Mile 8-11 | Cold In the Bay

Mile 8–11 | Enchanted Hills → Black Point → Johnson’s Bay → Ogden Island

Coming Into Johnson's Bay

Johnson’s Bay was where the lake tried to end me. The cold wasn’t surface-deep anymore. My heart rate was dropping. My stomach stopped working and my hands and feet felt useless. By the time I made it around black point into the bay I was shivering uncontrollably. 9 Miles in was my first break, and this one wasn’t optional. I spent a few minutes treading water and talking to my crew about how cold I was getting. 

My crew didn’t miss a beat and scrambled like a pit crew at Indy. My mom, Peggy, and Lori made trips back and forth to shore for hot water bottles. Perry brought hot water back and forth to my boat crew. Rikki and Ian commanded from the boat and kayak exactly what I needed. They poured water into my wetsuit, passed bottles to me one after another. It was ten seconds of heat, then cold again. But drinking it gave me fire inside, just enough to hold the line.

The bay stripped me down to survival mode. Without my crew, I know I wouldn’t have made it out.

Takeaway: No matter how strong you are, there will be moments you can’t fight alone. Sometimes survival comes from the people who carry you.

Image ideas: Tight shot of Johnson’s Bay, crew with thermos, swimmer hunched in cold, highlight map of bay stretch.

Check out the next blog in the series (Mile 11-13.5) here: https://www.jacemorgan.com/post/swimming-the-north-shore-mile-11-13-5

Thanks for reading 💜

Jace