Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Talk about stepping it up at the age of 60.

Canadian Robin Lajoie is a triathlete, endurance runner and open water swimmer from Hamilton, Ontario.

He began swimming butterfly in the open water years ago and will next attempt a 24-hour all-butterfly swim in Canada on August 5th. “He’s quite serious and certainly more insane than me,” says fellow distance butterflyer Dan Projansky. “To prepare, once a week he does a 17-hour fly swim tethered in a pool.”

Hamilton’s Butterfly For the Birds is a 55 km solo butterfly challenge by Lajoie to swim around Pelee Island in Lake Erie. His charity swim for the birds benefits the Pelee Island’s Bird Sanctuary, an NGO devoted to the study and conservation of wild birds, species at risk, and their habitats. He says, “Swimming around Pelee Island is similar to swimming across Lake Ontario – except it’s warmer.”

He will begin at Point Pelee, will circle Pelee Island from west to east, and then return to Point Pelee. He will be escorted by the vessel Leech Licker with pilot Greg Horoky monitoring VHF channel 16.

To support Lajoie’s attempt, visit here (and #swimforthebirds).

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