Farewell to "The Pod-Father"

Rob Martell, appropriately costumed for our harrowing Halloween 2010 OWS

It's hard to say when, exactly, the "West Neck Pod" came into being, but that it did at all is principally the doing of Rob Martell, who was unquestionably the fledgling Pod's founding father....Though people have been open-water swimming at West Neck Beach for eons, it was Rob who in 2004 or thereabouts began organizing the "lone wolves" into a loose pack whose "every man for himself" ethos was gradually replaced with an awareness and then eventually a concern for the other swimmers "out there." Scheduled swims, communicated to a small but growing group by email, made these open-water swims accessible to a wider audience -- an audience that I became a part of in 2005 or 2006 thanks to the support and encouragement of Rob and others, who helped me overcome my terror of the open water. Though Rob was a fast and strong swimmer who was always at the front of the pack, he would often double back to check on the rest of us as we struggled against a strong current or a rough chop that he sliced through with seeming ease. Eventually, his concern for his swimming brethren became the norm for all of the West Neck open-water swimmers, and when I began writing the email exchanges known as "The Water-Log," it was inevitable that this now cohesive collection of swimmers would bear the eponymic appellation of a "pod" -- a family of marine mammals.

In acknowledgment of his country of origin, The "Pod-Father" Rob Martell was also known as "The Crazy Canadian." Seemingly impervious to cold, he continued to swim in the open water long after the rest of us had retreated to indoor pools. His December solo swims -- memorialized in the Huntington Masters Swimmers' blog (http://hums.blogspot.com/2006/12/robs-2nd-annual-december-ows.html) -- laid the groundwork for what later became the "West Neck Polar Pod."  

Rob Martell finishing his December 2, 2006 OWS -- photo by Mike Engel from the HUMS blog

But Rob was also infamous for his late-night solo swims, his long-distance exploratory swims around the point and beyond, his swim-to-run junkets with his sneakers tucked into his suit (sorry, no pictures are available of that!), and especially for his long-rumored (and now confirmed!) open-water swim while Hurricane Irene was raging....While most Pod members did not push the swimming envelope as far as Rob did, it was Rob's exploits that encouraged and motivated the Pod to test their own boundaries, following the paths that Rob had paved.  Under Rob's planning and guidance, half a dozen Pod members swam their longest distances ever, completing their first 5K or 5-mile swims last August -- and the Pod will be forever grateful for his invention and deployment of the first "Floating Pod Sandal Station" and his provision of electric heaters to warm the space under the overhang for post-season swims.


Rob Martell (with Rob Ripp) looking like raw meat after the jellyfish infested 2008 "5K in the Bay"

But now, Rob is leaving us -- he's moving to Denver to pursue a new life and new opportunities, and is bidding farewell to the West Neck Pod and the open water....We will miss him terribly, and the inspiration he provided, but we wish him well in his new inland life -- and look forward to his visits home to his Pod-family and friends....



Rob Martell: "Gotta go!"

 

See you in the Salt, Pod-Father!

"Team West Neck Pod's" 2013 "Swim Across America"

On Saturday, August 10th, 17 members of the West Neck Pod will be participating in the 2013 "Sound-to-Cove" Swim Across America to raise money for local cancer research and support organizations like Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Fighting Chance, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. These organizations are performing cutting-edge research and providing essential services that are improving the longevity and quality of life for cancer patients and their families in our community.  Fifteen members of our Team will be swimming the 5K distance (3.1 miles) in Long Island Sound, with one member swimming 1 mile and another kayaking alongside us. Like many Long Islanders, most of us have lost far too many friends, family members, co-workers and colleagues to this disease, and we have all suffered the stress and uncertainty as those we love underwent surgery and treatment for cancer. This fight against cancer is personal for all of us – and our "Sound-to-Cove" swim is dedicated to the memory of those we love who have lost their battle with cancer, and in honor of those whose courageous struggle continues. So many of us in the Pod-family have been touched by cancer -- including several of our teammates -- and probably you have, too...You, too, can participate in the 2013 "Sound-to-Cove" Swim Across America by supporting Team West Neck Pod and this cause by donating as generously as you can....Thank you for your support -- See you in the Salt! -- Carol Moore, Captain, "Team West Neck Pod"

 

http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/TR/OpenWater/NassauSuffolk?pg=team&fr_id=1956&team_id=4570 

First Open-Water Swims of June 2013...

