Lake Nipissing lived up to its reputation for being an unpredictable and at times dangerous lake.
After 15 hours of swimming in the rain and sun and cold, it took a combination of powerful winds and strong choppy waves to end marathon swimmer Marilyn Korzekwa’s attempt to complete a 28-kilometre swim of the lake.
She was within two kilometres of the shore when the swim was called off.
“I’m confident I would have made it if this freak wind hadn’t come up,” said Korzekwa wrapped in a blanket safely back on land.
It was not the ending she wanted, but it could have just as easily been a tale of tragedy when the swim suddenly turned into a rescue mission.
The winds were strong enough to cause two Zodiacs and a kayak, part of the flotilla which had been guiding her since 7:30 that morning, to capsize sending people into the cold dark water.
Andy Geseron, captain of the lead boat explained what happened so close to shore under the darkness of night.
“Three different people ended up in the water. The one was in the kayak and his kayak ended up filling up with water so he was basically sunk. So, Tim from another boat went and got him. At the same time that was happening, that is when Shelagh ended up capsizing the Zodiac. So, I went and got her. She was trying to save the Zodiac and we were saying forget the Zodiac, get on board. And it was a challenge to get her on board because of the waves.”
Swim master Shelagh Freedman was the representative from Solo Swims of Ontario.
She was there to officiate the sanctioned swim and is responsible for the safety of the swimmer and the crew.
“Out here we ran into really bad weather at the end and it was dark and we have minimal crew because of COVID. We were not able to keep proper eyes on her,” Freedman explained.
“The dinghy I was driving flipped over in the wave even though we were trying our best to be able to navigate and stay with her. It was no longer safe and she was tired and we weren’t able to get nutrition to her. We were having a hard time keeping track of her and so it needed to be called. We were just about a mile from shore so it was really unfortunate. But she gave it a great shot. She did wonderfully. If we had been able to stick beside her and get her what she needed more safely, she would have been able to continue to swim but it was no longer safe.”
Korzekwa knew that ending the swim was the right thing to do.
“When I saw the Zodiac upside down, I thought ‘This isn’t good. I hope everybody is okay.’ Clearly if the waves are so big that the Zodiac is upside down nobody is going to come and be beside me. So, I’d be swimming in these waves all by myself with just the light on me. It was a safety issue,” said a visibly disappointed Korzekwa.
“Everybody was worried about everybody, and the waves just kept getting bigger and bigger. They were like 10 feet. The captain said that the winds were 65 kilometers an hour. This was not in the forecast. This was a freak thing that came out of nowhere.”
The lead captain said the winds were a challenge throughout the day.
“When we first left Campbell’s Bay at the start, it was fine and then once we were heading towards the Goose the winds picked up. There were probably three to four-foot waves but then it died down. It was more the wind and trying to stay on course that was the challenge because if you veer off course, she’s swimming for nothing, you’re adding kilometers to the swim,” Geseron said.
“We eventually had to go rescue her so she got onboard our boat. We ended up losing our Zodiac at the same time. So, our Zodiac is out there somewhere. The main thing is everyone got out safe. It was definitely a good call, 100 per cent.”
Geseron was blown away by Korzekwa’s strength and determination.
“Unfortunately, Marilyn didn’t finish the swim but there is no shame in calling it on account of safety. In my eyes, she finished the swim. My hat is off to her,” said Geseron.
“When the rain came down this morning it was so cold with the wind and the rain blowing. I’m blown away by Marilyn’s efforts. I cannot believe what she accomplished today,”
The 63-year-old Hamilton psychiatrist has swum some of the most difficult bodies of water in the world including the English Channel, setting records along the way.
This is just the second time she has had to be evacuated from a swim.
“With the conditions that were thrown at me, it was certainly international calibre. I was having flashbacks to the English Channel between the high waves and the winds and the cold,” said Korzekwa.
“The air was cold at the start and the wind was chilly. The north wind was really what chilled me and I never quite warmed up so I was kind of shivering most of the swim except for about two hours when the sun came out. I was really wanting to finish it so it was a disappointment that it didn’t happen, but safety first,” said the swimmer.
Initially, she gave herself a five-day window to complete the swim, but to repeat the swim with such a short turnaround isn’t feasible.
“The reason we went today even though the north wind was forecast for an hour, it ended up being more like two hours, was because it was supposed to cool down, so next week the season will be over. It will take my shoulders a couple of weeks to recover. “
Friends and family, some travelling from as far away as Simcoe and Montreal, were waiting for her at the end of the swim.
“Another reason I wanted to finish was because I heard all kinds of people were here waiting. That helped motivate me.”
She has plenty of time to consider tackling the lake again next summer.
“I’ll have to think about that. I’m worried if there is a second wave of COVID I won’t get any pool time this winter. This year missing two and a half months of training was tough. So, we’ll see.”
An avid skier, Korzekwa used the swim to fundraise for the Nipissing Trackers, a downhill ski program run out of Laurentian Ski Hill in North Bay for special needs children and is supported by the Nipissing Association for Disabled Youth (NADY).
