… or at least it will this Saturday, May 26 at 8:00am! woohoo!!!
Of course it could have started this weekend… but who knew?! A week ago today Lake Ontario was 51F / 10C… so I really didn’t think it would warm up to the mid-50’s by the weekend (besides I had to drive to Buffalo to pick up my son, Dylan, who was flying back from University of Maryland for the summer!). I figured the mid-50’s would be a good place to start, even if it had to be in a wetsuit.
But then we had a whole week of sunshine… not particularly hot… but not a cloud in the sky for a week makes a big difference! I made the executive decision to wait an extra week since we didn’t start until June 4 in 2011… May 29 in 2010… June 20 in 2009… and on June 21 of 2008 the water was only 51F! Apparently Lake O doesn’t always stick strictly to the calendar!
As it turned out, however, it was too beautiful to stay away. I heard a few people went up to Gulliver’s Lake and were looking at Kelso too, which were both in the low 50’s earlier in the week too… but presumably warming up too.
So yesterday, Joanne had to work, so the kids helped me take the hard-top off the jeep… threw the kayak and wetsuits in the back… cranked the tunes and off to the LOST beach we went! Nice.
I still had no idea how chilly it would be, but I did want to get a decent swim in so I donned a wetsuit, as did Dylan and Jillian… Maisey hopped in the kayak and off we went. And much to my surprise… it was warm! 62F / 16C or so. Crazy.
So we swam about 20 minutes out and 30 back… swam by where we started and out to the pier. I wanted to check out what they’ve done there. They tore it apart and are almost done rebuilding it. They also dumped a few thousand tons of boulders over the edge to act as a breakwater before the waves hit the pier… which means we’ll have to swim around the other side to finish the LOST Race. On the plus side, they said they would put in better ladders for us… but they haven’t yet.
Anyway, the creek was warmer, but there was no reason to have to swim up it… because the water was beautiful. We’re on for next Saturday at 8:00!!! See you down there!!!
PS. get there early as there will be lots of people registering and don’t forget to bring your waiver, registration and cheque or cash for whichever you want to sign up for:
- LOST Swimming only
- LOST Swimming & LOST Race
- LOST Swimming & 10k National Championship
(forms and info are found under the “How to become a LOST Swimmer” or under the “LOST Races” tab, whichever).
(you can also sign up later, or on race day, but you save money if you do it now!)
Cheers,
Rob