Help Nate Meehan Get a Service Dog!

In Search of Memphre veteran Alison Meehan's autistic son, Nate, needs a dog! Watch this great report from Baltimore's ABC affiliate about Nate Meehan's family's quest to raise money for a service dog to assist him. Visit http://autismservicedogsofamerica.com/for-donors/ to make a donation and put "Nate Meehan" in the reference line.

In Search of Memphre 2012, on TDNOOWS

http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/ 

In Search of Memphre Invites Swimmers

The Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association (NEKOWSA) is now accepting applications to participate in the In Search of Memphre.

The second-year event is a cross-border swim that requires its swimmers to traverse the entire length of Lake Memphremagog from Newport, Vermont (USA) to Magog, Quebec (Canada) on September 8th, 2012.

Only 20 qualified marathon swimmers will be accepted into the 25-mile amateur, invitation-only swim.

The cost of the swim is US$1,500 which includes an escort boat to accompany each swimmer. Swimmers are required to provide two crew members (each over the age of 18). The qualifications of each swimmer will be reviewed by a vetting committee headed by Ned Denison of Cork, Ireland.

Similar to its Swiss counterpart, International Self-Transcendence Marathon-Schwimmen in Lake Zürich, In Search of Memphre offers a significant, cold-water, freshwater marathon swim in North America. Its goals are to promote a more open border with our friends in Canada, to search for our legendary and elusive lake creature Memphré, and to raise money for the local community’s sports, fitness and recreation center and its special programs for people suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.

In 2011, 9 individual soloists swam in the face of fierce headwinds with four finishers:

1. Liz Fry: 13 hrs 25 min
2. Charlotte Brynn: 14 hrs 40 min
3. Greg O’Connor: 17 hrs 38 min
4. Elaine Kornbau Howley: 17 hrs 58 min

For more information or to submit an application, contact Phil White at swim@orleansrecreation.org or www.insearchofmemphre.com.

In Search of Memphre’s Organizing Committee includes Phil White of Derby, Vermont, Ned Denison of Cork, Ireland, Elaine Kornbau Howley of Waltham, Massachusetts, Leslie Thomas of San Fransisco, California, Liz Fry of Westport, Connecticut, Greg O’Connor of Natick, Massachusetts, Peter Stuart of Derby, Vermont and Charlotte Brynn of Stowe, Vermont.

The swim is hosted by NEKOWSA that promotes and supports open water swimming in the legendary lakes of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Other NEKOWSA swims include the Kingdom Swim, the Seymour Swim, and the Willoughby Swim. NEKOWSA is an affiliation of Indoor Recreation Orleans County.

Two Month Anniversary!

Today is the 2-month anniversary of the inaugural In Search of Memphre Tour! We have it on good authority that all the participants are fully recovered and back to their various training regimens and other typical shenanigans (you know who you are! Greg, I'm looking at you!).

But this can mean only one thing... a mere 10 months left until the next Search commences...

I wonder how Memphre survives the cold winter? Does he hibernate? Or burrow into the mud at the very bottom of the lake? Hmmm....

The Search Continues...

THE SEARCH CONTINUES

We've mapped the length of the lake once, and now we know some of Memphre's secret hiding places. All the better to find her next year!

Ten swimmer scouts have set their sights on September 8, 2012 to continue their search for that elusive lake creature, Memphre.

New blood Davis Lee and Amanda Hunt have signed on to this invitational expedition. Veterans Elaine Howley, Bill Shipp, David Dammerman, Emma Otto-Moudry, Liz Fry, Alison Meehan, Shannon Kegan, and Jen Dutton have tossed their hats in the ring for a second jaunt.

If you support the mission, support a more open border, and support IROC as it struggles for survival in the Northeast Kingdom, please donate here, either in support of one of our swimmers on in general support of the expedition.

