Meet a Member – Triple Crown of the Open Water
On August 17, King’s School Recreation Centre member Laura López Bonilla completed the 20 Bridges Manhattan Swim, also known as the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. The 20 Bridges Swim is a 28.5-mile circumnavigation around the island of Manhattan via the East River, Harlem River, and Hudson River, under its 20 bridges.
The swim started at Pier A on the Hudson, where the waters can be a little turbulent. She says “The water was rough around the corner from the Battery and under the first 3 bridges: Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg. Then the river seemed to flatten out after I passed these bridges and I was able to get into a rhythm and gain some pace”.
Laura said “We passed the UN building where my late friend Catherine worked and that was an emotional moment. I was doing this swim also in her memory as it was the 10-year anniversary of her passing due to breast cancer”. Laura raised funds for a Breast Cancer Care charitable association that offers support and help to people diagnosed with breast cancer during the course of their treatment.
Laura went on “Just as I got into a pace, we came into Hell’s gate on the East River, which really lives up to its name, back to rough and turbulent. Here the waters churn as the river is strongly influenced by the tides and goes in different directions at different times of the day”.
The waters of the Harlem River were calmer and the riverbanks offered greenish landscapes. Upon entering the Hudson River “I thought that someone had turned the heating on! The water was as warm as a hot tub. I thought I was going to cook like a lobster, as it was far too warm for me. I’m used to swimming in the English Channel and through the winter”.
Thankfully, as she went down the river, it cooled off a little, but the wind changed direction and she now had the wind against the tide. Laura then approached the George Washington Bridge (the last bridge) and at this point, the swell made breathing difficult and caused Laura to swallow some water from the river. When passing under the bridge, she began to feel dizzy and vomited the supplies that she had not been able to digest during the last two hours. Once the dizziness was over, she continued to move forward until she reached her goal.
Laura smiled “A very good result overall, despite all of the difficulties in training and the half functioning shoulder”. Having completed this crossing, Laura becomes the 225th swimmer to get the Triple Crown of the Open Water, which consists of three crossings, the English Channel (2002 and 2006), the Catalina Channel (2012) and Manhattan.
Laura’s next challenge is the Strait of Gibraltar Crossing, which she is aiming to complete the 16.1 km crossing from Punta de Tarifa, Spain to Cires Point, Morocco.
Congratulations Laura! You are a champion of open waters and an example to follow.