During the summer months, I have been engaging in open water swimming (OWS) at a local lake known as BOBs—though I’m unsure of the origin of that name.
Typically, I swim early in the morning around 5 AM before managing the school runs: my dad heads to church, and Svetlana goes to work, all while I take on the role of the family Uber driver. This routine has become an absolutely fantastic experience, offering numerous health benefits that I intend to elaborate on in a future blog post.I wanted to share a memorable experience from May 2022, on a particularly misty morning.
As I was about halfway through my swim, just turning back towards my endpoint, the atmosphere was beautiful, with mist enveloping the lake, creating a sense of serenity and calmness. I felt as if I had been transported to another world, and what happened next only reinforced that sensation.
Completing my front crawl stroke and turning to breathe, I was captivated by the sight of an incredibly beautiful woman gliding gracefully across the water. She turned to glance back at me and smiled, leaving me, as a red-blooded male, momentarily questioning reality—was this heaven? I continued swimming but felt a strange uncertainty about the encounter. Was this a ghostly apparition? Her beauty was astonishing as she vanished into the fog. Who was she, and where had she come from?
Moments later, the mist began to lift, revealing her standing on a paddleboard. The fog had previously concealed it. Intrigued, I swam over, and when I reached her, I discovered she was sat on her paddle board in the middle of the lake enjoying her breakfast. Her name was Carol, and after a brief chat, I confessed that she had startled me, and we had a good laugh about it.
You never know who you might meet during those early morning swims. To this day, I have yet to spot her again.
The Lady of the Lake at BOBs.
