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August 15 - Lake Ontario Completion

Hi everyone:

For those of you who already know about my completion of Lake Ontario on Wednesday night, I apologize. There are many of you who may not have gotten the news outside of eastern Ontario and this was the easiest way to provide an update.

I hit the water at 7:44 am on Tuesday August 12th at Sackets Harbour New York. This followed much discussion with my crew of 20 about concerns of thunder storms in the area. I was very concerned about swimming for 12 or more hours and having to abandon the swim for safety reasons. I listened very carefully to everyone's opinion and decided to take to the water after the captain of my lead sail boat, who is also a sailing trainer, and spends much time on the water, said that very seldom do the storms come over the lake. He was not concerned. One of my crew members led us in prayer on the dock before we departed, and my crew climbed aboard their boats.

It was amazing as the swim progressed as we had storms north of us in Kingston, behind us in New York and to the east of us on Wolfe Island. My crew saw lighting strike off of the CKWS TV tower on Wolfe Island. Above us was blue sky. This swim was meant to happen.

I finished the first third of the swim about 4 hours ahead of schedule and was concerned that I would arrive in Kingston in the early morning hours. I needn't have worried as later on in the swim I faced up to five foot waves on more than one occasion and some very strong currents. I must confess that I was just a little bit out on my 24-27 hour completion time.

I was honoured to have not only a great crew, but also the support of the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, two OPP detachment boats, the Kingston Police boat and the Kingston Fire Department Boat. The swim became a great community event with participation from various groups and organizations.

I finally arrived at the Kingston shore at Confederation basin at 7:00 PM. To my absolute amazement, there were two thousand people on shore awaiting my arrival. There were many of the kids that Vicki and I are working with and hoards of media. I couldn't believe that all of those people came to see an old guy swim. By the time I had finished my swim, I had been in the water for 35 hours and 15 minutes and had been awake for 40 hours. One of my main goals was to be able to say something coherent at the end and to say hi to the kids. I managed to succeed at this and shortly after nearly passed out . I asked the paramedics to take me to the hospital for a quick check up and to get some intravenous fluids in me. The last several hours of the swim I was unable to take anything in due to waves of nausea overcoming me. Surprisingly my electrolytes were only slightly off. So after a two hour stay I was released with a clean bill of health (with the exception of wobbly legs and a few sore muscles.) My wonderful coach has given me a few days off before I prepare for the Indian Ocean. Just kidding!!!!!

To date we have raised $30,000 with more donations coming in. We are also working on some other fund raising events to tie in with the swim. This is an awesome start to getting our new programs up and running! I have only given you the bare bones of a marvelous journey. Perhaps when we get together, I can share some of the many interesting and fun parts of the swim.

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful support. I could not have done this without your prayers and well wishes.

Cheers
John

9:00 p.m. - John is sound asleep in the Kingston General Hospital Emergency Room where he is receiving fluids and a quick checkup. Watch for John on CTV's Canada AM tomorrow morning around 8:00 a.m. A special thanks to members of the Kingston Fire & Rescue Services for assisting in removing John from the water at the completion of the swim.

Ian MacAlpine

To order call the Whig at 544-5000 ext 158

7:00 p.m. Wednesday August 13th. - The crowd goes wild! John arrives on the shore of Confederation Basin in downtown Kingston, a WHOLE LOT more wrinkled than when he first entered the water 53 km and 35 hours before on the other side of the lake. This swim is now officially over but fundraising for the kids of the Y-Knot Marathon continues! yknot4kids@sympatico.ca

6:46 p.m. - John enters Confederation Basin- only a few hundred metres to the finish! People cheer "Go John Go!"

5:20 p.m. - John is closing in- an estimated 3/4 mile to go from the shore. The Island Belle tour boat has pulled alongside and is cheering John on too, giving him a big boost. Waves are 1-2 feet. Estimated arrival around 6:15 or 6:30PM at Confederation Basin, so get down there RIGHT NOW and get ready to cheer! Current location is Lat 44° 12.21' Long 76° 29.07'.

4:15 p.m. - John continues toward Kingston, with Vicki and "Taz" in the Kayak nearby.l Estimated completion around 6 or 6:30PM at Confederation Basin. Current location is Lat 44° 11.42' Long 76° 29.18'.

3:15 p.m. - John has cleared Simcoe Island, and Kingston is ahead. Going is slow, but the end is in sight, with an estimated completion around 6 or 6:30PM. Current location is Lat 44° 10.75' Long 76° 29.51'.

2:15 p.m. - John passes the Simcoe Island cable ferry. Current location is Lat 44° 10.15' Long 76° 30.29'.

12:30 p.m.. - John is just passing Horseshoe Island, at the end of the channel between Simcoe and Wolfe Islands. Current location is Lat 44° 09.39" Long 76° 31.47'.

11:45 a.m. - The Rainbow Quest is currently being towed along with the rest of the flotilla and additional private boats have joined the flotilla. The OPP and Kingston Fire & Rescue boats are expected to join up as John passes by Simcoe Island. Current location is Lat 44° 08.35' Long 76° 31.57'. Estimated completion time remains around 4:00 p.m. today.

10:00 a.m. - News from the crew finally. The Rainbow Quest the lead boat for the swim has run into mechanical problems but should be rectified shortly. John is at the entrance to the Bateau Channel between Simcoe & Wolfe Islands. Estimated completion time is around 4:00 p.m. today at Confederation Basin in Kingston.

