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| Dana Termini |
As with every open-water season, 2013 has brought a fresh crop of "newbies" to the West Neck Pod. This year’s group – the largest yet – is a diverse lot, with, as always, different levels of swimming skill and experience as well as different reasons for seeking the open water and the company of the Pod. 2013 "newbies"
Dana Termini and
Will Spencer have become Pod regulars, helping to fill the gaping hole left when
Karen Ruth moved back to Cleveland.
Dana, a surfer from the South Shore, is an accomplished open-water swimmer who exhibits the same calm equanimity whether she’s pushing the envelope with the rest of the "Big Dogs" or hanging back with the "Pokey-Pod."
Will, who had only recently taught himself to swim by watching YouTube videos (!), was already registered for his first Iron-Man Triathlon in Louisville on August 25
th -- but his swimming was slow and laborious and he was afraid he wouldn’t make the swim cut come race day. He found the West Neck Pod through an internet search – and after several months of dogged training with the Pod – and being mentored by our multi-time Iron Man veterans
Karen Ruth and
Nancy Lipira, among others – Will made the swim cut in plenty of time...and now he’s ready to mentor the next crop of Iron-Man-wannabees.
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| Will "Iron Man" Spencer |
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| Merry Lewin |
Merry Lewin – whose personality matches her name – is a newly minted sprint triathlete, but with limited open-water experience, Merry was apprehensive about taking on other challenges...Her swims with the Pod have been about exploring and expanding her comfort levels, and increasing both her distance and her sense of confidence. Merry still has "The Sailboat" in her sights – and in due time, with the support and encouragement of the Pod, Merry will add that notch to her swimming belt...just like
Ian Todd did last weekend! Ian is the 12-year-old son of long-time Podder/Polar Podder
Rob Todd, who decided to introduce his "poolie" progeny to the open water this season. Ian has taken to the open water like, well, his Dad, and I definitely see some "big swims" in his future!
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Rob Todd and Ian Todd
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| Rebecca, center, with Joan, Dana, Joye, Larry & Bonnie |
Rebecca Cooney – a
Newsday colleague of long-time Podder
Joye Brown, had been wistfully following the Pod through Facebook and The Water-Blog for eons...but it was a cancer diagnosis that finally brought her to West Neck Beach in mid-July for her first swim with the Pod before undergoing surgery and then chemotherapy/radiation....Wishing Rebecca a speedy return to the healing Salt and her newfound Pod!
Jimmy Kwong is another self-taught swimmer – whose first challenging venture in the open water two weeks ago – safely sandwiched between me and Joye Brown -- brought him as far as the "recently-repainted-building-formerly-known-as-the-‘Blue-House’-but-now-known-as-the-‘White House.’" His second outing last weekend proudly took him as far as the yellow sign – twice! – and Joye informs me that Jimmy made his first South Buoy swim this Labor Day weekend!
Other newbies to the West Neck Pod this season include
Bill Byers,
Marco Papaleo and Pam Algier,
Eliana Themistocleous-Feldstein and "Sidestroke" Matt,
Frank Caponi,
Kathy Coletti (and her neighbor
Gina Foglia, who still hasn’t ventured outside the lines, but promises to soon!),
Joe Maccaro,
Gavin Poole,
Carrie Alexandrowicz,
Tony Alizzi,
Denise Defazio Cooke,
Henry Ivarsson,
Brandon Garrett,
Greg Nieratka,
Peter Dennin, and others whose names have escaped me at the moment...! Many of these have also become Pod "regulars," and even as the official summer season is drawing to a close, "newbies" keep showing up to swim with the West Neck Pod, Long Island’s largest open-water-swimming group!
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| Bill Byers |
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| Eliana and "Sidestroke" Matt (you'll have to ask him!) |
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| Kathy Coletti and Gina Foglia |
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| Gavin Poole |
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| Tri-Buddies Lorraine, and ?? (Dan?) |
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| Tony Alizzi |
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| Eliana and Denise DeFazio Cooke |
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| Henry Ivarsson |
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| Peter Dennin |
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| Brandon Garrett |
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| Anthony |
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| Greg Nieratka |
But for all the "newbies" who came out to join the Pod this season, there are others out there who are still holding back...waiting, for...what, a special invitation??
