Turlock man’s Lake Tahoe swim cut short by the cold

An ambitious Lake Tahoe swim to raise money for charity ended a few miles short of the bank, but Harry Boucher said he plans to do it again next year.

“We were able to make about nine of the 12 miles. I didn’t get quite there,” said Boucher on Wednesday, reached by phone at the family shoe store in Turlock where he works with his folks, Ken and Ernestine Boucher.

It was a parental decision to pull him out of Lake Tahoe’s frigid water, he said. “My family decided I did not look so good,” Boucher said. “I was pretty sick and it took a while to get my body temperature back up to normal.”

The nearly five-hour attempt started on a chilly, overcast morning, and though the sun later came out, the deep lake did not warm and the wind whipped up choppy waves.

Boucher made the swim without a wetsuit, towing his 11-year-old son Max in a kayak. “He was a trooper,” Boucher said, but Max has told him he does not want to do that again.

Harry Boucher is a double amputee, having lost both feet to complications from a childhood illness. He swims marathon distances with his son, who was born with cerebral palsy, to raise awareness of the need for adapted play and sports facilities.

Boucher started out on the quest to raise money for the Miracle League adapted ballpark and playground being built in north Modesto.

Though the final figures are not in, he said his effort raised $12,000 to $15,000 for the charity.

“I thought that was pretty good for a first time,” Boucher said. “I’m definitely going to try again.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Turlock man’s Lake Tahoe swim cut short by the cold."