Jaimie Monahan - Lake George

Lake George Village to Ticonderoga

32.2 miles

21 hours, 13 minutes on August 6-7, 2016

Observed and documented by Janine Serell

Swimmer

Swim Route

Length of Lake George, NY: 32.2 miles, from Lake George Village, NY to Ticonderoga, NY.

The long, thin lake is oriented mostly north-south, and her track followed a more or less straight line up the Lake and through some channels at the “Narrows,” the pinched middle of the Lake dotted with islands. The finish was at the historic starting point at “Diane’s Rock,” named after Diane Struble, who first swam the Lake in 1958 in 35 hours and 30 minutes, and the start was at the Village dock where Diane Struble finished. The eight people who preceded Jaimie since 1958 are believed to have followed this route. The best time was 18:49:22 by David Dammerman.

  • 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
  • Route Distance: 32.2 statute miles / 51.8 km

Support Personnel

  • Robert Singer - pilot
  • Janine Serell - observer
  • Alex Arevalo - kayaker
  • Elizabeth Tabor - kayaker
  • Christy GiamBruno - crew
  • Arik Thormahlen - crew

Rules

MSF Standard, no deviations or exceptions.

Swim Data

  • Start: August 6, 2016. 08:26:00 (EDT)
  • Finish: August 7, 2016. 05:39:00 (EDT)
  • Elapsed: 21 hours, 13 minutes

Summary of Conditions

Great conditions, Water temperature a warm 77. It was a very dark night with a new moon, punctuated by fireworks in the evening, shooting stars all night, and the Milky Way in full glory.

  • Water Temp: 77F
  • Air Temp: 60F (low) - 84F (high)
  • Wind Speed: 0-10 mph SW turning to NW
  • Other Notable Events: Nothing out of the ordinary. Small fish visible in the ultra-clear water. One scary passage in the middle of the night by a non-participating watercraft who seemed to be coming right at us until we shined lights and waved him off. We reported him to the police from the Lake George Park Commission enforcement patrol.

Observer Log

by Janine Serell

Download original log (PDF)

Narrative Account

by Bob Singer

Jaimie Monahan was the second swimmer who attempted this swim last June 18 and did not finish. She took it as a personal challenge to try it again. She assembled most of the same crew and decided to do it south to north. She started in the morning to avoid any time pressure on her, as we were all willing to go 36 hours with her.

This was the smoothest marathon swim I’ve ever seen. She got into the warm water and went off with a smile. She kept an amazingly steady pace and at one point, nine hours into it, when we asked her how she felt she smiled and said, “I feel happy.” Even at the end, she stayed happy (see photos). At one point in the middle of the night she started to veer away from the kayak and we splashed her to get her attention. She said that she thought she’d fallen asleep.

She did well with her Carbo Pro feeds; just a few times choosing to have partial feeds. After it was over she was talkative, and happy. She started to be a little cold in the car ride, but never really chilled.

The crew had a great time, the swimmer had a fabulous time, and it was a wonderful experience for us all.

Photos