More details will come on Patti Bauernfeind's Monterey Bay Swim last night, but Patti was pulled from the water close to her goal after being stung unmercifully by jellyfish in the 56°F (13°C) water."I had a great [first] 8.5 miles with a good pace and without jellyfish. It was lovely to swim in such great conditions. Miles 8.5 - 10.5 were mildly annoying due to dozens and dozens of jellyfish stings. As a result, I had a lot of jelly toxin in my system so the last 0.5 mile was less than ideal," recalled Patti.
"My body used a lot of energy to fight it the toxin and probably went into survival mode. I have never had hypothermia before and now I know how rapidly it can overcome swimmers. It happened very fast. My crew was amazing and took excellent care of me. I regained my normal body temp in less than an hour on the boat."
"I did know that I was being pulled out [of the water]. I was disoriented and very uncoordinated. I had lost control of my legs and I really couldn't feel them. My stroke broke down since I was really using my right arm. I learned all this later. To me, I was swimming normally but without feeling. I was very, very cold."
But it isn't over.
"I will try again and am thrilled at how supportive everyone has been. The swim raised US$22,000 towards building a school."
Similar to Bruckner Chase's defeat in Monterey Bay due to the tentacles of the jellies in 2009, the intrepid adventure swimmers are not willing to give up. Round Two coming up.
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