Chris Lechner grew up in a swimming family, and his early trips to Lake Michigan inspired a dream to swim across the length of it. He came close enough to see his goal, only to have it snuffed by the power of a big lake rip current.

Lechner was rescued by Coast Guard rescue swimmers, less than a quarter mile from his goal of swimming across the big lake. Lechner radioed a friend for help after he began hallucinating as he tried to circumnavigate a strong rip current propelled by 25 mph winds.

"My body was functioning well, but I knew I was losing some of the peripheral things as I got more and more worn down," Lechner, an Asheville orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand surgeries told the Asheville Citizen Times. "At one time, I was convinced I had this giant dolphin swimming alongside me — just beautifully swimming along by my feet. I was so convinced it was real I took a GoPro video of it. I can't wait to see that."

Lechner's swim began at Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine, Wisconsin Saturday with the goal of pulling up with his paddle board early Monday at Big Red, the lighthouse guarding the Lake Macatawa channel in Holland. However strong winds buffered him from the get-go, giving him sea sickness early on, and leading to the rip current he couldn't solve when he finally got sight of Michigan near Saugatuck Dunes State Park, well south of his goal.

"I was losing my ability to make judgments,"  Lechner, told MLive.com, "I felt very strong but my mind was getting fuzzier."

His wife, Janna called in Coast Guard rescue boats at about 10:30pm Monday night, after it became clear Lechner was in bad shape and unable to solve the currents. She and other friends and family members were holding up their cell phones to try and light his way to the sandy shore.

"I trained myself to have one last thought and when this thought came across my mind I knew I needed to call for help.  The thought that was coming into my mind was 'You're in trouble Chris," he told Channel 13 news in Asheville.

"I didn't take it lightly. I was fully aware of the risks," he told Mlive. "The only thing I didn't study enough was riptides."

Photo courtesy of Chris Lechner
Photo courtesy of Chris Lechner
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So how does it feel to come so close, and fall yards short?

"...it's funny when people ask me if I'm disappointed, because I really don't understand the question," he told the Citizen Times, "my journey was spot on. I faced all my fears, I faced all the dangers and I conquered them all, with a lot of help of course. But to me, that's what I'd define as a success."

Lechner also was swimming to raise funds for the Asheville Yoga Center. Earlier this year, he described why he was making the trek across Lake Michigan and how yoga practice aided in his training.

 

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