...Go!....(with the Flow!)...: The 2012 "West Neck Swim"!

Despite the careful and meticulous months-long planning by the organizers of the 2012 Huntington/Cold Spring Harbor 1 and 2 Mile Open Water Swim, none of us could have anticipated that our passage to West Neck Beach at 5:30 on the morning of the race would be blocked by a massive tree that had fallen across the road, just outside the beach entrance! Lloyd Harbor police quickly responded and cleared a narrow path just wide enough for organizers' vehicles to squeeze through on the right (thank you, Lloyd Harbor police!), and Officials Coordinator Joye Brown masterfully directed traffic and guided our vehicles through to the other side, where brilliant sunshine, a freshly-striped parking lot, a recently re-sanded beach, and massive amounts of organizing and setting up awaited us!  Town of Huntington road crews arrived in astonishly short order (thank you, Town of Huntington!), and West Neck Road was completely shut down for a time before a huge bulldozer finally nudged the fallen tree to the side of the road and carloads of volunteers were freed to swarm the parking lot and commence converting the beachfront into an athletic arena. 

Like the fallen tree, we also did not anticipate that the iron buoy anchors that secured the race buoys last year would not be enough to hold the buoys fast against the surging outgoing current this year, so our sponsor SeaTow, who, with Race Co-Organizer/Meet Director Rob Ripp on board, had towed the buoys from the beach and set them in position shortly after the gates had opened, was forced to chase them down and reposition them while our Logistics Co-Coordinator Marc Leahy attached additional anchors to hold them firmly in place (all but the southern turn buoy, which, despite three anchors, may have shifted slightly north  to shorten the course and quicken everyone's times). 

But "going with the flow" is the essence of the open-water swimmer's experience, and despite these glitches and our late start, by the time the first swimmers began to arrive, the "Start" and "Finish" chutes were in place, the registration tables were set up, the numbered caps were matched with corresponding electronic chips, and refreshments were being served. With a few adjustments, Swim organizers were able to basically hold to the timeline, and the first of five waves of swimmers -- ranging in age from 9 to 84 -- headed for the start buoy at or close to the scheduled start time.
 

By the time the last wave left the start buoy, there were more than 200 swimmers in the water, churning the surface of the half-mile-long course like bluefish on a bunker chase! As the swimmers gradually spread out across the water, a flotilla of volunteer paddleboarders, kayakers, and lifeguards on rescue boards maintained a careful watch, while the Huntington Harbormaster and Oyster Bay Bay Constable kept boat traffic at bay and the Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department and Huntington Community First Aid Squad ambulances and crews manned the beachfront, ready to handle any emergencies that might arise (though none did, thankfully).  By the time the last wave of 1-milers were rounding the first turn, the lead 2-mile swimmers had already caught up with them, and just minutes later 14-year-old Ian Bidwell bested the field by sprinting out of the water in a phenomenal 29:47.4!

Our West Neck Pod made a brilliant showing, too, of course, with Pod members Lou Carminati (who placed 3rd overall), Ken Longo, Liz Perlstein, and Nancy Aboff taking 1st place age-group medals, Tim Sullivan taking a 2nd place medal, and Elena ("E.J.") Voss and Jamie Scholfield taking 3rd place age group medals in the 1-Mile Wetsuit Division; and, in the 2-Mile Non-Wetsuit Division, Andrea ("Ani") O'Brien and Bird Norton taking 1st place age-group medals; while in the 2-Mile Wetsuit Division, Michael Wright (3rd place overall!), Joanna Grossman and Karen Ruth took 1st place age-group medals; Brett Emsden took a 2nd and Bonnie Millen a 3rd place medal! Mindi DeLeary, Tom Sherman, Vinny O'Shaughnessy, and David Marino also did the Pod proud!

Like mother... (Meghan O'Brien, age 10, 400M)...

