Though I've swum several marathon distance events, swimming the St. Lucia Channel was new for all of us and we used
the resources of the Marathon Swimming Federation website and advice from
experienced marathon swimmer friends to prepare for the swim and ensure we
complied with MSF rules. Both Sue and I watched the online videos from a
swimmer observation workshop and we discussed plans – everything from starting
points, to crew roles and responsibilities, to “what-if” scenarios and observer
log notes.
We set our swimming window for
the week of May 14, 2018 – most likely May 15, 16 or 17. Bruce said the trade winds
normally died down a bit from March and April. Paul and I bought our plane
tickets and made hotel reservations at a charming little hotel near the Rodney
Bay Marina, where our support boat was docked.
During the early months of the year,
I was extremely busy at work, planning a new international conference with
partners at the World Bank in Washington DC in addition to the normal chaos of
my communications role at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. I was
also worried about my brother, who has been fighting cancer with chemo
treatments for the past year. Fortunately, he has been responding well to chemo
and the cancer has shrunk, but it's still there. The swim training gave me an
outlet for stress and the channel goal gave me something positive and exciting
to focus on.
During the week, I'd swim 4500 to 5500 yards a day and put in longer hours on weekends, like 4 hours on Saturday and another 6 hours on Sunday. I gradually increased the yardage as I got closer to the channel swim date, but was careful not to overdue it so I wouldn't damage my shoulders. I did one weekend with back-to-back 6 hour swims and had a few other swims in the 6 to 7 hour range, but didn't log 10 and 12-hour swims like I did when training for the English Channel. I was consistent with swim practices and visited a chiropractor when my left shoulder was getting pinchy, which made a huge difference. I also ate well, avoiding sugar and sleazy cheap carbs. I finally dropped the 12 pounds of channel fat I'd been dragging around for the past four years!
In late April 2018, I wrote up a
channel swimming plan with details on what needed to be done when and by whom
and shared it with Paul, Sue and my friend and marathon swimming super star Suzie
Dods to get their feedback. I also asked channel swimmer Ranie Pearce if I
could borrow her Sharkbanz, a magnetized band you can wear on your wrists or
ankles that is supposed to repel sharks. I love the support of the marathon
swimming community!
Finally, the time arrived for our
trip and we packed like maniacs the night before we left since we both had to
work right up to our departure. I brought a pair of jeans, hiking pants, 2
pairs of long yoga pants and just one pair of shorts. WTH? At least I had all
of my swimming gear.
We arrived in St. Lucia on
Saturday, May 12, and Paul drove our rental jeep across the island to Rodney
Bay. They drive on the left in St. Lucia and there are huge, deep gutters
between the street and the curb or sidewalk. It’s more of a moat than a gutter.
And traffic is crazy with drivers dashing between each other to avoid people,
dogs, chickens, goats and whatnot. I was sure we were going to dive into one
the gutters, breaking the axle of our rental car. I had a good old fashioned
panic attack and Paul had to pull over so I could slow down my hyperventilating
and wipe the tears off my face. Guess I was tired. Maybe a little anxious.
We made it to the Ginger Lily
Hotel without hitting a gutter or anything – or anyone –and quickly unpacked
our bags so we could relax. The hotel was even lovelier in person than in the
TripAdvisor photos with a pretty pool surrounded by a lush garden. Reduit beach
was a short walk across the street. We were too pooped to meet up with Sue, so
we agreed to meet the next day.
On Sunday, Paul and I met Sue and
Wes, my kayaker. Wes and I practiced swimming and feeding from the kayak. The
water was perfect! The temperature was probably about 80 and the most beautiful
blue I’d ever seen. Lots of colorful little fish darted around near the bottom
and I enjoyed swimming for a little over an hour.
On Monday evening, we had our
crew meeting. Bruce and his wife Kim and their kids joined us, along with a
gentleman I assumed was a crew member. Bruce introduced Martin Thomas,
explaining that Martin would serve as the captain of our support boat since he
had more experience with “non-fishing” excursions. I trusted Bruce and figured
if he felt Martin was better suited for the job, that was fine by me. I enjoyed
talking with Martin after dinner and learning about his career path, from being
the son of a poor farming couple, to learning the ropes of charter boat sailing
to becoming one of the best fishing guides in St. Lucia.
Other support crew members
included Nathaniel Waring, the co-director of the St. Lucia Channel swimming
event in July, who would take photos and support swim, if needed; Wes Moses,
kayaking; Thalia Bergasse, first aid; her mom Lily Bergasse, crew hand; and Sue
Dyson, observer. And, of course, Paul, who knows me and my swimming style
better than anyone.
Sue read the MSF rules aloud and
I answered a few questions. Bruce said Wednesday looked to be the best day of
the week for good weather. The winds had been higher than we expected, around
18-20 knots, and we were hoping they would die down by Wednesday.
Tuesday we prepared for the swim,
gathering groceries for the crew and getting my feeds lined-up. Paul made a
huge stack of PBJs. The hotel staff kindly boiled up some sweet potatoes for me
so we could mash them up with coconut water for mushy feeds. I measured out the
Carbo Pro with juice and tea for the liquid feeds. We were both tired from all
the activity and actually slept pretty well from 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. when we
woke up to get to the marina.
Sue had distributed a news story about my background before I arrived that appeared in a couple of news magazines:
Sue had distributed a news story about my background before I arrived that appeared in a couple of news magazines:
And she lined up an inteview with one of the St. Lucia TV stations:
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