Grannie Gatorhead’s Global Fight - Swimming North Eleuthera on drowning prevention campaign

As Part of a Global Campaign to Promote Water Safety, Kathleen Lawrence, an energy packed 65 year old avid swimmer, is on a crusade swimming around the world to promote drowning prevention and in May 2009 North Eleuthera became a part of her fight.

The resident of Phoenix, Arizona who visited Eleuthera up to May 12, began her crusade in 2007 when with 100 participants, including her grand daughter -  one of 50 children in the group, she swam from the famed Alcatraz island to San Francisco Bay for the same cause.

 "Swimming at this age is a gift from the Lord allowing me to help save lives", Lawrence said in conversation with The Eleutheran.

We accompanied her on an approximately three (3) mile swim from Bluff to Spanish Wells in North Eleuthera.

 The May sun was searing down at around 9:00 am when she jumped in and started across. A part of her swim usually involves the back stroke while flawlessly balancing a Gatorade bottle on her forehead - a trick she learnt while training.

She had gone 38 miles, in various locations, prior to her Eleuthera endeavour, and has the ultimate goal of swimming 100 miles, sporting her Grannie Gator Head display along the way. 

Her adventure has taken her to swim in a number of places, including Exit Glacier, Alaska; the Sea of Cortez in Mexico; the Seine River, France; and the Colorado River.

The waters of North Eleuthera proved a challenge, with opposing tides, winds picking up mid-swim, kicking up choppy waves and developing clouds threatening a morning shower.  This, mixed in with the intense May sunshine made Kathleen’s ‘Gator Head’ feat even more impressive as she carried it portions of the way each mile. 

At about half way, Kathleen’s husband Alex, who celebrated his 81st birthday in March, joined her in the water for a short while, which seemed to give her renewed vigor for the final push into Spanish Wells.

She made full use of the back-stroke, free-style, breast-stroke and butterfly – her specialty – throughout the swim and declared at the end, around half past noon, as she stepped up onto the dock in Spanish Wells, “I can swim back”!

When asked about how the water was during the swim, Kathleen shared,” The water is so beautiful, and it changes all the time… sometimes it’s completely clear blue, and that’s really special, and then you’ll get in a little darker area – it was different the whole way; currents changed, the wind changed, temperature changed… so you have to be prepared for everything…  It was really fun, and an adventure to be at one with the water…  It was the most beautiful swim I have ever done! 

As a part of her efforts to promote water safety, Kathleen volunteered during her two weeks stay in Eleuthera, to hold swim classes, including drowning prevention tips, with local school kids from North Eleuthera, coordinated through public health Nurse Dan Bauchi who has been serving in Lower Bogue and North Eleuthera for the past two years.

On Saturday, May 9th Kathleen spent time with three delightful girls ranging in age from 2 to 16 years old, each with their own views about the water.  As she described, “The surf was up... Little 2 year old Shakianah jumped right in!  No fear and the surf was rough....an example of how little ones must be watched around water as some are fearless. The two older girls were a different story:  They both were a bit timid of the water.....due to the waves and all.  11 year old, Nyasha grasped my hands and we did "scoops" and then kicks and then she tried the bottle-head balance.  She did great and was swimming on her own by end of the hour.  Then Ellisiane, 16, got the hang of it and joined in and they were squealing with delight and bouncing around the surf for the rest of the time.  She too, tried to balance the bottle.  Maybe one second each of success.” 

Sunday, Mother's Day, was another ball game altogether as ten (10) boys from Lower Bogue showed up at Homecoming Beach to swim and train with Grannie-Gator Head.  The afternoon water's were calmer than they were the day before.  Mid-way through the hour long session, a barracuda joined the fray, sending them all up the ladder and ropes of the dock faster than the sound of lightening!

They got back in the water, when the coast was clear, for some bottle-head balancing contests:  Kathleen made sure they all got to do it, even for a minute.  Some basic safety skills and the ABC's of drowning prevention were talked about.  A: Always an adult near by.  B:  Barriers, which means:  locks, gates and fences.  C is for classes, just like the ones they were taking.  The ten boys ranged in ages from one 5 year old up to a 14 year old.

The 65 year old, Lawrence, completed her 50th mile with 35 children following her with “their bottle heads”, in Arizona USA on June 25th.

To learn more about Kathleen’s labor of love, visit www.granniegatorhead.wordpress.com or send an email to granniegatorhead@yahoo.com.  Kathleen swims on behalf of the FAST Foundation (The Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training).  Find them on the web at www.thefastfoundation.com.