Like daughter...(Andrea O'Brien, age 42, 2-Mile)

When the last swimmer had passed through the finish gates, to the cheers of everyone on the beach, Joye and I -- no longer "on duty" -- exchanged jubilant high-fives followed by grateful bear-hugs, which we then shared all around with as many equally proud and happy Swim organizers and volunteers as we could get ahold of!  After the last of the awards were handed out and the swimmers had departed, we all set about dismantling and stowing the equipment, clearing the beach of any Race-related debris, then suiting up for our reward -- a relaxing and much-needed swim in the calm, beautiful, and now nearly empty waters of West Neck Beach. 

Barry Goldblatt (Kayak Coordinator) and me (Safety Director)

Sometime in the coming weeks we'll get together for a post-Swim debriefing, to discuss the Swim, review what we did right (great new timing company -- thanks, Nikita Dorcinvil and Just Finish, Inc.!) and analyze what we could or should have done better (definitely "Porta Potties" and extra toilet paper next year -- and a chain saw in the truck!).  We are hopeful that the Second Annual Huntington/Cold Spring Harbor 1 and 2 Mile Open Water Swim will have raised lots of money to support the Huntington YMCA's scholarship program to teach underprivileged children to swim (many, many thanks to our generous sponsors) -- and perhaps in the years to come, some of the graduates from that program will be experiencing their first open water swim event in the annual "West Neck Swim" here in the beautiful, sparkling waters of Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island Sound!

Town of Huntington Lifeguard Julia and YMCA Director Eileen Knauer

See you in 2013...!

(Huntington Masters Swim Team ["HUMS"] Blogographer Mike Engel used my camera to take most of the pictures of the race while I was otherwise engaged; and Carole Wickham took the post-race in-the-water pictures from her kayak! Check out Mike's other fabulous photos on our Facebook page [https://www.Facebook.com/WestNeckPod] and the HUMS Blog! {http://www.HUMS.blogspot.com])

We did it! The First-ever Huntington-Cold Spring Harbor 1&2 Mile Swim at West Neck Beach!

The long-awaited day of the race finally arrived, mercifully sunny and warm after a week of clouds and rain, and by 5:30 this morning, West Neck Beach was a-bustle with activity, as West Neck Pod members – including race co-director Rob Ripp, Safety Director Carol Moore and Awards Co-coordinator Margot Edlin – hauled tables and chairs, cartons of oranges, bananas, and t-shirts, and hundreds of bottles of water from the lifeguard station where they’d been stored overnight, along with a dozen massive swim buoys that had been painstakingly inflated the night before by Hospitality/Logistics Coordinators Rob Todd and Ken Longo. Batting away at the army of gnats that descended in the windless parking lot, a steadily growing cadre of volunteers, organized by Pod member Evelyn Cruise and YMCA Executive Director Eileen Knauer, arrived and donned their yellow t-shirts (designed and procured by Pod members Joan Addabbo and Tommy Capobianco) and swiftly transformed this quiet, sleepy little waterfront venue into the site of what is destined to be one of the premiere open-water swimming events on Long Island: The First Annual Huntington-Cold Spring Harbor 1 and 2 Mile Swim at West Neck Beach!

