Latest news with #KellyBowers
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
‘As tough as I could' Saskatoon born woman completes English Channel swim
Aerin Bowers completed one of the ultimate swimming challenges in the world. 'I swam across the English Channel. I swam from near Dover to Wissant, which is on the French coast. And it was a swim that took me 16 hours and 33 minutes and some,' Bowers told CTV News via Zoom from Ramsgate, England. Bowers is originally from Saskatoon but now lives in Rossland BC. She had initially hoped to complete the challenge in September for her 50th birthday, but it was called off because of bad water conditions. She flew back to try it again on June 30, and this time, she was able to get in the water with the help of her support team. Her team includes a coach, her partner and a friend who threw her bottles to feed her, which must be consumed in the water. Aerin Bowers - English Channel swim Brent Hobbs and friend Debbie Collingwood, the support team, with Bowers in the water beside the boat.(Courtesy: Aerin Bowers) Bowers recalls one of the challenges was trying to keep the liquid sustenance down during the grueling swim. Bowers' last name might sound familiar to those in Saskatoon. Her dad was Kelly Bowers, who passed away in 2019. He was an inspirational teacher and coach in the community. It was his wise words that kept her going during the 16-hour feat of physical and mental endurance. 'He had two sayings that he used to say to me all the time. And everyone will probably have heard these before. And the first one was, 'keep plugging.' So, you just keep going, keep plugging. And then the second one is 'you got to be tough.' So, that was the main one that I sort of repeat over in my head. You've got to be tough. So, I tried to be as tough as I could,' she said. Aerin Bowers - English Channel swim Bowers and her late dad, Kelly Bowers, who she drew inspiration from during her challenging swim. (Courtesy: Aerin Bowers) She admits she thought about giving up after intense jellyfish stings on her face and arms, her tongue burned by salt water. Not to mention the temperature of the water was a chilly 16 C. 'When I was getting closer to France, that's where the tide really kicked in so, I was sort of swimming in place for what felt like a really long time and had to still keep up my stroke rate so that eventually you kind of push past it.' And push past it she did. Bowers raised money through a GoFundMe page. Currently she's $800 short of her goal of $10,000. The money is going to Jumpstart, a children's charity close to her dad's heart. 'It was important to my dad that all kids would have access to do the sports and activities that they love without any financial barriers. And I benefited from that as a kid. I was able to do, you know, everything from swimming to volleyball.' She started swimming when she was three-years-old and has no plans to stop, saying she doesn't rule out attempting this swim again, but needs to financially recoup since she paid for all of it out of her pocket.
West Australian
12-05-2025
- West Australian
American lighthouse tour group can't get enough of Geraldton's Point Moore landmark
The Point Moore lighthouse is iconic to Geraldton and the Mid West but its fan base continues to spread globally, with a tour group of American tourists recently falling in love with the local landmark. Late last month on an especially windy day, a group of about 30 US tourists — on a tour visiting dozens of lighthouses across Australia's coastline — stopped in Geraldton to get up close to the city's 34m tall candy-striped structure. The 147-year-old tower is the tallest steel lighthouse on mainland Australia and has a unique colour scheme compared to many other lighthouses. Nearing the end of their tour, organised by the US Lighthouse Society, the Point Moore beacon was a favourite of many. Thanks to the Batavia Coast Maritime Heritage Association, the lighthouse was opened to the group, who were allowed to step inside and explore the base. 'This one ranks pretty high because it's very tall and the colours are phenomenal and the structure that it's made of is beyond even imaginative,' tour leader Kelly Bowers said. Darlene Chisholm, from Albion in Michigan, isn't sure if she's a world record-holder, but she well could be. 'I'm not quite up to date on my count, but I've seen over 4500 lighthouses . . . there are different definitions of what is a lighthouse,' she said. Cheryl Kelly, from San Clemente in California, has been to 'probably 800' and admits she'll 'never catch up' to her travelling mate. On the appeal, Ms Chisholm simply said 'they just call me'. Fellow tour member Pamela La Fontaine, from Ashburn in Virginia, elaborated on what draws her to lighthouses. 'They're beautiful, they're by the sea, they help save lives and they have great stories . . . sometimes very sad stories,' she said. 'To be able to go inside and see the spiral stairs that's just an absolute honour.' Of the 31 Australian lighthouses the group had visited by the time they reached Geraldton, they had only been allowed to climb two of them. For safety reasons, the public cannot climb the 127 steps to the top of the Point Moore lighthouse, which is owned and operated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. But the BCMHA envisages one day of being able to develop a lighthouse precinct, which could offer guided tours to the top. This possibility was strongly supported by the lighthouse's newest fans. 'You get a group like us, the real bonus for us is if we get to climb to the top. There are other groups out there that are just as enthusiastic,' Ms Kelly said. Ms Bowers added: 'You would be able to make money off it because people would pay to climb to the top of this lighthouse, it's a very good fundraiser to keep the lighthouses going.' Ms Chisholm said while it was understandable why some lighthouses were off limits to climb, when the opportunity arose it was a 'totally awesome' experience. 'Even with a cane, I'd climb this lighthouse,' she said.
