'From crazy to really crazy'

Group of local swimmers hoping to trump last year's historic feat

SANDPOINT - Remember those crazy swimmers last year who cruised into City Beach at 5 a.m., after 37 miles of swimming - much of it during pitch black conditions in the middle of the night - on Lake Pend Oreille?

They're back, and this time they're attempting a swim that makes last year's historic journey look like a mere warm up.

Nine hearty swimmers, all of whom swam in the relay last year, plan to circumnavigate Lake Pend Oreille, beginning tonight at 8 p.m. when they take off from Kramer's Marina in Hope under a full moon. All told they plan to swim more than 80 miles, hoping to finish back where they started sometime Sunday morning.

Each swimmer will be counted on to crank out more than nine miles as they'll alternate turns in a relay-style format. Last year nobody really knew what to expect, and they were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly and fast it went. Based on that success, they've decided to kick it up a notch and set the bar even higher.

“We all said we have to do it again,” said Courtney Sanborn, who swam last year and was the driving force behind doing something bigger and better this year. “At first it was ‘ha ha ha,' then we said ‘let's do it, lets circumnavigate the lake.'”

Eric Ridgway, race director of the Long Bridge Swim and the chief architect behind last year's swim, is once again one of the ring leaders in the adventure. He'll join Jim Zuberbuhler, Eric Mann, Chris Mann (at 14, the youngest swimmer), Dave Mann, Jayne Davis, Meleah Nelsen, Karen McClelland and Sanborn as they head down the east shore as far south as Buttonhook Bay in Athol, then back up the west shore to Sandpoint City Beach, before returning to Hope.

“It's gone from crazy to really crazy,” joked Sanborn of the latest swimming conquest, the equivalent of more than three marathons.

They plan to hit City Beach early Sunday morning, where they'll pick up 87 year-old Imre Schmidt of Bonners Ferry, who will join the group for the final leg back to Hope. Schmidt has swam many of the recent Long Bridge Swims, and is an inspiration to local swimmers young and old.

“He's the epitome of why we all do this,” said Sanborn of Schmidt.

This year's swim will also serve as a fundraiser. Numerous local businesses have sponsored the swim, with all proceeds going to fund swimming lessons for children who can't afford them.

Anyone wishing to help sponsor the swim and donate to a worthy cause can contact Eric Ridgway at 265-5412, or at “www.longbridgeswim.com.”