New Lake Monster!
Hailing all the way from the City of Light, here’s Daphne, Lake Monster #139, at the world famous “Échelle 1.” Congrats Daphne!
Swim Report – August 27, 2011 – Yet another perfect one…
We’re on the eve of the Chicago Triathlon, so I didn’t expect to see some of our regulars out this morning. Nevertheless, we had a great turnout, and those who made it out at 6:00am enjoyed a calm, 75F lake with astonishing views of the rising sun to the east.
I won’t spend much time describing things. You can just check out the images below to see what you missed out on!
Pre-swim gathering
Sunrise at water level 1
Sunrise at water level 2
Beth, Michelle, and Joe at the beach
Joe, Lake Monster #138 (congrats!)
Today’s swim video:
Swim Report – August 20, 2011 – Super early Air Show edition
Right now the thunderstorms have moved in, placing a literal and figurative damper on the Chicago Air and Water Show. And, of course, swimming in the lake is out of the question.
But it certainly was not earlier this morning!
I set a painfully early swim start time of 5:45am so we could hopefully get in a swim without too much hassle. For some reason, there is an intense level of lakefront scrutiny the morning of the air show which usually results in a visit to L1 from the local authorities.
As an example, last year we were told by a couple of policemen on four-wheelers that we could not swim out by L1. I explained that we were an organized swim group and that I was a certified lifeguard, and that seemed to appease them (also, one of them by accident ran over my bike with his four-wheeler – so you better believe I used guilt as a lever!). But alas I digress…
We had a great turnout despite the earlier start time, and I urged everyone to get prepped and get in the water as soon as possible. Everyone completed their swim without a hitch, and the conditions were perfect – 75F lake temp, calm waters, and some slight sunshine peeking through the clouds to the east. Plus, four new swimmers got their famous L1 photo shot and earned their much coveted Lake Monster numbers (NOTE: if I messed up anyone’s name below, just send me a note with the correction – I have the memory of a sieve).
And as always, if you slept in, you sure missed out!
Brief sunshine
Annie, Lake Monster #134
Katie, Lake Monster #135
Catherine, Lake Monster #136
Andrew, Lake Monster #137
Swim Report – August 13, 2011 – Ahead of the storm
The forecast called for the possibility of t-storms this morning, but we lucked out – they didn’t arrive until five hours later! So a whole group of us got in a swim to start off the weekend on a high note.
The lake temperature came in at 75F with calm but somewhat murky water. In addition to several regular swimmers, we had Madeline and Brian show up and join the ultracool ranks of the Lake Monsters. And of course, you should have been out there as well!
Skyline shot
The sun peeks through (finally)
Madeline, Lake Monster #132, who came all the way from Dallas (congrats!)
Brian, Lake Monster #133 (congrats!)
Post-swim video
Swim Report – July 23, 2011 – Swim Across America (Go Team Carol!)
The Swim Across America event was cancelled due to e. coli levels at Ohio Street Beech, so we moved the party over to L1 – Carol’s favorite swim spot!
Swim video
Team Carol at L1
Donna, Lake Monster 125
Scott, Lake Monster 126
Laura, Lake Monster 127
Mike, Lake Monster 128
Kelly, Lake Monster 129
Joey, Lake Monster 130 with the birthday girl, Laura!
Lily, Sammy, and Joey
Skyline shot
Post-swim “lemonade”
Swim Report – July 16, 2011 – More Lake Monsters!
I was out of town this beautiful Saturday morning, so Danny took charge and documented a number of new Lake Monsters – Joe (119), Noah (120), Carlos (121), Mike (122), Lindsey (123), and Lynne (124). Below are some of the pics he took. It looks like I really missed out!
Joe
Noah
Carlos
Mike
Hollywood comes to L1
Swim Report – July 14, 2011 – Tropical chops!
I met up with new Lake Monster Brian out at L1 at 6:00am this morning, and the conditions were pretty choppy! We had a steady 5-10 mph wind coming from the southeast, and I was concerned that this might have brought in some of the colder water. Fortunately, that was not the case.
The lake temperature came in at a perfect 68F with no thermoclines. The swim itself was a bit of a challenge, but we managed to get in a short but vigorous workout while we were in the drink. All we were missing were Dave’s inner tubes!
Brian, Lake Monster #118 (congrats!)
The elusive L1 pineapple makes another appearance
Lake Monster from Across the Pond!
Hailing all the way from Switzerland, here is Nina, Lake Monster #117. After her swim, she borrowed Dave’s gear and took the grand tour of the swim area!
Nina, Lake Monster #117 (congrats!)
Exploring the deep!
Rare footage of the elusive Great Lakes Mermaid
Swim Report – July 9, 2011 – Lake Monsters in Wonderland
What can I say other than if you slept in, you missed out on one of the best swims in recorded L1 history!
We had a great turnout of swimmers, most of whom thumbed their noses at the sandman and made it out to catch the amazing sunrise at 5:25am. New Lake Monsters included Denys, Chas, Hieu, Matt, and Cole.
The water temperature came in at a phenomenal 72F with perfectly calm, aquarium clear water. We hopped into the pool just after sunrise and had a magnificent show to the east courtesy of Mother Nature. I must confess, I got so distracted by the spectacle that I forgot to record a video for this morning!
So these images will have to suffice…
Sunrise swimmers
L1
Resident of the aquarium
Chas, Lake Monster #113
Hieu, Lake Monster #114
Matt, Lake Monster #115
Cole, Lake Monster #116 (It’s his lake, we just swim in it…)
Swim report (updated) – Holiday weekend edition
All’s well that ends well…
The weekend started out fantastically on Saturday morning with a whole swarm of Lake Monsters making it out to L1 for a sunrise swim. But we had the little drama with me losing my camera out in the “pool” later on in the morning. So we almost lost all of this great footage to commemorate the swim!
I joined Dave that afternoon, and we both looked for the wayward Cybershot for about an hour. No such luck. But Dave persisted the next morning with his scuba tanks and recovered the still functional camera after another exhaustive search (thanks a bunch again!).
So here are some images from the gorgeous weekend we had here in Chi-town:
Sailboat sunrise
Big turnout at L1
Ben, Lake Monster #109 (congrats!)
Surfer Jack (#53) and Youn Soo Kim (new Lake Monster #110 – congrats!)
Amy, Lake Monster #111 (congrats!)
What my camera saw most of the weekend
Saturday morning’s video
