Water, water everywhere

POLSON - Flathead Lake was as smooth as glass Saturday afternoon, as 75 Water Daze swimmers took off from the KwaTaqNuk docks and headed east across Polson Bay to Boettcher Park. Participants from Lake County joined visitors from Missoula, Kalispell, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and some from as far away as Albuquerque, N.M., to swim a one-mile race to raise money and awareness for Mission Valley Aquatics, the organization whose long-time goal is to build a community swimming facility in the Mission Valley.

With sunny skies and the wind at their backs, conditions were about as good as swimmers could expect for fast times in the open water. While sometimes swimming straight is a considerable open-water challenge, sighting was much easier on Saturday, as a line of orange buoys floated above the wake, which was little more than ripples on the surface, to guide the swimmers across the bay.

"There are very few open-water races in Montana and a lot of people really appreciate having the opportunity to come out and have an open water race," Matt Seeley, of Polson, said.

Compared to 2009, most returning swimmers' times were more than three seconds faster in the one-mile event, which translated into some happy faces at the finish line. Seeley came in first overall with a time of 23:43. Parrie Strike was the lead woman with a time of 25:40. There was even a celebrity appearance by Missoula's Emily VonJentzen, who recently swam the 33-mile length of Flathead Lake, and finished the race in 28:08.

"It's getting bigger every year and more local people and local kids are starting to participate," Seeley said. "This was the strongest showing from Polson yet. One third came from the Missoula area, followed by 19 people from Polson, six from Ronan, six from Bigfork and one from Hot Springs."

Bigfork's Logan Morley was the event's youngest participant at 12-years-old. He joined his whole family, mom, dad and two sisters in the one-mile swim and finished with a time of 50:16.

Winds increased and the chop picked up as the one o'clock hour progressed, unfortunately for the swimmers toward the back of the pack, who had a much harder time navigating the rough waters than the field in front of them.

"Every time I would try to rest, I would turn around on my back, paddle and I'd be off course, so it took all the longer," life-long Polson resident Sharon Coppedge Fulton, the event's oldest participant and the race's final finisher in 1:15.45, said.

While Coppedge Fulton had never done the event before, she knew she could finish, even when the winds picked up and the chop increased.

"I had no aspirations of winning anything, other than finishing. I just wanted to be a part of it," she said. "I've read about it every year and I just wanted to support the swimming pool."

Even with wrinkling fingers and cramps in her legs, she said she could have kept going.

"I had no trouble, really," she said. "I appreciated all the support from the kayakers and I always felt safe. It was really a wonderful thing."

Crowds of swimmers and spectators lined the banks and cheered as Coppedge Fulton neared waters edge and climbed the ramp to solid ground.

"I learned to swim at that beach and I taught swimming and lifeguard there when I was in high school," she said. "We've taught thousands of people to swim on that beach, but I understand the need for the pool and for having a year-round facility."

While swimmers in the one-mile race were still little colorful dots far away in the water, Christi Buffington and the Flathead Lakers did a litter pick-up at the park. About 30 people joined forces to pick up two garbage bags full of trash, taking inventory of where and what they found as they went along.

Splashing down an inflatable water slide was just one of the fun activities set up especially for kids. If cheering on friends and family wasn't enough, children could participate in the kids' swim after the one-mile event. For the older swimmers, or those who didn't need to wear a life jacket, the buoy was placed about 100 yards off-shore. For the younger, or less experienced, it was moved to a more manageable distance.

"They get really excited after the adults swim," Seeley said. "There were a lot of local kids in the kids' swim this year and it's good for them to get a little exposure to open water. The kids really love it because they feel a part of the big event."

Once everyone had worked up their appetite in the water, it was time for a barbecue with plenty of burgers, hot dogs and fresh watermelon to go around. Embossed Water Daze glasses, filled with coveted Flathead cherries, went to the victors and every participant went home with a bag of donated cherries under their arm.

"We want people to know what we're doing and that we're out here working really hard trying to get a swimming facility in the area," Seeley said. "It's not always about how much money we raise, but the awareness that goes along with the event."