7:00 a.m. - John's pace appears to have picked up this morning after fighting currents in the Long Point area and the south channel of Wolfe Island during the night which pushed him west of his intended track. Current location is Lat 44° 05.39' Long 76° 32.05'. This morning's article in the Kingston Whig Standard is now online under the What's New Page .

6:27 a.m. - John swims on. They are about 3 miles off of the channel between Simcoe Island and Wolfe Island. The water is flat. Current location is Lat 44° 04.91' Long 76° 31.58' and K-Rock reports that they were singing "O Canada" to John as he crossed the border near midnight last night. His anticipated arrival at Kingston is now late afternoon around 4 according to "Taz" of K-Rock via the phone.

August 13 - 12:00 a.m. - Canadian Coast Guard has left Kingston to meet up with the swim flotilla. We've been unable to reach the crew, but they should now be in Canadian Waters.

10:17 p.m. - There had been no word since our last update until now. The crew just called: the lake is calm and there is no wind at all. They are approximately one mile from crossing the Canadian Border. A full "harvest" moon hangs about 30 degrees above the horizon. Maybe John and the crew will see falling stars this evening, as there is a peak to a major meteor shower tonight.

Ian MacAlpine

To order call the Whig at 544-5000 ext 158

Ian MacAlpine

To order call the Whig at 544-5000 ext 158

7:15 p.m. - The lake is pretty much flat at this time, and John is over 16 miles into the swim. Current location is Lat 44° 01.23' Long 76° 24.70'

5:45 p .m. - Waves are currently reduced and the bad weather appears to have missed them to the south (as this is written a new thunderstorm has appeared over Kingston 6:15PM). John continues at a pace ahead of schedule, over 1/3 of the distance covered. Current location is Lat 44° 00.05' Long 76° 23.09'

4:00 p .m. - Waves are currently 2 to 3 feet and weather does remain a concern at this time. Thunderstorms have developed south of the Sackets Harbor area. John has completed 10.8 nautical miles (20.1 km).

2:30 p.m. - John is one third of the way through his swim as he has completed approximately 9.5 nautical miles (17.7 km). Waves had increased to almost 6 feet but have subsided somewhat.

12:30 p.m. - John is 6.5 nautical miles into his swim, only 22 more hours to go.

11:00 a.m. - John continues to swim strongly, the sun is now shining and north-easterly winds have calmed.

9:00 a.m. - John is making steady progress into a north wind. Waves are less than 1 foot and the water temperature is 78F.

August 12 - 7:44 a.m. - John's Lake Ontario crossing is now underway. John entered the water at 7:44 a.m. this morning. The water temperature is 80F and the weather appears to be clearing. John is currently being accompanied by a boat from the US Coast Guard, a kayak, zodiac and three other boats including the lead sailboat Rainbow Quest.

Ian MacAlpine

To order call the Whig at 544-5000 ext 158

August 11 - Lake Ontario Update

John is in Sackets Harbour, New York tonight making final preparations for tomorrow's swim. Weather permitting, the swim should start around 7:00 am tomorrow. Check back here for updates during the swim.

August 8 - Lake Ontario Update

Hi everyone:

It looks like Tuesday is a go for my Lake Ontario swim. I will start at 7:00 AM at Sackets Harbor, New York and finish between 10:00 AM and 12:00 Noon on Wednesday at Confederation Basin in downtown Kingston. For those of you in the Kingston area, you can listen to K Rock at 105.7 for updates throughout the swim. One of the morning DJs, Taz, is going to be on the entire swim with us. The station is really going to promote donations and promote people coming down for the end of the swim. You can also get updates on my progress from our web site at www.amherstisland.on.ca/yknot . Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the finish.

Cheers
John

August 5 - Lake Ontario Update

Hi everyone:

We are back on the roller coaster!! We have delayed my swim until next week, possibly Monday. We have thunderstorms in the forecast right through until the end of this week. Unfortunately we have had some very unsettled weather down this way for the last two weeks. The good news is that the water temperature at this end of the lake is 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The other good news is that we get a little more time to put some more plans in place for our fund raising efforts and to confirm my boat and support crew. For every negative there is a positive. We will keep you posted.

Cheers
John

July 29 - Lake Ontario Update

Hi everyone:

I have decided to make a major change to my Lake Ontario swim. Vicki and I have been watching the water temperature very closely for the Niagara on the Lake to Toronto swim. The water temperature in that area is bouncing between 50 and 57 Fahrenheit. There is no guarantee that it will warm up enough this summer for this swim. I have decided that in order to get my swim in, I will swim from Sackets Harbour, New York into Kingston. The distance of this swim is approximately 35 miles, a distance greater than the Niagara to Toronto swim. The water temperature at this end of the lake is 66-70 Fahrenheit. Logistically, this change is far better. Most of my crew are from this area, the YMCA is in the area and the media support will be better. It will also allow more local people to participate. If the weather is good, I will start my swim at Sackets Harbour on Wednesday August 6th at about 7:00 am. My estimated finishing time will be between 10 am and noon on Thursday August 7th. I hope that most of you will be able to join us at the end of the swim. For those of you who are out of the area and wouldn't be able to get to Kingston, you can go to our web site throughout the swim for updates on my progress. We will be sending out our media release on Tuesday August 5th.
We will keep you posted on any other changes.

Cheers
John

Additional pictures can be found in the photo gallery .