Virus impedes Lucky's swimming tradition

For 30 years, swimmers have flocked daily to Lake Cane for Lucky’s Lake Swim, a one-kilometer swimming jaunt across the lake. But that decades-long streak has been broken because of the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic.

“First time we’ve ever had to shut down,” said John “Lucky” Meisenheimer, the Dr. Phillips resident who started the morning routine popular with many West Orange County residents. “Even when it’s stormy out, we keep it optional. People swim when it’s lightning. … We’ve even swam during the hurricanes. … We’ve swam in a fog bank. … One night it got dark, and we kept swimming. It got cold, and one (swimmer) showed up in a wetsuit.”

Even as a squall was approaching with 360-degree lightning on one particular Saturday, participants continued to swim.

Meisenheimer has lived on the shores of Lake Cane for 30 years, having moved there just so he had access to the lake to swim. He also was coaching people at the time. The first few swims were held on the weekends, and as the number of participants increased, so did the number of swim days.

On a recent Saturday, before the daily event was postponed, the gorgeous weather drew 150 people to the lake swim.

“(But) we’re in a world war right now with a very tiny virus,” Meisenheimer said.

This virus has forced Meisenheimer to postpone or cancel several of his scheduled events.

The 10th annual Eat Pray Swim Easter celebration, which raises money for the Edgewood Children’s Ranch, has been canceled.

The Golden Mile for 2020, originally scheduled for the end of May, will be held Oct. 11, and this year it is being combined with the Rowdy and Lucky one-mile swim. The proceeds will be split between the Lake Cane Restoration Society and the Rosen YMCA Aquatic Center scholarship fund.

The Frogman Swim, a 5-kilometer night swim to benefit the Navy Seal Foundation, is held in late fall and shouldn’t be affected.

Meisenheimer takes pride in the Lake Cane Restoration Society, a 501©3 dedicated to improving the quality of the lake. He is working toward creating a “lake in a box,” a concept that shows people how they can make their lakes swimmable, he said.

“Four or five years ago, the Historical Society of Central Florida came and designated the swim as a Central Florida historical event,” he said. “It was quite an honor. The World Open Water Swimming Association ranked our little backyard swim as one of the top 100 swims in the country, which is quite a hoot considering the fact that it’s a backyard swim.”

An estimated 10,000 people all around the world have descended upon the lake shore to swim.

“It’s hard to believe more people keep coming and coming,” Meisenheimer said. “It’s a destination swim in my back yard.”

Updated information on the daily swim and Meisenheimer’s regular blogs are available on the Lucky’s Lake Swim Facebook page.