Monday, August 28, 2023

Swimming to the Moon and Beyond, Part IV - To Hell and Back

Saturday:  We'taco reported that  she and Capt'n estimated the breaking waves at 3-5 feet "but the swells and lows were huge.  A few of us just played in the water, no real swimming." 

And a brief update on Friday morning's swim:

Water Temp: Had to be at  least 72
Air Temp: 74
Wind:  NNE
Waves: BIG waves from NNE, also surf
Skies:  Cloudy gray but beautiful
Clarity: Not part of the game today
Kru, early shift:  Linda The Lamprey, New person Laura
Kru, regular shift:  Showgirl, New person Laura (again), Real Canadian, A La Mode, Dragonfly

Pretty wavy, with waves breaking on the beach.

"How bad is it?" RC asked the Lamprey when she and Laura came ashore.

We all laughed.  "It's never bad!"  We had a fairly pleasant swim to the vicinity of Birches and back.

Now for the amazing Swim to the Moon!

Epic Swim:  Swim to the Moon
Location:  Hell, Michigan.  For reference, about 25 miles west of Ann Arbor.
Various distance options including 5k (Half Moon) 10k (Full Moon)
Water temp: low 70s? Warm, no wetsuits.  Swim buoys, but could not be orange!!
Conditions:  Pretty flat.  
Time & Date:  Sunday, August 20
Klode Kru: Lydia the Tatooed Lady, Hurricane Swimdy, Magic Mike
Additional swimmers:  About 175 people

SO PROUD of our Klode Kru strongly representing us at these regional swims and turning in kick-ass times to boot!   All three Kru members swam the 5k Half Moon Swim. Hurricane Swimdy and Magic Mike placed 2nd and 4th in their respective age groups.  All  however had strong performances and we are so impressed that they made the 5-plus hour trek to foreign waters and did the swim.


Pre-race:  Tatooed Lady, Jen May (another Milwaukee area swimmer) and Hurricane Swimdy

Hurricane Swimdy smiles for the camera:



as does Tatooed Lady:



more smiling by TTL:


Reports were that the venue was beautiful and varied including a tunnel and bridges, the temps were warm, the race well-organized and there is a magical lunar pull for people to swim further than they thought possible.  An event to aspire to in 2024!

TTL paused for a dip at Warren Dunes State Park on her way back home to WI:


Let it be known that TTL is one of Klode's YEAR ROUND swimmers - she has crossed the ice barrier to swim!

Congratulations to all the Klode Kru Swimmers to the Moon - you made it to Hell and Back!  We celebrate you and are so proud to have you repping!




4 comments:

Wytosk said...

All the swims are amazing! Swim to the Moon sounds so dang fun too.

Filed under Things I Think About Instead of Typing Up Meeting Minutes:

I would love an adventure-esque swim race where you need to find things. Like landmarks. 2 Cute Chairs, 3 Piers (haha suckers), Love Rock, Flat Rock, Cheapskate Bay. Maybe prove it by returning with planted tokens (golfballs in your suit, duh). Obviously we win the race. Throw in a challenge like RW24. Sticky Holey tournaments. A Pitsch tasting booth (guess the vint). Sigh.

FYI yall the water temp is consistently glorious this time of year.

Moondaug said...

Super blue full moon tonight should be great. Especially if one were so inclined to swim in the moon pull waves of this summers season last full moon.

Conner said...

I plan to be there around 7:45pm tonight!

eric jernberg said...

Conner Moondaug, Ill give it a shot

Ericj