Touch the Wall Swimming Movie Screening

On the evening of Saturday August 4, 2012, 17 year-old Missy Franklin won her fourth Gold medal of the London Olympic Games when she swam the backstroke leg of the women’s 4×100 medley relay.  It was Missy’s second world record of the Olympic games; it was her 5th Olympic medal.

It was a crowning moment for swimming’s brightest new star and end of a chapter of her marvelous journey.

That Saturday was also the end of her teammate Kara Lynn Joyce’s long and productive Olympic career.  And though she finished with four Silver medals, just making it to her third Olympics was her greatest accomplishment.

The fortunes of Missy and Kara – and that of their coach, Todd Schmitz – are the stories of Touch the Wall.

Missy’s story is becoming known – an all-American teenager who, when she’s not dominating her competition in the pool can be found doing her homework, hanging out with her friends, or just having fun at whatever she’s doing.  And she possibly might just be the nicest person on the planet.

As for Kara, she finished her college career as one of the most decorated female swimmers.  She has long had the reputation as one of the sport’s hardest workers … and most respected athletes.

Somewhat unexpectedly, they both made the Olympics, and Missy had a phenomenal start to her Olympic career as she won 4 golds and a bronze.

Touch the Wall is the story of how these two amazing women and their coach got to where they are.  It’s a story of winning and losing, of commitment, and of triumph through adversity.  It’s also a story of family, of loving what you do, and having fun with the people around you.

In a world starved for heroes, Missy and Kara stand tall in Touch the Wall.

Event:             Touch the Wall movie screening

Place:              Barrington Area Library – Meeting Room

505 N. Northwest highway
Barrington, IL 60010

Dates:             Friday, January 30, at 6:30 p.m.

                       Saturday, January 31, at 9:00 a.m.

Admission:    $5 per person donation to the BAM and BSC

Hosts:            Barrington Area Masters

                       Barrington Swim Club

Weather & Marathon Swimming

This day from near shore at Dover,
the Harbor looks calm
however mid channel it was force 4+ = big waves. 

Dear Friends,

Weather plays an important part in open water and marathon swimming contributing to your success and failure. at its most basic level of influence, even to the degree of difficulty.

Some weather situations drive resulting sea state and large lake conditions from hundreds of miles away in ways that befuddle most of us, frustrate the hope swimmer waiting to go. In the end you must consult and work with local captains, seamen, ports to determine and plan well these variables to minimize the risks and increase your chances of success.

This summer, like last for me, has seen significant weather related "no-go's"but like Mount Everest or any other endeavour of similar magnitude its part of the challenge.

Below, you will find excerpts from the English Channel Google Group from July 18-19th. This exchange from the venerable Captain Oram and others who pilot swimmers in the English Channels show just the sheer variability and sometimes confusion messages that come from mother nature to unknowing swimmers that may not be accustom to terminology.

For those of you who are not familiar with sea terminology, I strongly suggest before you plan a big open water swim especially in the ocean or great lakes to spend the time to learn the basics - what force means, sea state, tides and current mapping, etc. Words like "rough", "unsettled" usually are code for really tough swimming in 6-10ft swells, white caps, or worse waves one direction and wind the other copping up the seas. It might just make the difference or at least reduce your safety crew "puke factor" from rolling seas. Once you know the basics trust your pilot/captain and let it go.

In the USA NOAA has great resources for inner coastal areas, lakes and rivers and many web sites exist for shipping and sport fishermen that track similar conditions as well as some national parks that have open water as part of the boundary or lake shore.

July 19th 

Actual Weather Forecast from Captain Oram:

Looks like we can go swimming as of tomorrow. (not sure exactly when)
All we have to do is wait for the sea to settle.
 
Sandettie 0900BST is showing WSW 22.9 knots with a 1.6 foot sea 
Water temp is still 59.7°F (15.5°C)
 
Today's forecast is back to Tuesdays with no strong winds on Sunday 

Dover -- Shipping Forecast - Issued: 0405 UTC Thu 19 Jul
Wind -- West 5 or 6, veering northwest 4 later.
Sea State -- Moderate or rough.
Weather -- Showers.
Visibility -- Good
North Foreland to Selsey Bill - Inshore waters forecast
Strong winds are forecast
For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore from 0600 UTC Thu 19 Jul until 0600 UTC Fri 20 Jul
24 hour forecast:
Wind -- Westerly or southwesterly 5 or 6 (Big stuff!), becoming variable 3 or 4 later (Swimmable)
Sea State -- Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather -- Showers, thundery for a time.
Visibility -- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
Wind -- Variable, becoming westerly for a time, 3 or 4.
Sea State -- Moderate becoming slight.
Weather -- Showers, thundery for a time, then fair.
Visibility -- Good, occasionally moderate
Thursday 19th July lunchtime chart -- 
Strong wind gusts until late afternoon (25 to 30 mph) then everything should start to settle.
The Azores high has built in and the last part of the low pressure is leaving the Channel


Midnight 0000 UTC Friday 20th July
Dover HW 0020 BST 6.3 metres
Dover HW 1240 BST 6.5 metres
The Azores high is moving into the Channel and the winds are settling.
Watch the Sandettie light vessel to see how soon the sea settles down.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=62304
Saturday 21st July 000UTC 
Dover HW 0055 BST 6.4 metres
Dover HW 1315 BST 6.6 metres
High pressure dominant in the Channel, just a small ridge over the French side.


