Man attemps swim across Lake Tahoe for charity

It had been months of planning and training for former South Lake Tahoe resident Ric Llewellyn as he prepared to swim across the Lake Tahoe in an effort to raise money for a charity close to his heart.

On Wednesday, August 24, all of the preparation was put to test for the endurance athlete as he entered the 68 degree water at Emerald Bay for the 8.5 mile swim across the lake.

“We got a late start and it cost us a successful crossing,” said Ric, referring to starting about three hours late due to the last minute withdrawal of a support boat. The Lake Tahoe swim was a fund raising event for a non-profit started by a friend of his, Mark Bender, in Duvall, Washington. FindingHup.org provides adaptive sports encounters for victims of spinal cord injuries.

"My friend, Mark Bender, was injured in a body surfing accident in 2013," Ric told South Tahoe Now in June. "I was moved by the fact that he has already taken on the mission of supporting others, even though he and his family are still struggling to adapt to his own injury. This swim is something I can do to help."

“Swimming shore to shore was one goal but drawing attention to the opportunities that exist for people with spinal cord injuries was the number one goal,” said Ric. “Finding Hup in Washington or High Fives in Truckee can offer truly life-saving hope for people by getting them out of the chair and back in the mix with adaptive sports solutions.”

Ric left the beach at Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay at 8:10 a.m. Wednesday morning. The swim, piloted by local Jim Greenwood, was progressing well through noon.

“We had initially planned to be done by 11:30 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.,” said Ric. “I was getting tired and pretty cold and the wind waves were making it impossible for me to maintain my form in the water.” The Swim Observer called off the swim and Ric got out of the water about a mile off Nevada Beach at 2:20 p.m.

He was taken to the Tahoe Beach Club dock adjacent to Nevada Beach. By that time the surface conditions were one to two foot wind waves kicked up by a brisk west wind.

“I got a chance to get SCI and adaptive sports solutions in front of a lot of people with this event," Ric explained. "Now it’s up to them to get involved. If you have an injury, look around for a group like Finding Hup in your area. If you have a heart for providing people with outdoors opportunities that seem out of reach, donate to FindingHup.org.”

Ric said the swimming experience was "unbelievable." It has been a secret ambition for a few years. “I feel like it’s been a great success for Mark and his non-profit but now I know a shore to shore swim is possible for me,” added Ric.

Don’t be surprised to see him back next summer.

Learn more about Finding Hup and Mark Bender at www.FindingHup.org.

You can still donate to the Trans-Tahoe swim through Wednesday August 30th at https://www.classy.org/campaign/marathon4mark-swim-across-lake-tahoe/c84256.