Alligators 🐊

Well…this year with two of my swim events scuttled due to weather; swimming across Lac Leman (Lausanne to Evian) and the Cascade Lakes series of races in Central Oregon I had been a bit stymied on what to put my solid swim training to use for. What to do…? I looked up and down the west coast for unique swims and/or events that I could pull off or enter with short notice; however nothing jumped out.

There was some mild desperation and resignation that there would be no milestone swim this year. I then remembered we had a trip planned to the east coast for a wedding and to see Sean on the east end of Long Island.

With this new realization in mind it was an easy leap to enter the Swim for Alligator Light swim in the Florida Keys. Its around mile marker 87 on A1A in the quaint town of Islomorada.

Redbull.com in 2019 had called it one of the toughest swims challenges in the world (not so sure about that). That was certainly a plus however the main driver was that legendary, Coach Jen, who has helped me with multiple swims now coaches in Islomorada at the Ron Levy Aquatic Park and is very active in the local swimming community and she said it would be a good swim to do. So we were off to the Keys.

The Alligator Light is in the Florida Strait and was built in 1873. It’s has a skeleton frame and stands at 136 tall. It was named after the Navy ship USS Aligátor that ran aground there in 1822. No there are no alligators there! The light was retired from service in 2014. A group of local swimmers formed a foundation to preserve the lighthouse and the proceeds from the swim go towards restoration.

It’s a 8 mile swim which felt like the right distance and the same distance as swimming across Lac Leman. I only had two concerns, maybe I should have had three. First, I needed a support kayaker. Second, I was a bit concerned about the warm water temp and dehydration. And lastly, I should have thought in hindsight more ahout jellyfish 🤷🏼‍♂️. I could only really control one of the three and with some work on Facebook I found a kayaker. I was ready to go.

We got there a day and a half before the swim and got to enjoy the very, very kicked back lifestyle of the Keys.

I also got in a shakeout swim, at a new pool for me (#142), the Ron Levy Pool Aquatic Center. A very nice pool close to the ocean.

As this was an organized swim and/or a race there was pre-race briefing the day before. Five hundred plus people were swimming and the briefing gave me a chance size up the competition-likely not a healthy practice 😉. There were about 150+ solo swimmers and the balance were 2 or 3 person relays where swimmers would trade off swimming and kayaking. With solo swimmers, relay swimmers and support kayakers it was going to be a zoo in the water with 500+ swimmers and kayakers.

It was an early bell in the morning and a memorable sunrise. While the sunrise was memorable so too was the chop in the water!

The start was very civil with swimmers starting in groups of 10 or 20 with solo swimmers first.

By the first buoy at about a quarter mile out you had to synch up with your support kayaker. I took it out in a nice measured pace knowing I had to be wary of the warm water and dehydration. By the time I hit the first buoy it was obvious this was going to be choppy swim. Despite my best efforts and my kayaker’s best efforts we hadn’t connected. Sooo…I waited probably 7-10 minutes for her to catch up and we were finally able to proceed. I guess I went out stronger than expected and/or we didn’t look hard enough for each other. So time lost but…🤷🏼‍♂️

Finally, together we battled the strong chop, four miles out to the Light. The water was warm but, not to bad and I could see the kayak bobbing up and down as I would take a breath or a feed.

As we settled in I began to see funny things floating by. At first, it was just a few and they were kinda small and then there got to be a lot of them and not so small-jellyfish! 🪼

I started by trying to swim around them however there ended up being so many I just swam through them. The “kiss” of a jellyfish can be a bit electrifying for a few minutes. They were loving 😘 all over me! I will always remember my kayaker saying to me being “kissed” by a jellyfish just reminds you that are-alive…well I was really living!

Almost as fast as this vast swath of jellies arrived they seemed to disappear and there was a bit less chop. As we got closer to the Light the water was a magical light blue and you could see the ocean floor. At the midpoint, the Light, I took a moment to tread water and swim on my back to appreciate this historical skeletal structure.

The chop on return to the beach was at our back so there was a bit of an assist. Timed well you could ride the wave a meter or so.

My memory was apparently very short as I forgot that I had to swim back through the jelly patch. It was another love fest! ❤️

The beach was in sight and the push from waves settled and so it was a mild slog fest to the finish.

It was a great feeling to finish-4 hours 42 minutes! A bit longer than I had expected or hoped for. But hey, its open water and you can’t control the weather.

While my initial swim plans for 2024 had been scuttled it was a great swim and really fun! I will definitely do it again one day. I enjoyed the race aspect quite a bit and think that is something I need to keep in mind for future swim planning. This race also reminded me to “enjoy the process” of swimming and training. Not all things go as planned however I so enjoy swimming and traing with my friends. It also keeps me somewhat fit. As they say, it’s not just the destination but the journey.

PS-and yes when I look back at my time and ranking I subtract the 7-10 minute wait for the kayaker. 😂