The 2016 OWS Season Begins...!

A dozen swimmers showed up at West Neck Beach this first day of the Memorial Day weekend to inaugurate the 2016 OWS season in near-perfect conditions: The sky was blue and clear, the air warm and nearly windless, the water relatively flat and calm, and its temperature comfortably welcoming even for those swimmers who were returning to the open water for the first time since last Fall (who, it must be noted, were all gratefully wearing full wetsuits). Polar Pod regulars Gae Polisner and I (giddily sleeveless) together with Jimmy Kwong were joined by the slightly-less-Polar Merry Lewin, E.J. Voss, Steve Albright and Brett Emsden, and even Scott Kessler forsook Chlorine for Saline today! Also joining us, from NYC, were Chris, Claire and Jean, who last swam with us in September 2015 (and another guy – who was that??). Since the tide was outgoing (though it felt suspiciously incoming), we swam south toward what would have been the South Buoy if it were in place, which it’s not yet – and wound up reconnoitering at the red, green and white buoys of the Lloyd Harbor Beach mooring field. Our round trip left us just short of a mile, and Gae and I (after stripping off our wetsuits) and E.J. tacked on an extra leg to the dock and back to give us a mile+ for the morning’s swim....Everyone agreed that it was a beautiful start to the 2016 open-water-swimming season....

Tomorrow’s supposed to be sunny and warm...I’m expecting an ever bigger turnout, and looking forward to seeing everyone again after this long winter hiatus....

There’ll be bagels and coffee on the beach on Memorial Day, compliments of the Fairy Pod-Mother...See you in the Salt!

E.J. Voss, Merry Lewin, Gae Poliser and Jimmy Kwong
in the foreground (and thanks to Bondy for taking this
and other pictures posted here!)

Gae Polisner and Carol Moore

E.J. Voss