Wendy Van De Sompele, a local swimmer who in recent years has made news with repeated feats of cold-water aquatic endurance, has done it again.

On July 22, Van De Sompele, 57, completed a 12.9 mile, triple-lighthouse tour of Puget Sound — swimming from Gig Harbor to Brown’s Point in Tacoma, and then plunging back in the water to make her way to Point Robinson, on Maury Island.

The swim, in water that ranged from about 55 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit, took just over eight hours. It was Van De Sompele’s answer to six “lighthouse-to-lighthouse” challenges proposed by the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association (NOWSA), an organization that promotes and supports endurance swimming in Puget Sound.

Van De Sompele, a member of the nonprofit association, wasn’t satisfied with the idea of swimming only from Brown’s Point to Maury — and decided to start from the Gig Harbor Lighthouse instead.

“I thought, a 10k is not going to be that difficult,” she said. “It would be more challenging for me to do a 20k swim.”

Adhering to English Channel rules, Van De Sompele took on the challenge wearing only a swimming suit, swim cap and goggles — slicing through the open water with a powerful crawl stroke, while battling powerful currents that seemed, at times, to hold her in place during the first 2.5 miles of the journey.

She also observed other rules of sanctioned swims: no hanging on to the side of the boat that accompanied her on the swim, and only one 10-minute rest to eat and drink on the shore of Brown’s Point.

Her picnic by the lighthouse there, she said, consisted of a peanut butter sandwich made between two chocolate chip cookies, and energy gels to power the rest of her swim.

Her swim was observed and assisted by a three-person crew: Andrew Malinak, president of NOWSA, who piloted the support boat; Jerome Leslie, who timed the swim for NOWSA and made sure she observed the rules; and islander Peter Ray, her life partner, who provided personal assistance and filmed the entire journey.

Ray’s chronicle of the marathon swim, condensed to a 30-minute video posted at tinyurl.com/3za5th8d, reveals that Van De Sompele had a few other observers along the way, including seals and harbor porpoises.

A mother seal, with a pup on her back, also greeted her as she launched her swim at Gig Habor, she said.

She interacted with a few humans, too — starting with a gaggle of paddle boarders skirting the beach at Gig Harbor, who paused to inquire if Van De Sompele was out for a “cold water plunge” and then continued on, speechless, after she told them her actual plans for the day.

At Brown’s Point, during Van De Sompele’s 10-minute rest on the beach, a young girl who was about 8 or 9 years old approached her to ask, “Where did you come from?”

The girl’s eyes widened when Van De Sompele replied, “Gig Harbor.”

“That’s really far!” the girl exclaimed.

After Van De Sompele came ashore at Point Robinson Beach, the same thing happened — another young girl shyly walked up to ask the same question, and was wowed by the answer.

Those encounters, according to Van De Sompele, made her day.

“I hope I inspired both of them to do something hard — the thing you don’t think you can do,” she said.

One stroke at a time

Jerome Leslie, who observed and timed Van De Sompele’s triple-lighthouse swim, pointed out that she had pioneered the route.

NOWSA had gone out on boats to observe and study the routes, he said, as well as studied charts of the area.

“But, until a swimmer drops into the water, that’s when the truth really comes out about the conditions, currents, and tides,” he said. “Wendy is the ultimate swimmer for a pioneering swim — skilled and trained as a swimmer and full of the guts, determination, and no-nonsense outlook on getting the swims done.”

Leslie reported that Van De Sompele had kept her stroke rate at about 60 strokes a minute for the entire eight hours and nine minutes of the swim, holding steady when the current was against her and fighting through and getting even faster if the current and tides gave her a push.

“I’ve observed a lot of swims with NOWSA, but this was a great one to watch as it was an inspiring and epic swim,” he said.

On Vashon and beyond, Van De Sompele’s jaw-dropping exploits in open water have been garnering attention for years.

In 2016, she made history as the only known swimmer to circumnavigate Maury Island, a 14-mile journey from Tramp Harbor back around to Portage that she made in seven hours and 23 minutes.

She did the swim, she said, because reaching the age of 50 had motivated her to push her boundaries a bit.

“I wanted to do something to impress myself,” she said, adding that the swim went pretty well. “I wouldn’t say it was easy — but it was easier than I thought it would be.”

In 2018, Van De Sompele circumnavigated Mercer Island, and completed the Portland Bridge Swim, spanning 11 miles and passing under 12 bridges in the Willamette River.

In recent years, she has also participated three times — most recently in 2022 — at the S.C.A.R. Swim Challenge, a fabled four-day swim in Arizona in the Saguaro Lake, Canyon Lake, Apache Lake, and Roosevelt Lake.

At a total cumulative distance of 41.7 miles (66.9 km), it is one of the longest marathon swims in the world, according to the World Open Water Swim Association. Van De Sompele completed all four stages of the swim in 2018 — the hardest thing she has ever done in her life, she said.

All along the way, she’s earned the boundless admiration of Vashon’s tight-knit community of open-water swimmers.

Heidi Skrzypek and Mary Singer, who embarked on their own first official marathon swims in 2021, both expressed awe when asked to speak about their friend and mentor.

“Wendy is kind, nurturing, and has a wealth of swimming knowledge,” said Skrzpek, who marveled at Van De Sompele’s discipline and determination in training, as well as her ability to swim great distances in the Sound without wearing a wetsuit.

Singer, who stood with Skrzypek on Port Robinson Beach to greet Van De Sompele as she came out of the water on July 22, described her swim as one that required incredible physical and mental strength to accomplish.

“Wendy never ceases to amaze me,” said Singer. “In the few years I’ve known her, she always seems to have a big swim up her sleeve, and she doesn’t shy away from a very tough challenge. It was S.CA.R. last year, and this year, the local lighthouse swims. It is swimmers like her who show us what’s possible and inspire me, at least, to push myself further.”

What’s next for Van De Sompele?

When asked, she ticks off a list of swims she hasn’t yet done — the English Channel, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Catalina Challenge — but says that she plans, for sure, to return to the S.C.A.R. event, in Arizona, next year.

In just a few weeks, she added, she plans to swim NOWSA’s lighthouse challenge from Alki Point to Point Robinson — a 13.2-mile swim. And after that?

“I want to do all the lighthouse swims, and be the first person to do that,” she said.

A lifelong athlete

Van De Sompele’s world is a watery one.

She’s worked for Seattle Parks since 2000 and is currently the aquatic director of both West Seattle’s Colman Pool and Medgar Evers Pool, in Seattle’s Central District — workplaces that provide her with a perfect place to train for more marathon swims, as well as work with a new generation of swimmers, lifeguards and swim coaches.

Growing up in Issaquah, Van De Sompele started swimming as a child in Lake Sammamish.

She swam competitively until the age of 14, but also, as a kid, played soccer and basketball, ran track, and raced BMX bikes — developing a mental toughness that served her well as an adult when she took up endurance sports including triathlons and cycling events.

In her late 20s, Van De Sompele said, she returned to swimming — and now, 30 years later, she isn’t showing any signs of stopping.

She’s said she has been inspired by other distance swimmers in her own age group, and older — an intensely fast and fit group of elders. She also cited the example of her own mother, a distance runner and avid mountain hiker who always seemed to find joy in intense outdoor challenges — including arduous, weather-challenged camping trips with her daughter.

“It would be pouring down rain, the tent would be almost floating away, and she would just smile and say, ‘Isn’t this fun?’” Van De Sompele said, with a laugh.