Stargazing long-distance swimmer loses his way on moonlit Okanagan Lake
Wayne Stach is separated from support team at night but is able to swim to shore
Wearing only a Speedo, his body lathered with white goo, Wayne Strach emerged from the moonlit lake and staggered toward the light.
Already the oldest Canadian to swim the English Channel, Strach was attempting to break another world record for long-distance swimming, and had begun to chart his 135-kilometre swim along the entire length of British Columbia's Okanagan Lake, from Vernon south to Penticton.
But the Leduc swimmer lost his way.
Equipped with little more than a heavy coat of lanolin grease on his 61-year-old frame, and a flashing headlamp strapped across his forehead, Strach and his support boat crew had set out the day before.
The first day of swimming, Aug. 8, had gone well, Strach said, and just before 3 a.m., a feeling of contentment had washed over him.
He decided to give his old bones a break, switching from the front stroke to the backstroke, and he rolled his belly toward the stars.
Stargazing snafu
It wasn't until a kilometre later that Strach realized he was all alone out on the water.
"I had my swim cap on over my ears, and I had my head in the water and I didn't hear all the commotion," Strach said Monday on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.
"I didn't hear the horn on the boat honking, I didn't hear the shouting. I didn't even see the strobe lights and floodlights searching for me because I wasn't looking for them.
"And the reason I wasn't looking for them — this was all my own fault, just so you know — I was stargazing. I was on my back, and I said 'Aah, wow, look at the starry night, look at the shooting stars.'"
As Strach was enjoying a contented view of the constellations, the feeling among his crew members was less than calm. When he rolled over, his strobe light became submerged in the murky waters, Strach disappeared from sight. They assumed he'd gone under.
"They can't see me, they can't see my strobe light, they can't hear me and I think you can guess where they thought I might be … but meanwhile of course, I was carrying on. I was totally oblivious."
By the time Strach roused himself from his stargazing reverie, his support boat was out of earshot. And he was forced to abandon his swim in favour of getting back in touch with his crew.
A rude awakening
Out on the remote shores of the lake, he spotted the bright lights of a dock on the edge a large gated estate, the only property for miles around.
He staggered from the water, made his way to the caretaker's cabin, and knocked on the door.
The elderly man who answered the door was gobsmacked by the sight that greeted him.
"The poor guy, who is kind of a recluse anyway, is woken up at 3:17 in a place which is the most remote part of the lake that you can get to," said Strach.
"It's not the kind of place where you expect visitors to drop in, and I'm there — a big guy with a Speedo with this grease all over me from head to toe.
"So this Speedo-wearing big monster from the lake is knocking on the door, so you can imagine.
"Later he described me as a godawful sight."
Sleepy-eyed saviour
Strach told the man there had been an incident on the lake, and asked for a towel. Bernard, a private man who didn't want his full name made public, obliged.
The caretaker invited Strach inside from the chilly night, offered him a bowl of soup and a warm shower, and let him use the phone to call police, who had already begun scouring the lake for any trace of the lost swimmer.
Within minutes, Strach was reunited with his relieved support team members who had been out on the lake, helping a police boat and helicopter in the search.
"He was wonderful," Strach said of his sleepy-eyed saviour.
"By the time we got out of there, he had become good friends with my support team, and we went back the next day to bring him a bottle of cognac and an official support team shirt, so he became an honorary support team member."
And although Strach plans to put his swimming adventures on hold for now, it appears that those dark waters and starry-night views are hard to resist.
"Maybe it's time for a family holiday, rather than a Wayne adventure."
"I probably won't do it next year, but I haven't given up on it. We'll see … it's not out of the question."
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