Angel More - Lake Tahoe (length)

Camp Richardson to Incline Creek

34.3 km (21.3 miles)

15 hours, 39 minutes on 24-25 August 2018

Observed and documented by Cathy Delneo & Evan Morrison

Youngest to swim length of Lake Tahoe

Contents

Swimmer

  • Name: Angel More
  • Gender: female
  • Age on swim date: 15
  • Nationality: United States
  • Resides: San Carlos, California

Support Personnel

  • Tom Linthicum - pilot
  • Lisa Amorao - crew chief / kayaker 1
  • Gretchen Fermer - crew / kayaker 2
  • Cathy Delneo - observer 1
  • Evan Morrison - observer 2

Escort Vessel: Ghost Rider (Tahoe Keys)


Swim Parameters

Category: Solo, nonstop, unassisted.

Rules: MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming, without exception or modification.

Route Definition

History


Swim Data

  • Start: 24 August 2018, 21:00:00 (America/Los_Angeles, UTC-7).
  • Finish: 25 August 2018, 12:39:10
  • Elapsed: 15 hours, 39 minutes, 10 seconds.

Summary of Conditions

Feature Min Max
Water Temp (F) 66.4 68.4
Air Temp (F) 59 81
Wind F0 F2 (NE and W)

GPS Track

Trackpoint frequency: 30 minutes. Download raw data (CSV).

Speed Plot

Nutrition: GU and fruit smoothie. Occasional chocolate juice and Motrin.


Observer Log

Download PDF


Weather Data

Via NASA/JPL-UCD buoy TB2 (location)

Water

wtmp

Air

atmp

Wind

wspd


Narrative

Photos by Cathy Delneo. Narrative by Evan Morrison

In the evening of August 24, 2018, Angel More, her family, her support team, and a random couple from the nearby Beacon Restaurant gathered under an eerie green light at the base of the Camp Richardson Marina pier.

Boats loaded and Desitin applied, Angel entered the water from the sand on the east side of the pier at 9pm exactly (synced to atomic time).

fired up, ready to go The send-off party @ Camp Richardson Marina

Launching Lisa

Steering a brightly lit kayak, Lisa guided Angel away from shore, along the length of the pier and through an obstacle course of moored boats. Tom, Gretchen, Cathy, and I boarded and launched Ghost Rider. In a few minutes we were beyond the marina area. Tom set the chart plotter on a course for Hyatt Incline, and we lined up with the kayak and swimmer on starboard.

Under the light of a near-full moon, Angel covered nearly 6 km in the first two hours. But as we moved into the open lake, a Force 2 headwind arose out of the northeast, slowing our progress and blowing us west of the rhumb line during feeds.

kayak in the moonlight Midnight on the lake

Swimming into a small but annoying headwind-chop, Angel’s made les than 2 km per hour in the early morning hours. But she remained in good spirits, feeding on GU and fruit smoothie. During her 12:30am feed she drily joked, “I’m going for a speed record.”

Around 1:30am the wind switched, now coming out of the west and a bit stronger. Tom maneuvered Ghost Rider to the other side (swimmer and kayak on port) to better hold the line against the eastward push. At 4am, Gretchen gave Lisa a well-deserved rest after a 7-hour paddle. Around 4:45am (7:45 elapsed) we were halfway to Incline.

morning light

Around 5:30am, the day’s first light emerged over the Carson Range. The wind switched again, now southeast and calmer (Force 1). Swimmer speed and crew spirits rose with the dawn, and after a witching-hour nadir of 1.7 kph, Angel made more than 2 kph for the rest of the swim. The crew enjoyed a tupperware feast of eggs, sausage, and fried potatoes prepared by Lisa.

victuals

As the morning progressed, we started to get more questions from Angel along the lines of “Are we there yet?” — but onward she swam with her steady cadence (47-48 strokes per minute). By 8:30am we had a glassed-off lake all to ourselves - no other boats in sight. We executed another kayak switch at 8:30 (Lisa for Gretchen), and Cathy hopped in for a support swim between 9:50 and 10:45.

support swim

Angel’s swim had generated some media interest, and around 10:45 with 4 km to go, Lisa fielded phone inquiries about our finish ETA and location. As we approached the Incline Village shore around noon, there was a marked increase in boat and jetski traffic. Tom and Lisa closed ranks around Angel to keep her out of anyone’s path.

Just after 12:39pm, Angel cleared the water at the public beach between the mouth of Incline Creek and the Hyatt beach, greeted by her family and a press photographer.

At 15 years, 329 days, Angel is the youngest swimmer known to swim the length of Lake Tahoe.

team


Video

Angel More - Lake Tahoe (length) from MSF on Vimeo.


Media