Last weekend was the Lake Gaston Crossing, a wonderful community affair in which practically every lake resident crosses the 1 mi lake. Folks get to choose their preferred mode of transportation - some walk across the bridge, some cross in man-powered vessels. and the truly aquatic inclined swim across.I was introduced as the "target" for swimmers to chase.
I felt a little silly, especially when a young kid zapped me with his evil eye. I joked that this was a perfect swim for a navigationally challenged gal like me, since we had a lane line to follow the whole time. It would be impossible for me to get lost - famous last words!
We then piled into a World War II era amphibious landing vessel, which added to the swim's bad-ass factor. The landing vessel took us past the rocky shoreline so that we could enter the water safely. Certainly, it's a privilege to use such a vessel voluntarily, for a recreational swim. I'm grateful to those who boarded the vessel under less desirable circumstances, protecting a way of life that makes swims such as these possible.
We dove into the water and hightailed it to the shoreline. Being a directional dufus, I started to swim on the wrong side of the C-shaped lane line, leading me off-track. But I was the swimming target, with a bulls-eye on my cap. So the rest of the swimmers followed me off course! We went the wrong way until the support crew intercepted me to tell me where to go. Sorry guys, my bad!
I was happy to be the first person out of the water, despite my directional snafu. Local newspapers covered the event and wrote some very nice articles:http://www.rrdailyherald.com/articles/2010/08/16/feature/doc4c67478f90c88831785449.txt
http://www.rrdailyherald.com/articles/2010/08/14/sports/doc4c67442b44ff5535466211.txt
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