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There were a lot of interesting stories posted on Syrup this week.
Among them, a Vancouver lifeguard planning to swim 30 kilometres from Squamish to Horseshoe Bay for a cause.
Jessi Harewicz, a distance ocean swimmer, will set off during the tidal window between June 8 and 10 at around 2 a.m.
Her goal is to raise funds for the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR) Station 04 in Squamish.
"It’s taken a few years … but I understand why nobody wants to swim big distances in Howe Sound. There’s lots of planning and logistics. Lots of little islands placed close together with some crazy wind patterns and currents," Harewicz said in a press release.
"[But] the snow-capped mountains, the Indigenous stories, driftwood, the seals and other wildlife, make it a place to swim like no other."
Her swim was inspired by fellow English Channel swimmer Shane Collins, who did the route first. He passed away in 2017.
Speaking of endurance, a former Tsawwassen resident and Delta Secondary graduate is preparing to pedal the longest road in the world: the 23,000-kilometre Pan American Highway.
Ashleigh Myles, now based in Nova Scotia, will start the long ride in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on Aug. 20 and will be making the ride in the “unsupported” category, meaning she has to carry all the gear herself.
That also means no special assistance during the ride and using only commercial services on the way. A daily witness log and GPS tracking are also required.
The final stop on the ice-to-ice route is down under, on the other side of the world, in Ushuaia, Argentina. Read the full story on the Delta Optimist.
Lastly, a B.C. mother is calling for compassionate and effective care when it comes to treating the province's most vulnerable.
Heather Fowler spoke with North Shore News reporter Brent Richter about her late son, James Beik-Fowler, whose remains were found in an abandoned pub more than a year after he was reported missing.
“He suffered from mental illness and, subsequently, drug addiction, and received zero help and ended up being homeless and squatting in this building, and he overdosed,” she said, noting she spent more than a decade trying to get the 26-year-old the help he needed.
“I think if these folks see that they’re cared for, and they learn that trust from being in a caring and loving and nurturing rehabilitative environment, they would find some self worth. There are a lot of people who have gone that road and they end up rehabilitating,” she said.
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