Scores of swimmers sampled the September Salt at West Neck Beach this Labor Day weekend, signalling the "unofficial" end of Summer 2012. A full moon on Friday marked the last day of August -- as it had the first -- bringing not only stronger than usual tides but the first
"blue moon" since December 31, 2009! Joining "the usual suspects" in the seemingly interminable against-the-current swim to the Sailboat on
Saturday, September 1st, were, quite appropriately,
"once in a blue moon" Pod swimmers
Paul Coster, Rabbi "The Rabbit" Steve Moskowitz, Harrison Huang, Tommy Capobianco and Barry Goldblatt! After battling Saturday's ferocious full-moon current -- as I had every day that week -- I was surprised that I still had arms left to paddle my kayak into Huntington Harbor on Saturday afternoon, along with fellow Podders
Joan Addabo, Karen Ruth and E.J. Voss, to attend the
Sixth Annual Huntington Lighthouse Music Fest. This unique event -- a veritable "Woodstock on the Water" -- was founded six years ago to raise money to benefit the Huntington Lighthouse -- a beautiful, historic working lighthouse in the middle of Huntington Bay that is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is well worth preserving. Hundreds of yachters, boaters, kayakers, canoers and dinghy-ers congregated on the water to listen to fabulous music by eight different local bands throughout the day. I bought my Lighthouse-supporter tee shirt from the "pirates" who were circulating among the floating concert-goers, and left proudly sporting my "Jolly-Roger" pirate flag and making plans to be back next year -- with even more of my fellow West Neck Pod members!
By Sunday, I truly had no arms left, so I opted not to swim and instead took advantage of the dead-low tide to walk the shoreline northward from West Neck Beach to the "house at the end of Causeway," following the early morning swimmers as they slogged their way to the Sailboat against the current, then flew back on the incoming tide. It was a fascinating perspective -- with the well-spread-out line of nearly 20 swimmers in the water stretching as far as I could see -- and the orange "floaty bags" being towed by most of the swimmers dotting the surface of the water like a paprika garnish....
Monday -- Labor Day -- was a little bit less of a truck push as the full moon continued to wane -- and the nearly 20 swimmers who labored their way to the Sailboat were rewarded on their return with a Pod-first -- blueberry pancakes on the beach! -- courtesy of
Susan Robinson (formerly known as "The Muffin-Woman," but who, after previously plying the Pod with homemade cinnamon muffins, then chocolate chip cookies, and now blueberry pancakes, has been redubbed simply, "Susie Homemaker"!).
Todd Rowley supplied the real Vermont maple syrup and orange juice,
Rob Ripp the coffee, and
Carole Wickham and I threw in a dozen bagels with butter and cream cheese to ensure that no one went home hungry -- including the lifeguards --for whom today was their last day of work for the season before heading off to their respective colleges!
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| Hungry swimmers ready for pancakes |
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| The "Floaty-Bag" Flotilla |
It was a fabulous Labor Day weekend -- but the 2012 open-water swimming season is far from over!
See you in the Salt tomorrow -- and the day after that...and the day after that!
Despite the promise of last night's Harvest Moon, which shown brightly through the few clouds that remained in the late evening sky, this morning, just like the several before it, broke grey and cloudy...Even the sun slept in, and it was nearly 7:30 before the sky had lightened enough to confirm that it was actually daylight. The gloominess of the sky was not, however, reflected in the water, which had regained its pristine clarity and, once we put our faces to it, glowed a soft marine green beneath the murky skies. The water temperature remained in the high 60s, and I was comfortable enough in my sleeveless wetsuit, though I lagged behind the full-suited Rob Todd, Ken Longo, Lynn Perzetstzy and Chris Vasallo (no, that's not why, but it makes me feel better to write it...!). The full moon had given the incoming tide a power boost, and it took me 25 minutes just to slog my way to the white rock, which Chris and I decided was far enough. We lingered long enough to watch the long-absent sun make a sudden guest appearance across the Sound, lighting up the distant Connecticut skyline like a birthday cake, then we both turned back for a much faster and easier ride home. Rob, Ken and Lynn continued on to the empty mooring, the Sailboat having apparently departed the harbor for its winter quarters, and then they too flew back on the incoming tide. Gae, Bonnie and Annmarie had gotten a late start and were in various stages of comings and goings, leaving Annmarie to press on alone to the white rock, unseen as we bypassed one another. By the time we all made our way back to the beach, the sun had burned blue holes in the skies above us, and was spreading its oblique autumn light across the harbor and warming my heart as well as my bare arms! Even more heart-warming was the sight of Kara Martinsen waiting for us on the beach, with hot Dunkin' Donuts coffee and Munchkins for everyone! ...Not a bad way to say goodbye to September, hello to October, and Happy Birthday to Rob Todd, whose birthday was today, and a belated Happy Birthday to Chris Vasallo, whose 50th birthday was the 28th...(If I'd known this was a BIRTHDAY swim, I would have worn my birthday suit!)
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