Howley Completes Solo Crossing of Loch Ness, One Swim Closer to her "Monster Triple"

Elaine Howley finished a solo crossing of Loch Ness late last month. She covered the  22.2-mile length in 13 hrs 21 minutes, making her the third American to swim the length of the loch. We believe that fewer than 15 people worldwide have completed the swim. Water ranged from 51 to about 57 degrees over the course of the swim. "That was a tough swim but great fun," said Howley. 

Elaine's sense of humor never died over 22 miles of cold water ... check out this video of her last feed. The water was so cold that her mouth was frozen, but that's no reason not to tell a good joke! 

Completing the Loch Ness swim puts Elaine just one swim away from the Monster Triple Crown (solo lengths of Loch Ness, Lake Memphremagog, and Lake Tahoe). She plans to swim Lake Tahoe next spring to cross the Monster Triple Crown off of her bucket list.

Media: WOWSA piece

Penny Palfrey Wins 2015 Boston Light Swim

Results

Legendary open water swimmer - 53-year-old Penny Palfrey of Seventeen-Seventy, Queensland, Australia - handily won the 8-mile Boston Light Swim across Boston Harbor on August 15th with a time of 2:56:48. Palfrey maintained an amazing 85 strokes-per-minute pace throughout the eight-mile course.

Finishing second overall, and winning the men's competition, was 63-year-old James Clifford of Poolesville, MD, the oldest male competitor in the race. Clifford finished in 3:08:22, edging out third place finisher Jennifer Olsen, 44, of Natick, MA, who finished in 3:11:28.

The Boston Light Swim is the oldest open water marathon swim in the U.S. and has been a local tradition since 1907. Participants begin in the water at America's first lighthouse, the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in the outer Harbor. The course continues past George's Island and Rainsford Island, then along Long Island (and past where the Long Island Bridge used to stand), and around Thompson's Island. Swimmers come ashore at the historic L Street Bathhouse in South Boston, home of the world famous L Street Brownies and the L Street Ice Swimmers.