Two Victoria women who battle disease successfully swam across the Juan de Fuca Strait on Monday.
52-year-old Susan Simmons suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and 42-year-old Jill Yoneda has a degenerative disc disease-- but it didn't stop them from swimming from a spit near Port Angeles to Clover Point and Ogden Point respectively.
Simmons has dealt with MS for 20 years, but is a seasoned marathon swimmer, says she broke a record with her swim. “I was completely unassisted which is great, It was 10 hours and six minutes.”
Yoneda, who is recovering from multiple surgeries, swam with a wet suit to help her with buoyance which was a good thing because it got really cold for her heading into the Victoria area. “I was just shivering uncontrollably and
I was exhausted so it was getting tough near in the end.”
In the end both women made it in a journey that is pegged at between 30 and 35 kilometres.
Before the swim, they say only seven swimmers had been successful in crossing the strait on the same route. The first person was Marilyn Bell in 1956.
The two are trying to raise funds for MS and First Nations.