Jennifer Dutton - Lake George

Lake George Village to Ticonderoga

32.2 miles

22 hours, 51 minutes on August 8-9, 2016

Observed and documented by Janine Serell

Swimmer

  • Name: Jennifer S. Dutton
  • Age on swim date: 47
  • Nationality: US
  • Resides: Wayland, Massachusetts, USA
  • Major marathon swims completed:

Swim Route

Length of Lake George, New York, south-to-north. 32.2 miles from Lake George Village, NY to Ticonderoga, NY.

  • Route Type: one-way, non-stop
  • Start: Lake George Village Dock, 43°25’19.22”N, 73°42’40.65”W
  • Finish: Diane’s Rock, Ticonderoga, NY. 43°49’34.07”N, 73°25’34.45”W
  • Start: Lake George Village Dock, 43°25’19.22”N, 73°42’40.65”W
  • Route Distance: 32.2 statute miles / 51.8 km

Support Personnel

  • Andy Dutton - pilot
    • vessel - pontoon out of Snug Harbor South
  • Emery Dutton - crew
  • Janine Serell - observer

Rules

MSF Standard, no deviations or exceptions.

Swim Data

  • Start: August 8, 2016, 19:37 (EDT)
  • Finish: August 9, 2016. 18:25 (EDT)
  • Elapsed: 22 hours, 51 minutes

Summary of Conditions

Before midnight slight tail wind and normal early evening boat chop.
Through daybreak Same slight wind, less boat traffic after sunset.
Mid morning Wind started to increase, cross direction and bounce off rock formations at shore.
Through afternoon Unpredictable chop all directions 1-2 ft.
Wind and chop dropped off in last leg of the swim in sheltered/shallow water.

  • Water Temp: 75F
  • Air Temp: 60F (low) - 82F (high)
  • Wind Speed: 3-10 mph, S turning to N-NW
  • Other Notable Events: Nothing out of the ordinary. Water level very low this year, so hazards evident but avoidable.

GPS Track

Hourly trackpoint interval

  • Download original track data: CSV

Observer Log

by Janine Serell

Download original log (PDF)

Swimmer Narrative Account

We have now seen Lake George in all of her glory! 22 hrs 51 minutes.

Beware: oversharing ahead :) You can just skip to the pictures if you’d like (all photo creds to Emery)

  • Conditions were gorgeous to start - fairly calm, air and water temps fantastic (even a bit warm until the sun set).
  • My brain had some migraine-type issues with movement (thanks again TBI hx!) so I did not keep down more than a feed or two before daybreak. BUT it was unbelievably beautiful out there - dare I say there might have been a little tailwind breeze? The stars…
  • Sunrise was magical on many levels - the beauty, of course, and my decision to go to small feeds every 20 mins instead of 40 min intervals helped me actually keep some calories in my body, hurray! Those were REALLY good hours!
  • Fast forward a while - it got a bit er, rocky. Turns out that when a lake is surrounded by rock faces (not sandy beaches) the waves just buffet off the rocks and create a crazy turbulence and 2 foot chop situation. NOW I get it!
  • Suffice it to say that the last 8 hours consisted of me taking a feed, then passing it to the fish, then yelling at the water to STOP MOVING for heaven’s sake- just five minutes of shelter, is that too much to ask, etc! And yes, I had some interesting hallucinations but at least I KNEW they weren’t real. The rock faces were not closing in nor was Emery lying atop the boat sunshade (again)
  • I decided to get out at about 30 miles. Andy said no.
  • The last 3 miles were tough, but they always are.
  • Landed at Diane’s Rock (which I was starting to think did not even EXIST by this point).
  • Thank you: ANDY Dutton for being my ROCK. AGAIN. Emery Dutton is AMAZING. Janine Serell: thank you so much for stepping in and Observing - it was an AMAZING and unforgettable experience and I was/am grateful everyday that I have an overwhelming amount of support for these projects. Also, Megan and Mark Lucier from Wayland were INVALUABLE land support (and sticky-bun/hot tea for crew support).
  • Even at my mental low-points in my journey up that breathtaking lake I tried (and mostly succeeded) to stay GRATEFUL and that was my goal. Finishing was good, too.

Photos

Dusk August 8.

Mid-morning August 9.

Afternoon August 9.

The finish.