In the midst of the cold and clouds, why would anyone choose to swim in the frigidity of our local ocean –let alone in the morning, when the light’s barely risen to reveal the icicles stuck to your eyelids? Okay, maybe not icicles. But the water’s chilly at the best of times. Surely, there must be better ways to commune with Mother Nature and this island we call home than to plunge into the Pacific and that practice of penance known as post-summer ocean swimming. Why do it?!
We asked Katherine Wolters, Bowen Island resident and now regular –and loving it– ocean swimmer.
“Neil, my training partner and I decided to swim to Boyer island from Cate’s Bay. We went at six in the mornings or maybe even earlier because we saw the sun rising.
It wasn’t calm; it was quite rough. I remember thinking, ‘okay, this is going to be a long time so I might as well start enjoying it.’ We knew we were in for a while –it took an hour and 20 minutes- and so we just enjoyed being right there in the moment. And noticing this spectacular beauty of being right in the middle of Howe Sound. You can look up to the mountain peaks and actually see the sun and the peaks all the way down to wave height. You’re actually seeing the details of the waves and it’s the light and the sun glinting off the water. It’s the whole panorama of Howe Sound opening up and seeing that from the waves.”
For as long as she can remember, Wolters has loved swimming. Early in 2019, Mary Letson, the founder and an organizer of SwimBowen, invited Wolters to volunteer. Held every July, SwimBowen is a 500 & 1000 metre open water swimming event with proceeds supporting Bowen Island residents in active cancer treatment. To-date, they’ve gifted over $16,500.
Instead of volunteering, Wolters decided to swim in the event. In preparation, she committed to getting in the water three days a week. “We started training right away. It was April and so cold. We didn’t do the full distance. Maybe 300 meters. And that was good.” By summer Wolters and her training partners were swimming a couple kilometers once a week.
Wolters’ biggest obstacles were the motivation to get down to the water, the cold and weather, and the occasional crashing tides. Push comes to shove, what got her in the water? It was the camaraderie and support of training partner. “Doing it as a partnership…we both got each other in.”
“I’ve had friends that have passed away to cancer, so I thought of their courage in the face of it and decided that I could swim in this cold water. It’s not a big deal. It’s always the anticipation that’s the worst.”
Wolters found the SwimBowen event to be supremely organized and open to all. “They thought of everything to make for a really pleasant day…there’s huge community support and people who care. And, people see how the funds directly benefit their friends and neighbors.
“The swim itself is done by all levels. There are people who breaststroke it out and do the distance at their leisure. They don’t worry about making it in a certain amount of time.”
Wolters credits the SwimBowen event for providing the impetus to dive into ocean-swimming year-round and Wolters is open to training with others. “It’s always good. I swam with four other people and we weren’t all at the same level…And we don’t always swim the bigger distances. We’ll swim along the shore.”
The one particular thing that is most exciting for Wolters over this whole journey is being able to get now in the cold water and swim regularly. “Before it was once and awhile. Now it’s a regular thing. Somehow, the ocean has become more accessible. It’s doable. I’ll go down to the beach and swim and it’s November. It’s a way to enjoy our beautiful environment one other way. It feels like a much more worthwhile day.”
If you want to give ocean swimming a go, are looking for a swimming partner, or would like to talk to Katherine Wolters more about the SwimBowen event and/or training, she can be reached at [email protected].
The next SwimBowen is Saturday, July 18. Registration opens April 1.
