spirit Swim
 

I posted this message as a reply but I think it got buried somewhere and I can't find it so I thought I'd post it again along with attached pictures and a link to a video.

This is Maury McKinney from North Conway. I am the swimmer that did the double crossing of Lake Winnipesaukee last week. It was an amazing experience for me personally and the support team. It was a successful outing in all respects. We achieved our goals; we did it safely, we had fun doing it and we all came back better friends because of the comaraderie we shared.

To see a video of the swim go to YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgXG8RvLAm4

This was a fundraising swim for the White Mountain Aquatic Foundation (www.whitemountainaquatic.org), a North Conway based non profit with a mission to build a world class aqautic center in the Mt. Washington Valley Community. My goal was the enliven the local discussion about aquatics so we can develop a broad base of support for our project. My original press release said we would leave at 6:00am on Wednesday 9/2 and return at 9:00am on Thursday 9/3. In reality, we left at 6:41am and returned at 8:58am.

The swim to Alton Bay went smooth. I completed it in 11:00 hours, 1.5 hours faster than my single crossing last year. It was on the way back that we encountered 7-8 knot winds and some burly chop all the way from Rattlesnake Island to Birch and Jolly Islands. The Broads beat me up pretty good but we made our way through it. During this part of the swim I was blown 1.5 miles off course. What took me 2.5 hours to cross in the morning took 5.5 hours in the wee hours of the morning under a brilliant full moon.

I wore a blueseventy Helix longjohn wetsuit for overall safety reasons. I had at least one-two kayaks and one motorboat with me at all times. I ate and drank throughout the swim. When I arrived at back at Center Harbor I had a paramedic waiting to assess my physical condition. I won't address my mental condition as my wife thinks I'm crazy. The paramedic found my core temperature to be 98.2F, BP of 120/82, HR 60bpm and a blood glucose at the lower end of the normal range.

I did secure a Marine Patrol Water Event permit for this swim and I followed up with them afterwards. Lake Winnipesaukee is a stunningly beautiful natural and recreational resource.

Congrats!
 

Yup, wives are known to be closet psychologists. Never disagree with their diagnosis. Quite a feat Maury!

Congratulations
 

It is amazing to me that Maury could swim that far. I can't make it to the swim dock without a major effort.

Those of us who have been on top of the water know what the Broads can throw at you during a good blow, and I've seen posts where boaters are reluctant to travel that way in the swells. He swims it..

His devotion to his sport should be lauded by all.

Nice job, Maury, you are da man. I'm curious what "build a world class aqautic center in the Mt. Washington Valley Community." means. Maybe you could expand a little on that. Would it be a YMCA type facility? Where would it be located?

Thanks

ITD

Aquatic Center
 

Hello ITD,
Our plans include a three pool facility, - fitness pool, therapy pool and recreation pool. Seems to be the best model in terms of financial sutainability and return on investment. The week before my big swim I was down visiting family in GA and this is what I found: http://picasaweb.google.com/maurymck...eat=directlink. It is pretty much the 40,000sq.ft. design model we have. You can also look at aquatic centers recently developed in Hartford, VT and Stowe, VT. We have 30,000sq ft and 50,000sq ft enterprise plans as well. Hard to say what will work best. As we develop the feasibility study and the business plan and then reconcile that with community interest and fundraising we'll know better what we can afford. We know we have to be practical dreamers. My gut tells me this will take twenty years to achieve but my heart hopes for five. Whatever happens it is still a worthwhile endeavor.

I would never be able to do that just looking at those shrizzled up fingers!!!!! ICK!!!!

Amazing! I'm in awe of this - really. I've wondered if anyone had ever done it in the past - now I know it was done and just a short time ago!

Congrats!

Salute to Maury
 

I swam from our dock to a rock (330 yards RT) in the middle of our cove this summer and was humbled by the experience, It is hard to comprehend 26 hours in the water.

GREAT WORK!

Wow
 

Great effort..and inspiration! Ill be swimming more

Wow, so impressive, Maury. What a great experience - and accomplishment - for you. Loved the video.