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At any given point during the 28th annual Donner Lake Open Water Swim on Saturday, a zoned-in swimmer could have mistaken the windblown chop for a rowdy sea.
“People looking forward to a nice, smooth lake swim didn’t get that,” said race director Laura Hanson.
Not even close.
Instead, the 300-plus Masters swimmers were greeted with a stiff headwind from the 8:30 a.m. start to the West End Beach finish line 2.7 miles later.
“It was definitely one of the windiest swims I’ve ever done in Donner Lake,” said Karen Rogers of Tahoe City, a member of the Truckee Tahoe Aquatic Masters. “There were several times when I didn’t know where I was on the lake. I’d be curious to find out how many people didn’t finish. I know a lot were pulled.”
Ten swimmers were pulled from the water, Hanson said.
Rogers witnessed one swimmer bail out more than halfway across the lake — a man who reversed his course so he could cling to Rogers’ husband’s support kayak. He was hauled in to shore on a paddleboard.
“It was brutal,” Truckee’s Rob Burks, a fellow member of the Truckee Tahoe Aquatic Masters, said of the swim. “I don’t want to do that again.”
Of course, Burks was kidding about not competing in his hometown race again. But he meant every bit about the “brutal” conditions, especially near the middle of the lake.
“The first half it felt like we were in the ocean or something,” he said. “It was super choppy. A half-hour into the race it was howling ...
“Whenever you’d take a look left or right, all you saw were whitecaps. But it was fun.”
The wind didn’t help anyone's finish time, either, as Burks reached West End Beach in 1:18:26 — about eight minutes slower than his time last year. Rogers posted a time of 1:17:06, compared to about 1:10 last year. Burks, 37, finished 54th overall and Rogers 50th, although she took the top spot in her 40-44 age group and placed 11th among women.
“I just kept telling myself, ‘I’m in the English Channel and France is in front of me,’” Rogers said, referring to her goal to one day take on the famous open water swim.
Reno’s Erik Scalise, 30, won the Donner Lake swim for the third straight year, reaching West End Beach in 59:11. Last year he swam a 54:42. Ryan Evans, 22, placed second and was the only other swimmer to break the one-hour mark, posting a 59:16. Trevor Gillis (1:00:34), Sandy MacDonald (1:00:43) and Robert Placak (1:03:16) rounded out the top five.
Erica Dawson Watts, 26, was the first woman to finish and placed 10th overall in 1:05:18. She was followed by Jennifer Baran (1:07:04) and Alexandra Lee (1:07:57).
While a capacity field of 350 swimmers registered — with the final 15 slots filling up the morning of the race — Hanson estimates there were about 330 in the water due to no-shows.
“People looking forward to a nice, smooth lake swim didn’t get that,” said race director Laura Hanson.
Not even close.
Instead, the 300-plus Masters swimmers were greeted with a stiff headwind from the 8:30 a.m. start to the West End Beach finish line 2.7 miles later.
“It was definitely one of the windiest swims I’ve ever done in Donner Lake,” said Karen Rogers of Tahoe City, a member of the Truckee Tahoe Aquatic Masters. “There were several times when I didn’t know where I was on the lake. I’d be curious to find out how many people didn’t finish. I know a lot were pulled.”
Ten swimmers were pulled from the water, Hanson said.
Rogers witnessed one swimmer bail out more than halfway across the lake — a man who reversed his course so he could cling to Rogers’ husband’s support kayak. He was hauled in to shore on a paddleboard.
“It was brutal,” Truckee’s Rob Burks, a fellow member of the Truckee Tahoe Aquatic Masters, said of the swim. “I don’t want to do that again.”
Of course, Burks was kidding about not competing in his hometown race again. But he meant every bit about the “brutal” conditions, especially near the middle of the lake.
“The first half it felt like we were in the ocean or something,” he said. “It was super choppy. A half-hour into the race it was howling ...
“Whenever you’d take a look left or right, all you saw were whitecaps. But it was fun.”
The wind didn’t help anyone's finish time, either, as Burks reached West End Beach in 1:18:26 — about eight minutes slower than his time last year. Rogers posted a time of 1:17:06, compared to about 1:10 last year. Burks, 37, finished 54th overall and Rogers 50th, although she took the top spot in her 40-44 age group and placed 11th among women.
“I just kept telling myself, ‘I’m in the English Channel and France is in front of me,’” Rogers said, referring to her goal to one day take on the famous open water swim.
Reno’s Erik Scalise, 30, won the Donner Lake swim for the third straight year, reaching West End Beach in 59:11. Last year he swam a 54:42. Ryan Evans, 22, placed second and was the only other swimmer to break the one-hour mark, posting a 59:16. Trevor Gillis (1:00:34), Sandy MacDonald (1:00:43) and Robert Placak (1:03:16) rounded out the top five.
Erica Dawson Watts, 26, was the first woman to finish and placed 10th overall in 1:05:18. She was followed by Jennifer Baran (1:07:04) and Alexandra Lee (1:07:57).
While a capacity field of 350 swimmers registered — with the final 15 slots filling up the morning of the race — Hanson estimates there were about 330 in the water due to no-shows.