One by one, the support boats began to arrive, with Karen McArdle and Bill (Hon. William B.) Rebolini taking their places at the south and north turn buoys, and the Huntington and Oyster Bay Harbormasters beginning their patrol of the course, while Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department volunteers stationed themselves on the beach along with ambulances from the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, under the medical supervision of race physicians and Pod members Paval Romano, M.D. and Anne Neder, M.D. Event co-sponsor SeaTow hauled the swim buoys from the beach then methodically placed them along the half-mile length of the 1 and 2 mile courses carefully laid out by Pod member Rob Martell, along with the 400 meter course for swimmers 10 and under. A flotilla of kayakers, under the supervision of Barry Goldblatt, and a squad of Pod-member lifeguards led by Pod member Sal Romanello, arrived for their pre-race briefings on course conditions and safety protocols, then took up their posts within the swim lines for the swimmer warmup, then along the perimeter of the course to await the beginning of the first race.
Swimmers and their families and friends were next to arrive, filling the parking lot to nearly overflowing, and helping themselves to complimentary bagels and fruit at the hospitality tables while they waited for the race to begin. Swimmer registration was smoothed by the pre-race efforts of Pod member and race co-director Colleen Driscoll, and adroitly handled by Pod and other volunteers. Race officials, among whom was Pod member Joye Toor, took their appointed places and, at the scheduled time (using the detailed timeline prepared by race organizer and Pod member Rob Ripp, announcer Bob Fonti summoned the first wave of swimmers into the chute for the in-water start, then, with the pop of the starter’s gun, the first wave was off. Four waves later, there were a total of 181 swimmers churning the waters of Cold Spring Harbor as they made their way once or, for the two-milers, twice around the course. By the time the last wave was approaching the first turn, the two fastest of the 17-and-under group had caught up with them, then surged past the pack as they rounded the turn, taking their first and second place finishes scant minutes later as the crowd of more than a hundred spectators on the beach cheered!

As each of the next 179 swimmers stumbled out of the water and onto the finish ramp the crowd cheered again, and again as the winners accepted their awards (procured by Pod members Nancy Lipira, Margot Edlin and Lynne Perzetstzy) after the results were quickly and efficiently compiled. (Final results have yet to be posted, but among the recipients of those awards were Pod members Scott Kessler, Ken Longo, Tim Sullivan, Don Bond, Todd Rowley, Liz Perlstein, Nancy Reycraft, Armand D’Amato, and Louie Carminati!)

From the time the idea of a sanctioned swim at West Neck Beach was first conceived more than a year ago, West Neck Pod members have spent months and months meticulously planning, organizing, strategizing, problem-solving, and problem-anticipating, in an endeavor to create an open-water swim event in our home venue that brings to newcomers the same sense of joy and appreciation of this remarkable harbor that we who swim there regularly enjoy. The race planning committee’s respectful collaboration and teamwork, and the invaluable contributions of the many race-day volunteers (both of which included many non-Pod members!) culminated today in an open-water swim event that participants and spectators uniformly agreed was virtually flawless.   I am very proud of my West Neck Pod community, which was so pleased to welcome all of you to our home – and we look forward to seeing all of you next year!

(Other West Neck Pod volunteers: Gae Polisner, Annmerie Kearney, Bonnie Millen, Kaitlyn Robinson, Sue Robinson, Bob Miller, Carole Wickham, Kathy Wickham, Mike Engel, and others whose names escape me right now!)

Tick...tick...tick...Registration Deadline for June 26th 1&2 Mile Swim at West Neck Beach is Approaching...!!

The West Neck Pod is excited and proud to be hosting the first-ever HUNTINGTON-COLD SPRING HARBOR 1 and 2 MILE SWIM at our home beach, West Neck Beach, on Sunday June 26th! (There are both wetsuit and non-wetsuit divisions for you Tri-types, as well as a 400-meter event for athletes 10 and under.) Pod members joined in the planning of this first-time event with local members of sponsoring organizations US Masters Swimming (go, HUMS!) and USA Swimming to make it as organized, safe, and FUN as it can possibly be!  More than 150 swimmers have already registered -- and the deadline to do so is fast-approaching!  On-line registration closes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21st, so if you're one of those last-minute types, tick...tick...tick...!  Follow these links for more detailed information and to register for the USMS, Open, and USA Swimming divisions:
US Masters Swimming:
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1743&smid=3166 (register as a member of the Huntington Masters Swim Team ["HUMS"] and swim for the "Home Team"!)
USA Swimming:
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1743&smid=3182
Open:
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1743&smid=3183

The Swim is a benefit for the Huntington YMCA's Swim Scholarship Program for kids in need, so come on out and do some good while having fun in this exceptionally beautiful open-water venue!

See you in the West Neck Salt on the 26th!