Shirley swimmer one NH lake away from goal

Umbagog Lake isn’t very deep, averaging a depth of 10 toes. In actual fact, Umbagog is alleged to come back from the Abenaki phrase for “shallow water.”

However it’s lengthy — 10.4 miles lengthy, in reality — as a 63-year-old Shirley man will discover out this summer season.

Swimming the size of the lake, which sits between Errol, N.H., and Upton, Maine, received’t be simple, however Mike Welsch hardly ever backs down from a problem.

If he completes the Aug. 21 swim, Welsch may have swum throughout all of New Hampshire’s largest lakes.

Don’t guess in opposition to Welsch, who wears a prosthetic leg under his left knee following a 1980 bike accident.

“You realize one thing? Amputees are doing numerous nice issues,” he mentioned. “I don’t suppose there’s anybody on the face of the earth who has swam all these lakes. That’s my objective. I’m goal-oriented.”

The duty is daunting. Swimming 10 miles in a large lake wouldn’t be simple for a 20-year-old, by no means thoughts somebody thrice older. Welsch expects to be in ache, however quitting isn’t in his vocabulary.

“It’s the Marine Corps in me,” he mentioned. “Simply don’t stop.”

It’s taken many years, however Welsch says he’s swum throughout the Granite State’s largest lakes. Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam, Sunapee, Squam and Wentworth are among the many lakes Welsch has conquered. Umbagog will full the record.

“I’ve to complete the final one,” he mentioned.

Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire’s largest lake, provided the best problem.

Accompanied by two boats, Welsch started the 20-mile swim from Alton Bay at 10 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2005. Sixteen hours later, utterly exhausted, he arrived in Meredith. At one level within the night time he grew to become misplaced earlier than rediscovering his route.

“That was the hardest one,” he mentioned. “My arms quivered for 2 days after that.”

A Boston native, the son of a Boston Police officer, Welsch isn’t certain why he’s infatuated with New Hampshire’s largest lakes.

“I find it irresistible up there,” he mentioned.

After all, swimming isn’t the one means he’s examined his physique. He’s completed 10 Boston Marathons and he would have accomplished 11 had the bombings not occurred in 2013 and the race stopped.

To organize for his Aug. 21 swim, Welsch has swum at Walden Pond in Harmony and Sandy Pond in Ayer. Earlier than he tackles Umbagog, Welsch will attempt to improve his endurance by swimming in Newfound Lake.

He skilled on the Hanscom Air Drive Base pool in the course of the winter and spring.

“It’s all in regards to the situations,” he mentioned. “I’ve no management over the situations.”

He retired in 2020 after 15 years as a custodian within the Burlington faculty system. He has stayed busy in retirement, turning to woodworking and gardening — and swimming.

Welsch grew to become disabled 42 years in the past because of an alcohol-induced bike accident not removed from Camp Lejeune, a North Carolina Marines Corps base.

“It’s one thing I’ll pay for the remainder of my life,” he mentioned.

Welsch, who mentioned he’s been sober for 33 years, has talked to college students and jail inmates about his experiences — and errors.

“I really feel like I’ve made a big effect with these individuals,” he mentioned.

Welsch’s accomplishments embrace ending the Boston Mild Swim seven instances. The 8-mile swim is held in Boston Harbor.

He was unable to complete an Ironman occasion as soon as.

“That ruined me for a complete yr,” he mentioned. “I mentioned, ‘I’ll by no means, ever stop a race once more.’”

Welsch mentioned he’s been “impressed by lots of people,” together with Carl Brashear, who grew to become the Navy’s first African American grasp diver regardless of having a prosthetic limb. Brashear is the topic of the 2000 movie “Males of Honor” starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

Welsch underwent proper knee substitute final yr, forcing him to chop again on his actions. However he isn’t one to sit down idle for lengthy. He’s on to the following problem, together with his August swim at a lake that’s greater than 10 miles lengthy.