Courtesy of Phi White.
As we close down a remarkable, robust, and joyful season In Search of Memphre, we’re hoisting a toast to the 10 Swimmer Scouts who successfully made the crossing, the five who didn’t make it all the way this time, but left it all in the lake before they pulled, and the merry band of Boat Pilots and Crew who escorted and supported each swimmer on this part of their journey in the open water:
- Caroline Block [shown above] in 17 hours 23 minutes on June 17th under the guidance of escort pilots Phil White, Gary Coburn, and Robert Roberge with support crew Janine Serell, Travelers Rest, SC and Shelly Roberge. Read about her journey here.
- Sara Wolf in 17 hours and 22 minutes on July 8th under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Robert Roberge, Gary Coburn, Teresa Gerade, and Shelly Roberge. Read about her journey here.
- Isabella Gerardi in 14 hours, 1 minute on July 8th under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Phil White, Vera Rivard, and Kristen Gerardi. Read about her journey here.
- Joe Infantino 11 hours 16 minutes on July 15th under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Gary Coburn, Donna Dauphinais, Melissa Burroughs, and Kathleene Marcil. Read about his journey here.
- Cynthia Aguilar Valdéz in 12 hours 18 minutes on July 15th under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Phil White, Margaret Rivard, and Marcela Varela Loaeza. Read about her journey here.
- Sisters Vera Rivard and Margaret Rivard completed a tandem swim in 35 hours 34 minutes on August 13th – 14th with a south-to-north crossing of 15 hours 42 minutes and a north-to-south crossing of 19 hours 44 minutes under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Phil White, Rob Anderson, Darcie Deblois-Rivard, Kevin Rivard, Joe Orlowski, and Kathleene Marcil. Read about their journey here.
- Austin Frazer in 14 hours, 20 minutes on August 22nd under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Gary Coburn, Margaret Rivard, and Teresa Gerade. Read about his journey here.
- Piotr Biankowski in 15 hours 58 minutes on August 22nd under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Robert Roberge, Vera Rivard, Beata Zwolinska, and Aleksandra Kabelis. Read about his journey here.
- Matthias Kaßner in 19 hours 47 minutes on August 27th under the guidance of escort pilots and crew Gary Coburn, Vera Rivard, Ina Kaßner, and Paula Yankauskas. Read about is journey here.
Winding down this extraordinary, robust, and joyful season of open water swimming the length o Lake Memphremagog, we had a chance to reflect.
Each swim was its own beast of a swim. The night portion can be stunningly beautiful, mysterious and magical, but for some it can be cold and disorienting. The last 8 miles are well known for their challenge. With our use of three-day windows, the conditions were generally far more favorable than they were in the early years of The Search. The spirit unleashed during these swims was inspiring.
Over the course of the summer four records were broken. Joe Infantino finished in 11 hours 16 minutes, beating the record set by David Dammerman in 2012. Vera and Margaret Rivard set the record for the longest tandem swim in the history of the sport with their 50-mile double cross. They also set the record for the youngest double crossers of Lake Memphremagog. Caroline Block set the record for the earliest crossing of the season. Piotr Biankowski became the seventh swimmer to claim the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims, behind Sarah Thomas, Elaine Kornbau Howley, Craig Lenning, Pat Gallant-Charette, Steve Stievenart, and Shannon House Keegan.
And, we added to the list of countries who have been represented in The Search. Flags of Mexico, Poland, and Germany now fly on the Clubhous Wall. They join France, Canada, and Great Britain from previous years. Our planet came to seem smaller, even as our little world in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont seemed to grow larger.
This year marked a return to the use of the Newport City Dock and Boat Ramp for the start of the swim. This was made possible with the support and approval of Mayor Linda Joy Sullivan, City Manager, Jonathan DeLaBruere, Mike Brown, Director of Newport City Parks and Recreation, and the Newport City Council. This has been a hard fight, fought over many years after the previous Newport administration kicked us off the ramp. But we’re back; and it felt wonderful.
Spot Tracker services were provided by NEKOWSA in collaboration with Evan Morrison. The world was able to follow our Scouts as they plied their way up the lake. Again, the planet felt smaller.
Special thanks to the Canadian Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for facilitating our crossing into Canada and returning back to the US. Without their support, these international swims would not be possible.
In Search of Memphre is held with the support of Barbara Malloy, Vermont’s First Lady Dracontologist, who has documented over 170 sightings of Memphre going back to 1816.
2025
One of our favorite parts of closing the books on 2024 is entering the list of Swimmer Scouts who completed their crossings of the lake on our web page of Memphre Finishers and Times. This year we linked their names to the write ups about their swims. It gave us an opportunity to relive their swims. We lingered on each.
Adding these ten Knights Memphre to the list also gave us a chance to look back over the decade and a half of Swimmer Scouts who have joined the Search. In 2011 Elaine Kornbau Howley and I came up with the idea of launching an amateur swim the 25-mile length of Lake Memphremagog. Since then, a total of 60 solo swimmers have successfully made the crossing with a total of 67 crossings, including 4 double crossings (Sarah Thomas, Stephen Rouch, Vera and Margaret Rivard) and 3 separate crossings by Charlotte Brynn and 2 by Paula Yankauskas.
During this time, we’ve tried many different formats to support our swimmers. Looking back to what I call “the pioneer days” fills me with amazement that we enjoyed any success at all. The early pioneers were brave and strong, facing down daunting conditions with scant support and a fist in the face of the challenge. Even then, one described her first Memphre swim as “The most beautiful and joyful swim of my life.” Camaraderie was intense and lifetime bonds were forged.
We learn and improve each year. We moved away from kayak escort of the first year to little aluminum motorboats as escorts. In 2019, we started building our fleet of support pontoons: first one then two owned by Kingdom Games, with others borrowed from friends. From pickup pilots (in those little aluminum boats), who often knew nothing about the lake and worked off paper charts even at night, we have moved to the use of trained and experienced pilots, who know the lake and who navigate with the assist of Navionics to help guide us at night.
This year, Newport Downtown Development led the charge to obtain VOREC grant funds to support local stakeholders in hosting and promoting outdoor recreation in the Newport area. These funds allowed us to upgrade our two pontoon boats a bit and train an expanded corps of escort boat pilots, necessary to grow the capacity of The Search to meet the increasing demand by swimmers from all over North America and the world.
During the past three years we have offered 6, then 7, then 8 three-day windows over the course of the summer, picking the best day of the three to make the crossing. We generally have started at midnight to assure that we arrive in Magog in the daylight.
This past year, Caroline Block persuaded us to open a window in mid-June. Turned out that water temperature was 65 to 67°F. It was almost too warm for the likes of her. As a result, we decided to open two June windows in 2025, designed especially for those who want to swim in colder waters. Then Caroline persuaded us to open an even earlier June window. Perfect preparation for Loch Ness later in her summer. Hence, our offering of nine three-day windows during the Summer of 2025.
Again in 2025, we have made arrangements for the use of three escort pontoon boats, coupled with our hearty corps of Memphre Escort Pilots. This allows us to take three Swimmer Scouts in each window. Also, we have extended the range of departure times from midnight to 5 am, depending on the weather conditions, the likely speed of the swimmer, and the amount of daylight available in any particular window.
12 solo swimmers and one relay team, the Mighty Mermaids, have already signed on for The Search in 2025. It’s a great mix of experience and those taking on the longest swims of their lives. And we’re not done gathering the 2025 posse. We have room for as many as 9 more. Here’s the link to the The Search 2025 – Windows and Roster.
Courtesy of Phil White for the Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.