If you’ve ever missed a ferry sailing from Vesuvius, you’ve probably thought about it, and wondered.
But on Saturday morning, Aug. 24, islander Chris Rowthorn skipped the lineup completely. Rowthorn, 58, walked into the ocean at Salt Spring Island’s Vesuvius Beach and started swimming a little before 8 a.m., emerging 90 minutes later at the shore of Osborne Bay Regional Park, south of the Crofton ferry terminal.
It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, he said. Rowthorn had been making plans to swim from Salt Spring to Vancouver Island since well before he began earnestly training for the crossing back in March. A regular in the waters off Vesuvius Beach during spring and summer months, the former competitive swimmer said he had often paused on the rocky point and gazed across at the other side.
“I thought that the nearest shore didn’t look all that far away,” he said, “and I became obsessed with swimming there one day.”
Rowthorn’s workout routine this summer expanded to include daily one- to two-kilometre ocean swims, he said, and he consulted with fellow Vesuvius swimmer (and former sailing and sea kayaking instructor) Dave Garrett — a former kayak instructor and sailor — about the crossing. It looked doable, but there were unknowns.
“I didn’t know how strong the currents would be, or how cold the water would be in the middle of the strait,” he said. “I also didn’t know what kind of waves I’d be facing.”
When the day came, Rowthorn was supported in his 3.8-kilometre swim by friends Roland DeLuca, paddling alongside in a kayak, and Erich Billung-Meyer keeping pace in a powerboat. Rowthorn left just before the tide reached its high point, so most of the swim was done during the slack tide. And, he said, the otherwise gloomy weather fortunately featured “relatively warm” 17-degree water and calm winds.
“I was prepared to take several breaks,” said Rowthorn, “and Roland was carrying a flask of hot tea for me. But I felt so good that I put my head down and just kept swimming.”
In the first half of the crossing, Rowthorn said there were moments when it seemed like Vancouver Island wasn’t getting any closer; but once past the halfway mark, he found his stride.
“I got into a really good rhythm,” said Rowthorn. “Roland and Erich’s boats were always in the corner of my eye, and I felt safe the whole way across.”
Rowthorn said two boats crossed their paths during the swim, but gave the group a wide berth. Finally, a little before 9:30 a.m., DeLuca found a good spot for him to head to shore, and Rowthorn stepped out of the water and onto Vancouver Island.
“It felt great to walk up onto the beach,” he said, crediting the support of his friends for a successful swim. “I wouldn’t even have attempted it without those guys.”
At this point, Rowthorn said, he has no plans to repeat the crossing.
“It’s a hell of a way to get to Crofton,” he laughed.