The Triple Swimmer
Aug 02, 2014
The Triple Swimmer is a patch awarded to campers who compete a series of challenging endurance swims. Woodcraft's swimming program is designed to strengthen campers' comfort and abilities in the water, and for many campers this culminates with the Triple Swimmer. As the name implies, there are three parts to the Triple Swimmer. In each instance, the camper ventures outside of the designated swimming area while accompanied by a lifeguard rowing nearby.
Lake Kan-Ac-To has four docks: the main dock for swimming and boating, the Outpost dock for fishing, the Trail Camp dock for stand-up paddle boarding, and the dock at Dave's house. The first installment of the Triple Swimmer consists of diving from the main dock, swimming to Dave's, swimming to Outpost, and then back to the main dock to complete the Triangle. The total distance for this swim is 354 meters (.22 miles).
Next comes the Diamond (which isn't exactly diamond shaped . . .) This builds off the Triangle by adding the long leg down to Trail Camp. As luck would have it, the Diamond is exactly double the length of the Triangle at 708 meters (.44 miles). The speed record for the Diamond was set at 11:03 by Chrissy Marchetta in 2001, breaking her own record set in 1999.
The final installment of the Triple Swimmer is the Clothesline. For this swim, the camper must jump off the high dive fully clothed in shoes, socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. He or she swims the 112 meters across to Dave's dock and then back again for a total of 224 meters (.139 miles). The real challenge in the Clothesline in the cumbersome weight of the clothing.
Recently campers and counselors have added another element to the Triple Swimmer. The .44 meter distance of the Diamond, when swum 24 times, adds up to just about the 10.5 miles it would take to swim from Old Forge to Inlet (assuming, as with the other swims, that the swimmer keeps to a straight line). Any one who swims 24 Diamonds during their tenure at Woodcraft is said to have completed the Fulton Chain.
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