Courtesy of Phil White. Photos courtesy of Kathleen Marcil.

Doing a Thomas – or an unassisted, continuous four-way crossing of any open body of water – is never easy and always takes a significant amount of planning, with a splash of good luck.

Phil White, escort pilots Gary Coburn and Karina Palmorino, crew members Denise Herman  and Christine Herman, and escort kayaker and photographer Kathleene Marcil planned out a course of action for Nadine Bennett (52, Canada, MSF bio here) on September 16th.

White reported on her achievement, “Nadine completed a 20-mile, four-way crossing of Lake Willoughby, in Westmore, Vermont. She entered the lake from North Beach at 7:45 am and finished her fourth lap in the dark at 8:53 pm for a total elapsed time of 13 hours 8 minutes. Subtracting the total 10 minutes spent out of the water at her turnarounds, Nadine’s total time in the water was 12 hours 58 minutes.

In doing so, Nadine became the first woman to complete a four-way crossing of Willoughby. Greg O’Connor (52, USA, MSF bio here) is the first person to do so, which he did in 2021.

Water temperatures ranged from 64°F to 70°F. Air temperature was 50°F at the start, rising to a high of 76°F before falling to 60°F at the finish. Wind was light out of the north and East, little more than 1 ro 2 mph. Nadine’s stroke count remained steady at 45 to 48 strokes per minute.“

Her Split Times

• First Leg: 7:45 am started at North Beach, 10:39 am exited at South Beach for a time of 2 hours 54 minutes.
• Second Leg: 10:45 am entered the water at South Beach, 1:51 pm exited at North Beach for a time of 3 hours 6 minutes.
• Third Leg: 1:52 pm entered the water North Beach, 5:15 pm exited at South Beach for a time of 3 hours 23 minutes.
• Fourth Leg: 5:18 pm entered the water at South Beach, 8:53 pm exited at North Beach for a time of 3 hours 35 minutes.

The Background

White continued, “When Nadine was still living in Ottawa, she stumbled on the swims in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and has continued to join us since she moved back home to the East Coast of Canada. She has swum Kingdom Swim numerous times over the years, the full NEK Swim Week, and In Search of Memphre in 2023. She has crewed for several Swimmer Scouts during their crossing of Lake Memphremagog. She is also a regular at the Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival, She is family.

Like many, she is enthralled by the majesty of Willoughby and has had a vision of this swim for a number of years now. When she started this swim, her vision was simple, to swim as many laps as Willoughby and her own body would allow. Willoughby was kind and inviting, laying down her vaunted winds. During her fourth lap. Nadine felt a pain in her back, her scapula, in particular. She was able to complete the fourth leg, but chose not to risk a tear by swimming further.“

The Aftermath

White observed and predicted, “Her crossings were good enough to make a little history – and good enough to leave a little hunger for more.”

Doing a Thomas (examples)

• Carina Bruwer (34, South Africa, MSF bio here) did a 12.8 km Thomas of the Strait of Messina between Italy to Sicily in 2014 in 3 hours 59 minutes
• Ned Denison (56, USA/Ireland, MSF bio here) did a 12.8 km Thomas of the Strait of Messina between Italy to Sicily in 2014 in 3 hours 57 minutes
• Sarah Thomas (37, USA, MSF bio here) did a 132 km four-way crossing of the English Channel in 2019 in 54 hours 10 minutes 0 seconds (11:26 on first leg + 12:40 on second leg + 12:58 on third leg + 17:04 on fourth leg)
• Greg O’Connor (52, USA, MSF bio here) did a 30.6 km Thomas of Lake Willoughby in Vermont in 2021 in 11 hours 5 minutes (2:23 on first leg + 2:37 on second leg + 2:42 on third leg + 3:23 on fourth leg).
• Nadine Bennett (52, Canada, MSF bio here) did a 32 km Thomas of Lake Willoughby in Vermont in 2025 in 13 hours 8 minutes (2:54 on first leg + 3:06 on second leg + 3:23 on third leg + 3:35 on fourth leg).

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