Lakeshore Advance, 2012-08-08, Page 66•
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 9
Stroke of determlnatlon, second Kloss swims across the lake
Dream come true in 26 hours
f Lakeshore Advance
Lynda Hillman-Rapley
"It was everything I thought it would be," said
ason Kloss as he reached the shores of Lake Huron
a little more than 26 hours after he began his swim
from Port Sanilac on August 26th. As his feet
touched the sand, surrounded by family and sup-
porters- he cheerfully asked where the party was.
Jason was following his grandfather Dick's
legacy, a swine much like this one- 20 years ago.
Dick Kloss, turned 70 August 26, and was the
oldest person to swim across the lake in 1991, and
this Aug. 26, his 24 -year-old grandson become the
youngest.
The younger man's motivation behind the 65 -km
swim is more than an attempt to carve another
record into the Kloss family tree. And he did so in
26 hours, four minutes, beating his own goal of 27
hours. Jason Is fundraising for the Canadian
Cancer Society with his swim, aptly named Kloss 2
Cross 4 Cure. When Dick did his swim it was for the
new Grand Bend library being built on Crescent
Street.
"My grandmother Is a breast cancer survivor and
I have multiple friends whose parents have battled
cancer. So 1 knew I had to do something." said
Jason. His grandtnother, Roberta, (Bert) waited on
the shores as the boat s, and her grandson, got
Phos by LynM IIMMENtopley
Jason Moss walks from Lake Huron onto the
shores of Grand Bend's beaches 26.E hours after
he left Pat Sanilac Wake Boarder Andy Oke
comes in behind him. 1 .
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Jason Kloss gets a
"thank goodness you
are okay" kiss
grandmother R
Kloss at the
reception after
medical staff
him the go
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closer and closer. She said she couldn't be
prouder of Jason, raising money for a cause
that hits home.
She recalls her husband's swim back in
1991 with painful intensity.
She watched her then 50 -year-old hus-
band enter the water in Port Sanilac, Mich.,
and waited in Grand Bend for the 36 hours it
took him to complete the swine. It was not
so long of a wait this time as she waited for
her grandson to swim to shore. Lots of
friends and relatives pitched in for the fun-
draiser including Jason's mom Lynn, dad
Rick, brother Michael and sisters Lindsay
and Molly were also a big part of the
fundraiser,
Kloss started training last December -
without telling a soul about his plans -
i after a decade-long hiatus from the Huron
l iurricanes Aquatic Club in Vanastra.
Family member Dave Cunningham was
REGISTRATION
1st Zurich Scouts
Ventures, Scouts, Cubs, Beavers
Place: Zurich Public School
When: Monday, September 12, 2011
Time: 6:30 - 7:30 pm
If you required further information
Contact: Sheila DeLange
at 519-237-3870
one of three pacers for this journey, just
as he was 20 years ago for Dick. On the
shores of Lake Huron, in Grand Bend,
he said he marveled at how strong Jason
was for the trek. Ile said the swim for
Dick was much rougher with 10-12 foot
waves and of course, at that time, Dick
was 50 years old.
Jason said the nighttime was the
worse as the water temperatures
dropped. Ile was sick for about 20 min-
utes but said there was no way that was
going to stop him from reaching his
goal.
"This was a dream come true," he
said. Jason said every time he asked the
pacers how long till he reached shore,
they told him an hour. "You are almost
there," they would tell him again and
again. Ile said that was a really long
hour.
Cunningham said Jason's spirit
soared when he could see the people
waiting on the shores, cheering him on.
Grand Bend's Dr. Peter Englert was
the lead boat for both Jason and Dick's
swim and Bruce Rathwell waited in the
sidelines thinking back 20 years when
he drove the Zodiac- handing that job
over to his son Kent for this swim.
Jason was checked out by Grand Bend
EMS for hypothermia, dehydration and
extreme muscle fatigue before getting
the green flag.
Unfortunately, we
couldn't fit everyone
int e picture.
1'
•
THIS YEAR, ONTARIO CREATED MORE JOBS
THAN ALL OTHER PROVINCES COMBINED.
Source: Statistics Canada.
Mala Vas Monammolly MPP
www.marlavanbommel.onmpp.ca 1 mvanbommel.mpp.coollberaiola.org I 1-800-265-3916