WELL, HERE IT IS! The West Neck Pod is extending a
Special Invitation to those West-Neck-Pod-wannabees who’ve been hovering on the fringes, but who’ve not yet gotten up the nerve to come out and swim with us (you know who you are!). Take the plunge and join us on
Saturday, September 7th at 7:30 a.m. (before the regularly scheduled 8:00 group swim) for a one-on-one introduction to the open water! No pressure, no expectations, and no goals other than to help you get unstuck if the open water is what you’ve been yearning for. If you’re a strong, competent swimmer who wants to expand your horizons and, well, start swimming towards the horizon, email the Pod at
westneckpod@verizon.net and let us know you’re coming on the 7
th! Wetsuits are recommended – if you don’t own one you can rent one from Runners Edge in Farmingdale or other local runners/cycle shops. We’re also looking for seasoned Pod members to volunteer to mentor our latest crop of "newbies." Sign up on Facebook (https:www.Facbeook.com/WestNeckPod/events or email
westneckpod@verizon.net.
See the rest of you in the Salt – finally!
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Conditions could not have been more perfect for today's long-awaited and long-imagined "Cross-County Swim" from our home beach in Suffolk County directly across the harbor to Cove Neck in Nassau County! The morning was overcast, but the sun kept bursting through great, gorgeous cloud formations that were as dramatic as the occasion. The air temperature was comfortably in the high 50s and rising, there was virtually no wind, and the 67-degree water looked as inviting as that opposite shore....Nearly 30 swimmers turned out for the adventure, along with a fleet of paddleboarders and one kayaker who'd volunteered to escort us across and protect us (we hoped) from the boats that regularly criss-cross the harbor. Though we'd hoped that the late September date would mean there'd be less boat traffic to worry about, I watched with growing uneasiness as one boat after another sped northward past the distant yellow buoys marking the path where we would be swimming. I counted ten boats by the time we were suited up and ready to go -- an unheard of number for an early Saturday morning in late September -- even in this busy harbor. But the distant shore was beckoning, and no one was backing out despite the obvious risks, so off we went toward "The Other Shore"! 
We swam in three tightly packed groups spaced widely apart and kept a vary eye out for approaching boats, as did our escorts. Though the round-trip distance -- a little less than two miles -- was not much more than a typical "Sailboat" swim, which most of us do regularly, the fact that we were so far from shore and swimming across an active boat channel made it seem much, much farther....So when we suddenly saw the flashing lights of the Oyster Bay Constable's boat approaching, and watched it take up a watchful position alongside the phalanx of swimmers, we were greatly relieved -- at least once we realized he was not there to arrest us! We all relaxed a little bit and were able to really enjoy the fabulous swimming conditions and the extraordinary view of our home beach from far out in the harbor. When we had all arrived safely at the beach at Cove Neck, without having seen another boat crossing the channel or bearing down on us, we were elated -- and then we remembered that we still had to swim back! After a brief rest (too brief -- I forgot to look for my flip-flops which had drifted away a few weeks before on an easterly wind -- I know they're here someplace!), we started back across the harbor, in the same three-group formation, but a little more practiced at keeping ourselves together and swimming at the same pace. The Bay Constable's boat followed us all the way back to West Neck Beach and, despite the early traffic, we didn't encounter any other boats and all arrived safely "home." There, swimmers, paddleboarders and friends enjoyed an end-of-Summer feast of bagels, donuts, muffins, crumb-cake, watermelon and hot coffee and tea -- and the exhilaration of having completed what for many of us has been a long-term dream! Many, many thanks to our group leaders Rob Ripp and Carole Wickham for keeping us organized and in formation, and to our kayaker and fellow-Podder Nancy Reycraft and paddleboarders Sal, Nick, Edgar, Linda, Jamie, Jackie, Katie (and one other whose name I didn't get) for keeping us safe and on course! For those who missed out on today's adventure, you can count on us doing it again next year....See you in the Salt!