Midday Sunday 22July 1200 UTC
Dover HW 0129 BST 6.5 metres
Dover HW 1351 BST 6.7 metres
High pressure still dominant in the Channel with the deep low moving up and through Scotland.
Need updates on the pressure charts to sort out Monday onwards.

July 18th

Dover Shipping forecast
Gale warnings - Issued: 0332 UTC Wed 18 Jul
Southwesterly gale force 8 expected soon

Shipping Forecast - Issued: 1625 UTC Wed 18 Jul
Wind -- Southwest 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first.
Sea State -- Moderate or rough.
Weather -- Showers.
Visibility -- Moderate or good
--------------------------------------
North Foreland to Selsey Bill - inshore waters forecast
Strong winds are forecast
For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore from 1800 UTC Wed 18 Jul until 1800 UTC Thu 19 Jul
24 hour forecast:
Wind -- Southwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in east at first, veering westerly or northwesterly 4 or 5 later.
Sea State -- Moderate or rough.
Weather -- Showers.
Visibility -- Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: 1800 UTC Thursday 19th July to 1800 UTc Fri 20 July
Wind -- West or northwest 4 or 5, becoming variable or west, 3 or 4.
Sea State -- Moderate or rough, becoming slight.
Weather -- Showers.
Visibility -- Good
-------------------------------------

Dover
Western entrance has South Westerly 30 to 35 knots blowing on it at 1600
Sandettie 1600 BST -- SW 24.1knots -- 2.3 foot seas -- 5 sec wave -- 59.7°F (15.4°C)

Sea temperature reached 59.9 °F (15.5°C) this afternoon for a short time.
Air temperature around 58°/ 59F (14.5 to 15°C)
Wind direction is South West - South South Westerly
Short wave pattern of 5 secs most of the time

Looks like it will take a little time to settle

In the beginning....God made the earth, then God made man and man wanted to go for a swim

Welcome


I am inviting you to share (should you choose) in one of my life dreams - to swim the English Channel. Perhaps while sharing this journey we may both be inspired.

This journey while rigorous will be fun, filled with many ups and downs but ultimately no different than life itself. It is the journey that defines oneself.

Please know upfront five things are important to me: my family, my god, your friendship, my community and the journey. Everything else follows. I have the utmost respect to know the first four tenants of my journey lead to the last and this is why I ask for your support?


Lets answer that nagging question WHY? For a moment, open your mind to when you were young and dreamed. As you got older you began to ask yourself, Why ......(you fill in the blank)? Seeking knowledge may have been your answer but deeper, wasn't there more? And today your wise enough to know it is the journey that matters as the result is a forgone conclusion to a successful journey?


For me "why" is simple - Can I swim across the English Channel? Asking"why" presumes you have an outcome, end or result already in mind otherwise why ask the question? Its the "how" that matters isn't it?


My journey is to fulfill one of my life long dreams - swimming the English Channel. It began many years ago when my parents signed me up for swim lessons in Indiana. Their desire to raise their kids in small town America was strong and grew from their up-bringing in rural Midwest states. Later they signed me up for the local swim club with the usual parental desire of helping their child become a better person by learning "life skills" via a sport that creates this opportunity through personal focus, challenge and team work. Thus my journey began and I didn't even know it?


So here are the first steps of my plan.

This blog will be the central place to update folks on where I am in this journey and to hopefully receive feedback. Ultimately I hope to incorporate charitable and maybe even sponsorship features.

During this investigation phase getting the logistic's understood and time table is key. I am already swimming an average 20,000 yards per week (11 miles for you land lubbers) but this is just the beginning. I need to do this for a year to get the base needed and then increase up to 38,000 yards as the event nears. I am gathering input from many places, former channel swimmers, teammates on the local Masters swim club - some of whom are really good coaches and swimmers in their own rite, doctors, physiologists, etc. I am seeking the advice from actual channel experiences to formulate the road map.

Physical preparation is a two year effort and will have many hard tests just to check on progress, give myself an at ta-boy once and awhile and to ensure I scale-up correctly. In this early stage, I plan for one month of work for each mile but this will change as advice warrants. I would like to devise milestones along the way that build endurance, physical, cold water and mental experiences into the journey. For this I plan to seek input from those who have come before me like Marcia Cleveland, multi-time channel swimmer and author of Dover Solo who lives here locally among others.

Weather is a huge part of the equation during the swim and this I cannot control unless Poseidon or Oceanus decide to help. I will continue to swim in all types of good and bad weather, day or night and wavy or calm as I understand the channel can change very quickly.

The cold is another key factor and this requires steady acclamation leading up to the event. Warm showers are a thing of the past and finding cold swims 56f + are preferred. This will mean early spring and late fall practices in nearby Lake Michigan.