Swimming by Moonlight

June 15th 11:00 pm
A middle aged man dressed in Speedo, goggles and bright red bathing cap is seen walking down Abbott St. with a halo-like glow eminating from his head. He is accompanied by two women (Anne Morgenstern and Sheree Moffatt) who are donned in kayak gear and cave lamps attached to their heads. A security guard pulls up to this mottly crew......"What are you doing? You cannot be here." I reply, "but I am training for the English Channel....this is my obligatory night training session..." The security guard appears dumbfounded...thinking to himself that we are on foreign substances. With some cajoling we are permitted to launch from the Byrne St. Beach access. This is my night training session. Swimming by moon and starlight. The water is cold (14'C) but I hardly notice because I am so stoked about swimming at night. The combination of moonlight, phosphorescence and Milky Way made for a surreal experience. Anne and Sheree did an amazing piloting job in the darkness. It is very hard to navigate in these conditions--witness the buoy and dock I almost collided with. I felt very comfortable swimming in the dark but I would not recommend doing this alone. The other lesson learned is that it feels a lot colder without the warmth of the Okanagan sun beating down on my back. As a result, I was a little more hypothermic than usual. I woke up 6 hrs later to go to work, all the while asking myself.....'Did I really swim by the moonlight last night or was that a dream?" Oh, and that halo of mine?.....It was my kids' glow stick from the Dollar Store. It lasts up to 12 hrs....all for the price of a Loonie. Thank you Anne and Sheree! This was their 3rd escort duty in honour of my quest--and in the middle of the night to boot. It is precisely this support that will enable me to achieve my dream.