Different strokes

Sat, Dec 6, 2008    to del.icio.us

Some people may think he's crazy. Others might laud him for his self-discipline and dedication.

One way or the other, Grand Haven's Joe McCarthy has a passion that very few others share, a passion that takes him into the icy waters of Lake Michigan in early April each year and keeps him doing the doggy-paddle all the way through December.

It's McCarthy's goal each year to swim in the Big Lake nine months out of the year. This year, his final foray into Lake Michigan took place Wednesday morning. After two days of unswimmable conditions in the lake, McCarthy found a window around 9 a.m. and, donning his wet suit, several layers of gloves, and his flippers, he splashed into the 40-degree water and spent around two hours swimming in relatively calm seas, thanks to the protection of the south pier.

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What would drive someone to take a leap into the frigid lake on a day when the air temperature hovers in the low 30s and the wind chill is at least 10 degrees colder?

"One is I really love the lake," McCarthy said as he pulled on his gear in the Fisherman's Parking Lot. "I try to swim nine months of the year. I experience the lake nine months out of the year, and this is the price you pay to experience it the way I want to experience it.

"Once you're in there, you know you're experiencing something special. You're seeing it in a way no one else is seeing it. It's very precious."

While swimming in extreme conditions has become something of an obsession to the 48-year-old McCarthy, it's something that took a while for his wife, Darlene, to accept. She was present Wednesday, wrapped in a blanket to protect against the biting wind, and watched her husband leap into the water, then turned back toward the warmth and protection of her car.

"It took a while to get used to it, but he's very careful," she said.

The McCarthy's have three children. They lived in the Detroit area until moving to Grand Haven three years ago, mainly to fulfill a desire to live closer to Lake Michigan.

"We just wanted to be by the lake and to live in a community of people who want to live by the lake," McCarthy said.

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While he's always loved to swim, swimming pools seemed too monotonous.

"There's no inspiration there. It's just a black line, a flip and a turn," he said.

Instead, McCarthy took to open-water swimming. It's a pursuit that starts early in the year, often sometime in April.

"It's when the ice melts, then I have to wait until the water's about 37, 38," he said. "Lake Michigan usually warms up a little bit quicker than Spring Lake. I don't know all the physics of it, but there's more current, and the wind pushes things around."

McCarthy uses several Web sites, including www.surfgrandhaven.com, to keep track of lake conditions.

"If Lake Michigan looks too dangerous, I go to Spring Lake and swim there," he said.

When the water's in the 30s and 40s, McCarthy takes precautions to avoid hypothermia and other possible health threats.

"From the moment you jump into the lake, you have to understand that you're giving up body heat to the lake, and that's a battle the lake wins every time," he said. "What I do is math equations every five minutes, time tables, just to make sure that cognitively, I'm fine, because that's the first thing to start to go with the onset of hypothermia," he said. "There have been times where I've felt a little nauseous or felt like I was losing it, and I just got out."

While he enjoys the peacefulness of the experience, McCarthy doesn't attempt to hide the fact that swimming in extreme conditions is not an entirely pleasurable experience.

"It was miserable," McCarthy said of Wednesday's swim, which measured around a mile. "The entire time I was in the water I wanted to get out.

"The first 10 minutes are the hardest. All the blood goes to your core because your body thinks you're in danger. What you do is your hands and feet and head get very, very cold initially. You just have to start swimming. After you catch your breath and know your safe, it takes 2-3 minutes, then you start venturing out little farther from the pier, and all a sudden your body starts to get the sense you're burning calories, getting your indigenous furnace going, and it's OK to send blood back to your extremities."

During the summer months, McCarthy may swim 4 miles each time out. He's easily recognizable because he swims attached to a large red ball, which he's nicknamed "Wilson" after Tom Hanks' volleyball friend in the movie, "Castaway." During the summer, the ball serves as a warning for pleasure boaters to beware. In the colder months, the ball is a backup flotation device and a beacon for searchers should he get into trouble.

"I am always quick to tell inquiring folks, especially kids, that even good swimmers need a swim buddy," McCarthy said.

While he's surprised more people don't go for long-distance swims in Lake Michigan, McCarthy isn't petitioning for company.

"I really haven't found anybody who wants to do it, plus it would take away from it," he said.