Heidi on Vashon

It's a great treat to have my dad visiting from San Diego for the holidays, but an even greater blessing he and my husband David were willing to witness my 51st birthday swim at Alki Beach. Shannon, a sister mermaid from our nutty open water group had been knocking out an open water skin swim in sub 50-degree water every day in December, and I intended to join her on the 27th. What a gift to be surrounded by kindred spirits and the brisk, beautiful sea, family in tow! David brought his infrared zapper and measured the water temps, reading 43.5 to 47 (deep to shallow!) so it was a proper cold water swim for sure. Shannon, Dad, Mary Sue, me, Kate, Scott and Tricia A leisurely brunch followed right across the street with MarySue joining us. My toes were still frozen an hour later. Grateful!

Three years ago, nearly to the day, I awakened to centripetal forces swirling behind my eyes. I sat up, flopped back down to the pillow and told my husband, “something is very wrong: I’m spinning!” I developed a form of severe vertigo presumably through a latent cold or flu virus that decided to take a wrong turn into my inner ear. The imbalance, the puking, the helplessness and lack of appetite—ugh! It was several weeks before I could read the text on a computer (magnified a lot I could), or drive again, and months before the visual effects subsided, also about six weeks of no swimming (I tried at three weeks out and that was a disaster); even at two months the “internal gyroscope” was not quite right. To this day, the lighting in large grocery and big box stores will make me nauseous if I’m in them for too long (bring a visor). Vesitbular neuronitis is no joke!  Sometimes I wonder if open water swimming exposes us to more viruses; at the same time I know the brisk water—bas

I worked hard for this in 2019, and now I know my capabilities. Thank you to BlueSeventy for sponsoring this series of open water competitions. You made me work for it!

It’s been a while since I ventured to the part of Vashon Island known simply as “Cove” on the west part of the rock. In late 2005 to early 2007 I lived on the very point at Colvos Passage in an apartment that was once the Cove Motel back in the Mosquito Fleet days. Looking out from this point across to Fragaria, it is one of the most peaceful, soul-settling places I have ever known. An otter family frolicked out my window. Cormorants did their little Karate Kid open-winged stance on the Northern pilings every winter. Barges pulled by tugs slowly trudged through the channel. It was the perfect place for me to live while going through a divorce, a place to reflect on next steps from the balcony, and to skip rocks on the shore with my little boys. This day, though, three intrepid friends and I arrived to put in at Cove and set about on new swim territory for us toward Fern Cove. We had an approximation of distance from maps and kayaker Robert Teagardin, whom I trust implicitly. 2.5-

Recently the gang at BlueSeventy, maker of the best swim wetsuits and accessories around, put out a call for swimmers of all sorts to join its 2020 racing team. What I lack in speed I more than make up for in enthusiasm, joy and real effort (I also don’t suck at swimming and did well enough to scoop up age-group top-three wins in all my local USMS open water races this summer.) So I applied, and was welcomed to the elite tribe of swimmers on the BlueSeventy Racing 2020 squad. Some of us are pool swimmers, others are open water swimmers, or triathletes. Some are young lifelong athletes, middle age mermaids (like me), Ironmen and women, across all sizes and ages and nationalities. The common thread, we are told, is we all enjoy getting out of our comfort zones and challenging ourselves. For me, this is a privilege to represent a great brand in competition and while training. Last year, the company give our Vashon swim group an exclusive discount on gear which we definitely

My written record of swimming a four-person relay across the English Channel last year vaporized with a bad computer, so I’m going to log a few memories here and now before they fade into faint recollections. Let’s just say right here I am not—nor have I any desire to be—a marathon swimmer. I am a perfectly happy middle distance open water swimmer, not the fastest and not the slowest but always up for an adventure and the challenge of working through tough tides. My friend Kate had originally signed up for a solo EC swim, until she realized she wasn’t up for a solo. She invited her best friend Curtis, and my swim buddy, as well as Randy, another Alki swim buddy (who’d had to abort his EC solo swim the prior season). With team secured with a “special” relay of four people since six swimmers are standard for a relay, we commenced several months of cold water training in the Pacific Northwest. Our boat was Sea Satin with pilot Lance Oram, three crew and observer Irene. We

There’s nothing better than finally taking the trip you’ve been waiting for all year long. Tickets were purchased months ago, our excursion The Big Blue Swim had the Santorini (Greece) hotel, swim routes and other goodies sorted out and the rest was for David, me and our 12 mostly-Seattle swim friends to get there. David and I went by way of a nonstop red eye on BA from Seattle to London Heathrow. We had an overnight stopover at Hilton T4 London Heathrow. The stopover has the double benefit of allowing us to go explore the city and allows one lag day to adjust to the time change…a little, anyway. We dumped our bags, hopped the Paddington express train into town and met my friend Melanie at Victoria Pub. Mel, who lives in Norwich UK, came to Catalina in August for her victorious triple-crown swim that I helped crew. What a wonderful short visit: Guinness toasts, a lovely dinner in an historic pub and upstairs restaurant called Fuller’s, and a little night stroll where she showe

