Brynn aiming to make Lake Champlain history

Brynn, 45, isn’t afraid of being attacked by lampreys and doesn’t plan to wear a wetsuit.

“I’ve been taught to pull them off,” Brynn said. “You hold them at the head and twist.”

Nor is she afraid of swimming in total darkness.

“I will be swimming with a light stick tied to my suit and a light clipped to my goggles,” Brynn said.

And she’s not worried about leg cramps, shoulder cramps or any of the other aches and pains that can occur during long-distance open-water swims.

“I’ve trained my mind to focus on areas that feel good rather than discomfort,” Brynn said.

Indeed, Brynn, who lives in Stowe, looks forward to the two-way crossing of Lake Champlain she has planned for Aug. 4. She’ll leave Oakledge Park in Burlington, swim just over 16 miles to Willsboro Point, N.Y., and then turn around and swim back.

She’ll be accompanied by a 39-foot support boat, a support crew that includes her husband, Jeff Brynn, and a three-member relay team made up of Stowe Masters Swimmers. Each relay team member — Paula Yankauskas, Cara Hancy and Jennifer Kimmick — will take turns swimming one hour at a time.

If Brynn succeeds, it will be the first recorded two-way solo crossing of Lake Champlain.

The adventure, or “expedition” as she calls it, will prepare Brynn for an even more challenging swim. Next August, she plans to swim across the English Channel between Dover, England, and Cap Gris Nez, France, which the Channel Swimming Association says totals 21 miles.

Brynn is more prepared for the challenge than most. She’s executive director of the Swimming Hole in Stowe, where she leads the Stowe Masters Swimmers, coaches the Stowe Swimmers and is a certified swim instructor and personal trainer.

Preparing for Channel

The Lake Champlain swim will provide an opportunity to experience obstacles Brynn will face during the Channel swim — swimming a long distance with only 30-second nourishment breaks, swimming in open water without a wetsuit, swimming beside a large vessel, and swimming at night, among others.

Brynn will leave Vermont at 2:30 p.m. She estimates it will take just under 10 hours to complete the two-way swim.

“A lot will depend on the (weather) conditions of the day,” Brynn said.

She’s chosen her course carefully. It’s the same route she took in 2006 during her first swim across Lake Champlain, and it’s away from the main boat traffic. She’s also swimming on a weekday, when fewer people use the lake for recreation than on weekends.

Still, she’ll have to be careful not to get tangled in fishing lines or hit by floating debris.

“Logs and anything else I come across will be good training,” Brynn said. “There are 800 vessels every day in the English Channel.”

This will be the longest open-water swim Brynn has attempted. Previously, she’s swum for up to seven hours straight.

What does she think about while swimming? How does she stave off boredom?

“Getting into your zone where your body is on autopilot helps,” Brynn said. “I know people who have played every Beatles song in their heads while crossing the Channel. For me, the sound of my breath and rhythm of my stroke is almost a soothing lullaby.”

Distance swimming is a big mental undertaking, as well as a physical one, and it’s important for swimmers to prevent their minds from wandering, Brynn said.

She stays focused by periodically looking at a large whiteboard her support team holds up with messages of encouragement that her friends and supporters have sent to her blog, www.brynnswim.com, or via Twitter.

“The encouraging words and the smiles and body language from the support team help me perform better,” Brynn said.

To keep her energy level up — swimming can burn more than 500 calories an hour — she’ll drink 300 milliliters of high-carbohydrate fluid during 30-second breaks taken every 30 minutes. Her husband, a chef, has created a nutritious concoction of sweet potatoes, oranges and bananas.

“I look forward to stops to have contact with the crew,” Brynn said. “I spend 29 minutes and 30 seconds looking forward to the next one.”

She’ll make similar short, energy-boosting stops during her Channel swim.

“In the ocean, the tide pull is huge,” Brynn said. “If you stop and tread water for four or five minutes, you can move a far distance in the wrong direction.”

Open-water challenges

Training for an open-water swim can be tricky in Vermont, where winter can last six months and the nearest ocean is a few hours drive away. 

Brynn trains outdoors in local lakes and reservoirs from mid-May to late October and has trained in the ocean off the coast of Rhode Island.

“It’s a challenge,” Brynn said. “When it gets cold in Vermont, it gets cold fast. Last year, I swam until it got into the mid-40s.”

Acclimating to cold water is an important part of Brynn’s training; the water temperatures in the Channel are generally in the 50s during August, and for her swim to be certified, she can’t wear a wetsuit or an insulated swim cap. 

She recently attended a nine-day training camp in the chilly waters of Ireland, where the Atlantic Ocean was 51 to 54 degrees.

“I trained with a group of English Channel swimmers and a few other aspiring Channel swimmers like me,” Brynn said. “Well, not all like me. I was definitely the skinny penguin of the bunch.”

Many Channel swimmers put on body weight, anticipating that extra fat will insulate them from the cold.

In Ireland, Brynn experienced the effect that salt water can have on the human body. For instance, it can cause the tongue to blister and swell to several times its normal size. It can also cause skin rashes and irritations, something Brynn tried to prevent by coating her exposed areas in a layer of sheep fat.

She also swam near sea lions and through a school of nearly 100 jellyfish.

“I was wondering if I should swim through it, but it was so beautiful —like driving through a snowstorm — and I didn’t want to change my course,” Brynn said.

She received her first jellyfish sting, which resulted in a red rash she later remedied with a squirt of vinegar from a local fish-and-chips stand.

“It’s good to experience it during training, so it won’t be a fright if you experience it during the actual swim,” Brynn said.

Brynn expects her Channel attempt to cost about $20,000 and has been saving for the past year and a half. She’s set up a donation button on her swimming blog and is confident she’ll have the money she needs by next August.

“I’m determined to make it work and keep saving,” Brynn said. “I might explore sponsorships. I’ve been overwhelmed that a few people have wanted to help.

“What’s been so tremendous is that people have been so encouraging and supportive. If I can inspire people, that’s great, and if people can help me, that’s awesome, too.”

To check progress or donate: www.brynnswim.com.