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.