LAKE COUNTY — Jamie Patrick first swam the length of Clear Lake back in 2010 as part of his training for a long-distance swim of Lake Tahoe that same year. He estimated the 17.68-mile Clear Lake swim would take him nine hours; he did it in seven hours and 34 minutes.
Since then the East Bay resident, who owns a house in Hidden Valley Lake, has continued to use both Clear Lake and Hidden Valley Lake to train for his long-distance, open-water swims, including a 111-mile current-aided swim of the Sacramento River, a record feat that he did in 31 hours and 26 minutes. Patrick was named the 2011 World Open Water Male Swimmer of the Year for that swim.
This summer Patrick will attempt another record swim at Lake Tahoe: a 68-mile swim around the entire perimeter of the lake at a distance of approximately 100 feet from the shoreline. He estimated the swim, which he is calling the “Tahoe 360,” will take him between 40 and 45 hours to complete, his longest swim to date.
He will again utilize Hidden Valley Lake and Clear Lake to train but this time invited some fellow swimmers along for a four-day swim camp. Known as Jamie”s Swim Camp, 50 long-distance, open-water swimmers from around the world will join Patrick in Lake County and train from May 17 to 20.
Patrick, who initially began as a triathlete before focusing on distance swimming, said the training regimen is similar to how he”s trained solo in recent years: swimmers will partake in two-to-three swims per day, including some night swims, in both lakes.
“I thought it (training) would be fun to do with other swimmers,” Patrick said.
Patrick said the camp began last year with 35 swimmers joining him. He said it was so popular that this year he had to cap the enrollment at 50. He said those joining him this year are some of the top open water swimmers from around the world.
“Some are training for swimming the English Channel, some for the Sea of Cortez,” he said. “These are some of the top athletes in the world that have done some amazing swims.”
He said the training schedule will usually consist of a morning swim from 7:30 to 10 a.m. an afternoon swim from 2 to 5 p.m. and a short, guided night swim where the swimmers will be lit up with glow sticks, complete with a support group in kayaks and boats.
“Some will do (swim) two to three miles and some will do 10 to 12 miles,” Patrick said. “I think we will average something close to 800 miles of swimming.”
He said there were no problems with last year”s swim camp. He notified those at Hidden Valley Lake ahead of time and had no issues swimming in Clear Lake. He said he will again notify those at Hidden Valley Lake and local law enforcement that the swimmers will be in the water.
“There”s no required permits for something like this,” he said.
He said the swimmers will also do beach cleanups on both lakes. “We all have a passion for water so it”s important to us to protect the environment we love so much,” he said.
More so than training, Patrick said he also wants to show the group the beauty of Lake County. “It really is an amazing place,” he said. “There”s the potential for so much recreation here. The more people that we can show that to, the better the county will become.”
Patrick said members of the public are more than welcome to come and watch them swim during the four day camp.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or cal directly 263-5636 ext. 14.