This year I've stuck to my work-travel-swim pattern and it's been fantastic. Hard work has afforded some really fun trips (will I make it to MVP on AK Air this year? Looks likely!). Kate and I headed to Dover, Kent (UK) to attend the English Channel CSPF class of 2018 banquet, where we made new swim friends and dipped into the winter waters of the famous Dover Harbor at swimmers' beach. That's just the start! Dover, UK - March - CSPF dinner/hangover swim  Lake Berryessa, CA - June USMS Middle Distance Open Water Nationals with my very spontaneous Seattle friend Melissa, who did well in her swim! Blake Island circumnavigation swim - June 26 - so fun! Mary Robinson, Amy Bogaard, Lise Ellner, Martha Johnson, Sarah Schieron, Rebecca Lanphear and me. Thanks to Chuck, Dana and David for crewing! Coronado, CA - 4th of July Roughwater Regional USMS/PNA competitions: Whidbey Adventure Swim- Langley, Fat Salmon at Lk WA, Swim Defiance across Dalco, Aly Fell

I think three times this year I've swum up the Northeast chunk of the island to land at the Wild Mermaid. It is the sweetest reward to emerge onto the boat ramp, peel off the wet stuff, and take my bedraggled self in to Adam and Megan's joint for a delightful pastry and hot cup of coffee.  Me, Jenna after her first time on this swim, and Amy Amy Rebecca Mary Shemeta on SUP, Rebecca in foreground Jenna, victorious. "Lotta dark thoughts," she said. Our route. We ended up cutting the coast and let me tell you, that water is DEEEEEEEP. This swim route is cake when you swim it as a coastal, but the tides were against us and you really feel that head current in the deep water. It felt like forever getting to Dolphin Point, where you make the final big turn. This whole swim was work. On a prior swim with Lise of this same journey, we hugged the coast and had a much more favorable tide. The whole inlet after Glen Acres is Muckleshoot oyster

When my friend Michaela moved to Minnesota, I thought I'd never see her again. I had no plans that called for a midwest visit, until of course she told me about this swim! I cashed in my air miles, booked the swim and a room in Bayfield, and soon enough August arrived.  I am so used to West Coast topography. The FLATNESS of the land was disorienting to me. After my airport pickup, Michaela introduced me to Lindsay and the three of us road-tripped to Bayfield with an overnight in Duluth. Walleye is a thing in these parts. A peek of the finish part of the course, from a bluff. Successful finishes for all of us. 1 hr 8 mins is not nearly my best but it's fine for a new course.  This was a 2.1 mile crossing. People in Bayfield are very nice. My favorite part of the trip, after the swim, was a kayak night tour chartered with Rustic Makwa Den. These are the Red Cliff Band of the Chippewa, and they are casual and funny guys who really love their lands. Troy was

Here's a swim I've been wanting to do for so long. Blake Island is a state park, home to Tillacum Village cultural center (and a lot of raccoons and delicious butter clams). It is just one mile to the north of Vashon and I can see a peekaboo of it from my bedroom window. Islander Lise Ellner had done the swim previously and we lucked out that swimmer Mary Robinson and her husband Chuck share a boat that could taxi us all over. We also had David kayaking (he came across on it through the ferry lanes, wow!), and Dana on a zodiac, so we were in great care with crew for just a 4.25 mile swim. On the way there we were greeted by Dall's porpoises, and the sun became occluded by clouds, but tides were fairly kind to us and after the first mile the seven of us were very spread out on our clockwise course (back to just outside the marina on the spit). I really do not enjoy swimming open water alone; this is after years of doing it, too. Mary, Lise and Rebecca have no problem go

It’s bright. It’s floaty. And yeah, on windy days it can be a pain in the ass, but STILL…all open water swimmers should be using a swim buoy aka tow float (as they say in the UK). For nearly six years I’ve been swimming with a New Wave Swim Buoy . In that time I’ve tried different styles and colors. The company has evolved its offering to many varieties: 15l or 20l, bubble or bag-type which is handy for stashing a Go Pro, or an encased phone (which the company also makes—waterproof cases), etc. A couple swims I’ve even tucked in a sundress, cash and light flip flops for a long point-to-point swim when upon exiting, I just dressed and got coffee to warm up. Some swimmers feel bound or constricted wearing a buoy, but it’s really nothing at all. If you have good form there is no reason you cannot wear one and swim seamlessly. Play with the strap lengths; it works. Why have one? ·       Visibility in places where there are (errant) boaters zipping around. Like lakes, or ne