by Jessica Kieras
When Stacey Wong made plans to travel from San Francisco to Chamonix for a hiking trip, she decided to throw a marathon swim on top. Having already completed both the Width and Viking routes on Lake Tahoe, she wanted a good sized swim to help prepare for the length of Tahoe on August 14 (spoiler alert: she was successful).
Have you ever visited another country and wondered, “has anyone ever done a long swim here?” The LongSwims Database is a good way to find out, and that’s how Stacey learned of Lac d’Annecy, including previous marathon swims done there by Martyn Webster (7/2020) and fellow South End Rowing Club member, Van Cornwall (10/2022).
Jean Christophe Marcel piloted both previous swims, but he was not available for the dates Stacey had in mind. She used the “click and boat” app to connect with Alexandre Insacco and Clara Darnet, who served as boat pilot and land crew, respectively. Fellow endurance athletes, Clara and Alexandre were a great fit to support Stacey in this adventure along with her partner, Kirill.
Conditions were mostly friendly with wind between 0-10 kph and water temperatures 73-76 Fahrenheit. However, an unexpected challenge occurred when Stacey’s blender bottle partially filled with lake water as Kirill reeled it in after the first feed. Not realizing that the bottle was now partly filled with lake water and not leftover feed, Kirill had her finish it on the next feed, despite it being a lot of liquid. This led to an aching stomach and low energy, but also an opportunity to display her resilience.
“I requested extra caffeine and calories, which slowly brought me back to life,” she said. It worked, and she recovered her energy in time to handle some increased wind through Petite Lac.
I asked her if she had advice for swimmers on how to problem solve similar issues after they’ve occurred. “At the end of the day, your crew is there to problem-solve and put you on the best course to success. However, it’s impossible for them to help if they do not know of the problem. Since I was trying to practice fast feeds on this swim, I wasn’t as vocal as I could have been about the stomach issues I was experiencing. In retrospect, it would have been well worth it to stop and ask for help!”
Still, Stacey still finished the 13.5 km route in a brisk 4:10.41, pending ratification. “A good reminder that the mind does not always reflect how the body is actually performing!” she wrote in her swim documentation.
I asked what swimmers might consider in locating a boat pilot using, “click and boat”, which she recommends for those looking for a boat captain in Europe.
“Similar to any booking site, go with hosts that have lots of solid reviews. Ask to connect with your captain over Whatsapp and arrange a short phone call. It was very helpful to talk through all of the details of the swim: what I wanted to do, what the expected route was, when the best start time would be, what my crew would be doing, and what I expected from the boat (please follow on this side, X feet away, and on this course). Be prepared to send your captain a detailed GPS track that they can load into their navigation system,” she said.
With more swimmers recently completing this idyllic route on a picturesque lake, it will be interesting to see who does it next.
