stories

Nineteenth Annual Swim

Swim Story 2019 The water temperature was nearly perfect at 24C/75F, air temperature was 21/22C with overcast skies and some sunny periods. The swimmers and crew were anticipating the winds picking up just as the swim traditionally gets tougher. Each day this past week, the winds have been strong with gust in the 25-35 km/hour […]

Eighteenth Annual Swim

Swim Story 2018 A remarkable swim with less than ideal conditions! It was a lovely sunrise with a forecast of possible rain beginning at 0800 hours and finishing by 1100 hours.  Twenty-one-ish degrees Celsius with 27.5C/80F water.  Warm for a long swim – the overcast and cooler temperature great for our paddlers.  That’s not exactly […]

Sixteenth Annual Swim for the Cure

Swim Story 2016 We were anticipating very hot and humid conditions for our crew and worked hard and were successful in getting everyone in the water before 0745 hours this year. It was an unusual year in that there was no current in the river moving us forward and head winds from the 1 km […]

Fifteenth Anniversary 12.8 Km Swim and Relays

Swim Story 2015 This was the first year that we began the swim anticipating that the swimmers would be pulled before finishing as the thunderstorm was predicted to begin as early as 1000 hours.  In the end our day was nearly perfect with almost no wind, overcast skies reducing the sun exposure for the crew, […]

Fourteenth Annual 12.8 Km Swim and Relays

Swim for the cure swimmers

Swim Story 2014 This year we had 23 swimmers, 3 teams, one person completing a 7.8 solo swim and two swimmers completing a 3.5 km swim from Coulter Bay. It was the usual early morning and our day began and remained mostly overcast.  The cloud cover is great for the crew and the unseasonably cooler […]

TWELFTH ANNUAL 13-KM SWIM

Swim for the cure swimmers

It was another amazing year and swimming with Hannah was a highlight, reminding me why I started this swim 12 years ago.  This is the second time in the twelve years of the swim that a young woman has entered the water with a message of hope for her mom and in turn for all […]

Tenth Anniversary 13-km / 26-km Swim

It was a dark, moonless night when the first “runner boats” (Don Popplow and Steve Bang) braved the eerie silence at 2:30 a.m. to head to Severn Falls and pick up three of the 25.6 km swimmers and their crew. . . This was a special year, the 10th Anniversary swim! As a result there […]

Ninth Annual 13-km Swim

The summer leading up to the Swim for the Cure 2009 was notably cold and rainy, playing havoc with the Severn River water temperature. This year 27 swimmers participated, the most swimmers to date – and we also experienced the coldest water temperature to date! There were a few warmer patches along the route, probably […]

Eighth Annual 13-km Swim

Storm passes (Jema relaxes) The day began at 4:15 a.m. as Jema (our Cattle Dog) sensed the impending storm. She doesn’t like this kind of weather and started pawing at the bed trying to get some comfort. Thunder and lightning began shortly after with winds and strong rain. Thank goodness for Jim Shaw and Don […]

Seventh Annual 13-km Swim

The sun was not yet up when the first swimmers and crew were arriving at the starting point at Swift Rapids. This year we left from the concrete wall on the north side instead of the narrow pillar. The majority of swimmers were in the water before 7:30 a.m. hoping to avoid the wind and […]