Marilyn's story of Lake Superior

Staring down my fears with the Mishipeshu ceremony really helped my attitude before the swim. I was looking forward to the challenge. I also realized that I haven't wanted to conquer a lake this much since fog foiled my first attempt at Lake Ontario and I had to try again.
The dragon I had to stare down for Lake Superior is the legendary frigid water and high waves. But I knew swimming it was doable with meticulous planning. I used historical weather records to select the date, consulted 8 weather websites, trusted my very experienced captain to select the best day, brought my very experienced team, and arranged more boats and safety equipment than required by Solo Swims of Ontario.
What a spectacular lake! Beautiful clean blue water. In fact, Gitchee Gumee means shining blue seawater. Cliffs and hills were the view we were swimming towards since sunrise. Lake Superior is the definition of the beauty of Canada for me.
The swim started on the sandy spit of Whitefish Point. It was an awesome feeling standing there at 3 am with water on 3 sides staring into the blackness that was my route. The air was 61 degrees F and the water was flat. The first 45 minutes weren't bad but then the water temperature dropped and the cool air started getting to me. I picked up the pace. We threaded our way between 3 tankers in the dark. Fortunately the sky was already getting lighter by 5:15. Of course, we had planned to minimize the night hours for this reason, but we had to start in the dark to make sure I finished in daylight. I finally started to feel warmer around 8 am as the air warmed. The  water temperature was a chilly 62 F for most of the swim, forcing me to keep my brisk pace going. It was a sunny day with a high of 68 F. When we passed the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I commemorated the moment by singing the song to myself. Mid morning, there was about 2 hours of nasty waves hitting me broadside up to 3 feet that were really straining my shoulders. I just kept thinking about the dragon and that I could cope with these waves. Eventually, the waves settled down and turned to push me. Then the dragon smiled and flattened the water. The last 4 hours were a joy. I could see the sand about 50 feet down, and saw it slowly rise over about a kilometre. What a glorious feeling to finish a swim on a beach in the daylight! Thank you Mishipeshu.
Thank you to captain David Steele and family who did an awesome job and knows this lake and it's winds inside out. Thank you to Doug Porter and family who accompanied us in their beautiful powerboat. Thank you to my ever faithful crew and family for helping me realize my dream in 12:09. It was 28.7 km.
And last but not least, thank you to everyone who donated to Sashbear.