"Christmas in the Caribbean...."!

With the winter's first major blizzard bearing down on the New York area and threatening to put the kibbosh on our Caribbean vacation plans, Carole and I were vastly relieved that the storm held off until after our plane landed in St. Maarten on a bright, sunny and HOT Christmas afternoon!

Reports of the approaching storm filtered their way to the beach-bar where we sat sipping our first pina coladas of the trip (it being too late in the day to head for the beach), but the snow did not actually begin to fall in New York until the day after Christmas.

That day also dawned rainy and overcast in St. Maarten, so our long-anticipated return to open-water swimming was postponed (in favor of shopping in Philipsburg) until the following day, when we reopened the 2010 open-water swimming season and spent a long, blissful day swimming endless lengths of the beach at Friar's Bay.  Coincidentally, it was also my birthday, and being able to swim my heart out in the exquisite, turquoise-colored water made this birthday truly feel like something to celebrate! 

Tuesday brought more of the same perfect conditions, but today (Wednesday) was another rainy, windy day, with high waves that both of us deemed too rough for swimming.  Hopefully the sun will be out again tomorrow and we can hit the Salt again -- and again and again and again -- until it's time to leave on Saturday -- but not before we undertake our own New Year's Day "Polar Bear swim" in solidarity with our brethren in the cold, snowbound North!  And so the 2011 open-water season begins....!  See you in the Salt!

"Swan Song" of 2010 Open-Water Swimming Season

In this last week before Christmas and the penultimate week of the year, "Ten Swans a-swimming" greeted "The Crazy Canadian" Rob Martell as he entered the water at West Neck Beach Sunday morning for what he assures us was his last swim of the 2010 open-water swimming season...."Today was my swan song. 5 mins and it was absolutely freezing but so crystal clear it was unbelievable. I wish I could have swum to the boat just to see the bottom on the cove."

Unlike the rest of us who (however reluctantly) long ago retreated to the relative warmth of our respective local pools, Rob alone has doggedly continued to ply the increasingly frigid waters of Cold Spring Harbor on a weekly basis throughout the month of December -- but with the air temperature now a punishing 29 degrees, and the water temperature not far behind it, Rob has finally concluded that "I just don't have the drive to take the beating anymore...!"  So, unless Rob changes his mind or someone else gets REALLY CRAZY, the 2010 open-water swimming season is OFFICIALLY OVER!! 

We'll keep you posted on the start of the 2011 Open Water Swimming Season!  (Anyone up for a "polar bear" swim...??)

"The West Neck Pod: To the Sailboat..."

Stained glass by Carole Wickham

"Pass the Salt, please"

While the rest of us were passing the salt over our Thanksgiving leftovers, Rob Martell was diving into it again -- on this cold, damp, grey Friday after Thanksgiving!  Rob -- the lone holdout of the West Neck Pod -- has swum at West Neck Beach every weekend throughout this month of November, and is threatening to continue swimming into December (which is just around the corner).  So let's talk turkey: The 2010 open-water season isn't over until Rob Martell says it is!

We'll keep you posted!

It's Not Over Yet...!

One day after the November 7th "Water-Blog" post proclaiming the end of the 2010 open-water season (http://thewater-blog.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-open-water-swimming-season-looks.html), Long Island awoke to a freak early-morning snow shower, which seemed to confirm the soundness of that prediction.  But with the air temperatures this mid-November week reaching into the high 60s, and the water turned to glass by a gentle easterly breeze replacing the usual northwesterly wind, the open water resumed singing its siren song to the vulnerable....Carole and I, walking our dogs at West Neck Beach these last few days, were sorely tempted to take the plunge despite the steadily dropping water temperature, but dog-duties and the lack of wetsuits prevailed and we stayed dry despite our wistful regrets....It was Rob Martell who succumbed to the call first, diving alone into the Salt early this morning. His caption for the picture below, which he e-mailed to the Pod, reads:  "Stupid Swimmer: to the dock and back. Temp: 42" even as he proclaimed the season "not over yet...."

The gauntlet that Rob threw down this morning was unknowingly picked up later this afternoon by an unknown swimmer named "Joe," who, unable to resist the beckoning water, took a slow, leisurely swim and emerged from the chilly water wearing only a Speedo and a big smile. 

Humbled by Joe's seemingly heroic feat (and not aware yet of Rob's earlier swim), and chagrined that I could not follow suit (or wetsuit!), I comforted myself with the still-glorious day, the spectacular sight of a rainbow peeking through the clouds framing the sun over the water, and the flock of seagulls taking flight over my head, but my body was aching to be lifted again by the Salt, and my heart was wishing for an early Spring....