For photos of this past swim, click here

Wow, what a swim...windy conditions and cold air and water temps made for a very difficult traverse of Lake Memphremagog

September 11, 2011

In Search of Memphre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In Search of Memphre Breaks the border and Raises over $26,000 for IROC

Swimmer scouts from left to right: Bill Shipp, David Dammerman
Emma Otto-Moudry and Charlotte Brynn enter the water at the start
at midnight 9/10/11 to swim to Magog, Quebec.

Newport, Vermont and Magog, Quebec – On the weekend of the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, 11 extraordinary marathon open water swimmers undertook the 25 mile international, cross border swim the length of Lake Memphremegog from Newport to Magog.   They were supported by 21 yackers and 12 boat pilots and crew.  The expedition was organized and hosted by the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association and IROC and was sponsored and outfitted by Newport Marine Services, Clyde River Recreation, and Great Outdoors.

Swimmer Scouts O'Connor and Howley warm up in *very* stylish
gear in Magog 18 hours after starting the search for Memphre.

The expedition known as In Search of Memphre was intended to promote a more open border with Canada and to search for the elusive lake creature Memphre.  

Participants, their friends, family, and employers raised over $26,000 for Indoor Recreation Orleans County, a community center in Derby, Vermont which is presently fighting for its financial survival.  Four swimmers completed the swim:  Elizabeth Fry of Westport, CT finished in a time of 13 hours and 25 minutes.  Close behind her was Charlotte Brynn, of Stowe Vermont with a time of 14 hours and 40 minutes.  Greg O’Connor completed the 25 miles in a time of 17 hours and 23 minutes.  And Elaine Kornbau-Howley finished in just under 18 hours with a time of 17 hours and 58 minutes.  “This was tougher than crossing the English Channel,” said Elaine Kornbau Howley who was the first to sign on for this invitational swim, just a month ago.

Magog and the regatta await the swimmers several hours away.

Swimmers faced strong headwinds from the north, especially during the first four hours of the swim, forcing many swimmers to pull out.  All but one, however, hung in for at least the first five miles in order to assure that they crossed the border.



Charlotte Brynn swims at sunrise.



Michel Dubois, of Canadian Customs arranged with the organizers of In Search of Memphre for pre-clearance of the participants at The Gateway.  They were very helpful and very supportive of the resumption of a cross border swim.  US Customs received the participants back also at The Gateway. 

The border was ours, for a brief moment in time.  It felt great to watch these athletes, their yackers and the patrol boats cross past the border buoys in the middle of the night.  Westmore Fire and Emergency Rescue led the way through the night with a beacon that allowed swimmers and their yackers to sight on as they swam north.

We were truly humbled and honored to support this wonderful, high spirited group of marathon swimmers, yackers, and support.  Their fundraising prowess was awe inspiring.  Their endurance in some tough conditions was incredible to experience.  And their exhuberance is contagious.

Liz Fry finished first in less than 14 hours.

While Memphre remains elusive, we thank Barbara Malloy for her support of this swim, In Search of Memphre.

Great Outdoors Sponsors Memphré Search

We are pleased that The Great Outdoors has signed on to The Search as our official outfitter.  It's great to see support for the swim coming together.  We hope you will join us in our thanks to The Great Outdoors by visiting one of their shops in Newport, Ensoburg Falls or Morrisville, VT.

Visit online at www.greatoutdoorsvermont.com for great information about camping gear, kayaks, canoes, shoes and more.

Thank you!

Track (some of) Us Online Tomorrow and Saturday!

Thanks to the wonder of GPS, there will be a few swimmers trackable online. Check out this link at MyAthleteLive to see where Liz Fry, Bill Shipp, and Jen Dutton are during the swim. Given what we know about the swimmers, this seems like a good distribution of tracking devices between the "forward recon" group, the middle of the pack, and the "sweep pair." See the group online at http://www.myathletelive.com/events and click on one of the athletes listed under the Scouting for Memphre Event. 

Follow us and watch us make history. And while you're at it, if you're feeling philanthropic, chuck a few bucks IROC's way. 

As Adele would say, "Rumor has it" our little expedition may have raised about $20K for IROC over the past two weeks. How's that for inspirational? Nice work, Swimmer Scouts!