Photo By Amber Rivette | 241126-N-CT713-1033 SAN DIEGO (Nov. 26, 2024) Lt. Spencer McVeigh, Reactor Department...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO - Chosen by the wands of English Oak and Phoenix Feather as a faithful Ravenclaw, and a Platform 9 3/4 pen she has never removed from her ship uniform, layers of countless victories hid beneath the magic veil of Lt. Spencer McVeigh’s innocent sparkle. Growing up in the heart of San Diego, Lt. Spencer McVeigh surprised herself, her friends, family, and community by overcoming tumultuous challenges in the Navy, refusing to sink of failure.
As an adolescent swimming often in the Coronado Bay through the years, she never knew that in her adult life she would glide over the entire 11.5-mile route as an open-water swimmer while finding a sense of healing and connectivity to the island.
As an English major overcoming every science and math struggle to become a surface warfare officer for USS Carl Vinson in the nuclear reactor department, McVeigh knew that nothing could stand in the way of her dreams of open-water swimming.
“That was why I started to step up in swimming,” said McVeigh. “Passing in power school is a 2.5; I was a 2.5-stay-alive student. 14-hour days for seven straight months just to pass. I was fighting for my life in the Rickover. I felt that if I could finish that, I could try marathon swimming.”
The link between swimming and the nuclear navy, however, manifested long before power school. When appearing before a four-star admiral who asked why she wanted to be a SWO in the nuclear navy with, frankly, unimpressive STEM grades and a major in English, McVeigh answered with her passion for sailing and swimming.
“I mentioned that the appeal of surface warfare for me was being in the ocean,” said McVeigh. “You see the sunrise and sunset, feel the spray of the sea. I mentioned to him that I’m an open-water swimmer with aspirations to be a channel swimmer one day.”
After McVeigh and the admiral marveled over mutual love for the book “Swimming to Antarctica,” she knew it was time to add that facet of wonder into her life in a way she never had before.
“Since then, I felt a potential link between pushing through the nuclear community and open-water swimming, because both came up in an environment where I never thought they would,” said McVeigh. “The fact that one of my nuclear interview questions ended up being about open-water swimming, I felt I had to pursue this personal goal I will always have.”
While open-water swimming connected McVeigh to the surface of her deepest desires and her triumphs, it also served as a deep healing component for loss and a celebration for life.
“My dear friend, Lt. j.g. Andrew James Lorimer, who I knew as Ajay, took his life June 29, 2021,” said McVeigh. “For a man so kind, brilliant, and strong, he lost a battle with mental health; I promised to keep his memory alive, and aspire to prevent losses like his in the future.”
The Coronado Bay was where McVeigh and her mother walked to mourn and heal in the after-hours of Ajay’s passing. Little did they know, the Coronado Bay would be where McVeigh would serve after her first assignment in Japan, and that she would take Ajay in her heart with her to swim around the entire island, carrying their friendship and his story with her.
“There are these awesome experiences he can now have through me that he never got to have because his life was cut short,” McVeigh said. “He’s still so much a part of me.”
McVeigh wrote the initials of her dearest loved ones on her wrist as a tradition started by her brother during his rugby games. She wrote AJ, JJ, EJ, for her immediate family who came to support her big day, and then another AJ for her dear friend Ajay.
Giving honor to the ship, McVeigh asked permission from Vinson’s captain to write its hull number, CVN 70, on her other arm during the swim.
Armed with the salve of presence over her heart for loss, her family, and the shadow of Vinson, McVeigh maintained her warrior toughness throughout the swim by remembering her triumphs in nuclear school, those she loved, and her fight to celebrate life.
“You. Are. Alive! I. Am. Alive!” McVeigh screamed into the water as she was swimming. “There’s nothing else in the world than open-water swimming that makes me feel so deeply alive.”
McVeigh’s conscious effort to fight through the pain of this swim was a representation of her fight to be a nuclear officer and the fight to see the beauty of pain, loss, suffering, and life itself through endurance and inspiration to others.
“With just you and the ocean, you have to be present, you have to pay attention,” said McVeigh. “You are no longer a passenger in existence, you are the driver.”
They began in Glorietta Bay and grazed past Vinson through the Coronado channel in a span of 4.8 hours, surviving on glucose packs and water carefully handed to McVeigh in order to heed the no-touch rules.
“According to regulation, during the swim itself, you can never be touched by anyone and you can never hang on something for support,” said McVeigh. “You have to train to regulate your body temperature and make sure you can push through those mid to low 60s temperatures.”
The most challenging aspect of open-water swimming for many aspiring mermaids, including McVeigh, was the body-temperature adaptability for long-term endeavors.
“The harder swims I found were when I had to train by treading to manage the cold and find something to think about,” said McVeigh. “When I’m in the water, I’ll sing certain song lyrics over and over, count my strokes, but ultimately, my mind kind of goes blank in the best way, giving me peace and serenity.”
McVeigh explained that life lessons, her love of the royal blue hue of the ocean, and especially her favorite magical series contributed to develop her strength in the sea.
“My favorite line in the whole Harry Potter series is when Professor McGonagall says, ‘I’ve always wanted to use that spell;’ the real actress Dame Maggie Smith was going through cancer treatments when she was filming, which is such a testament to continuing to protect and inspire,” said McVeigh. “I could probably mumble the Piertotum Locomotor spell to myself a couple of times to keep me going during the swim.”
As she steadily closed in on Gator Beach, a crowd of McVeigh’s loved ones cheered for joy as she emerged from the water, finally stood, and ran onto the dry sand. Grinning ear to ear, McVeigh turned to face the water, where her coach awaited a signal on a kayak. She threw two fists into the air, then he waved his paddle to signify her triumph.
Once McVeigh was fully at the finish line, she wasted no time in embracing her family, friends, and loved ones with laughter and tears. Her best friends had already thought to bring her a meal upon arrival.
“The amount of food I had after should be illegal. Two Chic-Fil-A sandwiches, bag of chips and a Diet Coke, a Foster’s Freeze cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake,” said McVeigh. “Just the whole kit caboodle.”
While McVeigh was initially planning to nap after the swim, the electricity of her accomplishment continued to surge within her.
“I actually couldn’t sleep,” said McVeigh. “I tried to sleep, and I couldn’t, I was still pretty fired up.”
For both sailing and swimming, McVeigh continues to make a mark of endurance for sailors and civilians around her.
“I quote Dori, ‘just keep swimming,’ because I’m built to just keep pushing,” said McVeigh. “I’m not the fastest, but I have endurance because I love doing it, and it is good for both my body and mind.”
No matter the circumstance, McVeigh continues to live an example of kindness and care through her role as a nuclear officer and by living out her dreams of open-water swimming, sharing the depths of her soul to those willing to observe her unfathomable journey. In various dark passages life had to offer, McVeigh has learned and displayed the resilience of a true sailor through the endurance of her sailing and swimming.
“I genuinely set a goal, I achieved it, and I was just really happy and proud that I did it.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2024 03:49 |
| Story ID: | 486970 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, US |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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