Finally!  The freakishly cold weather of the Memorial Day weekend, which morphed into the freakishly hot weather of the ensuing week, eventually moderated into the blissfully temperate temperatures of the weekend -- so the West Neck Pod's first swims of June were absolutely glorious! The water temperature was comfortably up to the mid-60's,the wind was from the southwest, the tide was outgoing, and -- well, there really aren't words to describe it...so here are some pictures (and videos, if they post properly...)...

Scott Kessler and Rob Ripp wading in on Saturday morning...



Paul has a new gadget: "Are you ready for your closeup?"

"Newbie" Jay Gupta contemplating his first open-water swim

EJ reprising her earlier swim with Carole as part of the second wave on Sunday...



Karen gets reacquainted with the South Buoy

Carole atop her paddleboard and beneath the blue sky...

"Second shift" on Sunday morning...The 10:30 wave



"Shoulders to the Buoy"! (Carole's first venture back into the open water after last season's shoulder injuries)



Karen Barbosa returns to the Salt as a "medium" (you'll have to ask her)

Sharon chillin' at the South Buoy

Gae swimming strong





EJ and I looking happy after our second swim of the day





Weekday morning swims begin tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6:30 a.m. ("in the water"!).  See you in the morning Salt!

Memorial Day Weekend: "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"!

After a hurricane-ravaged fall, a seemingly interminable winter, and the unseasonably cold "spring-that-never-was," a spate of summer-like days early in the week and glowing forecasts for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend -- historically the unofficial start of the open-water-swimming season -- gave hope of better days to come.  So when the skies began clouding over toward the end of the week, a relentless rain began falling, the temperature plummeted back down to the 40's, and the forecast became as gloomy as the views outside our windows, the hopes of the Salt-deprived West Neck Pod for an imminent return to the open water and "normality" floundered....When the weekend finally arrived, Saturday morning's steady rain, 20 mph winds, and 43-degree air temperatures kept all but the "lunatic fringe" off the beach (Marc Leahy, Paul Coster and I) -- and even we lunatics wouldn't venture into the frigid, roiling waters.  

 

On Sunday, though, the sun finally broke through the clouds and the air temperature crept up to the mid-50's, though the northwest wind aided by the incoming full-moon tide continued to hurl up monstrous waves and the water temperature had dropped back down to 50 degrees (from 57 the weekend before!).   Although a larger crowd of would-be swimmers had gathered in the parking lot, wisdom and self-preservation prevailed, and ultimately only six of us actually ventured into the water -- Marc Leahy, Tim Sullivan, newbie-but-now-confirmed-Podder Bill Byers, Liz Perlstein and I, followed by latecomer Rob Martell.

The turbulent, churning, crazy-high waves made it impossible to find a rhythm for swimming or even breathing, and while "the boys" powered their way as far as the White Rock, Liz and I were content to swim just to the end of the Bath Club and back -- though I believe we covered as much distance vertically as horizontally, as we swam doggedly from the trough of one huge wave to the crest of the next! 

 

 

Tim Sullivan

Liz, Marc and Bill

When Memorial Day finally arrived, blue skies and a light wind greeted the nearly two-dozen swimmers and cheerleaders who turned out to inaugurate the season.  Though the water was calmer than it had been the preceding two days, and it looked like a "beach day," it was still breezy and cool, and the water temperature was still unseasonably cold at only 55 degrees. That feels even colder when you're used to practically tropical pool temperatures, as Joan, Margot, Eric, Marco, Pam, Steve and others discovered when they gamely waded in, then quickly waded out again, wisely deciding to defer their 2013 open-water debuts until the water temperature crept northward a few more degrees!  The rest of us -- Marc, Paul, EJ, Gae, Joye, Tim, Annmarie, Denis, Rob Todd, Sharon and I (anyone else I left out?) swam northward to the yellow sign or beyond it to the white rock, then returned happily to the beach to bask in the sunshine and share bagels, coffee and plans for next weekend's open-water swims!

 

After several days of near-90-degree temperatures, we can expect the water to be at least in the mid-60's by the weekend -- the first weekend in June!....Group swims are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8:00...See you in the Salt!

"I'll take a rain check, please...!"

Paul, Carol and Marc

It was not yet 6:30 when the text messages and emails began trickling in, as one Podder after another bowed out for this morning's inaugural Memorial Day weekend swim, citing the rain and cold and apologizing for their delicacy...Although the pelting rain and 43-degree air temperature seemed a good enough reason for me to roll over and stay in bed too, the inner certainty that at least one of my buddies would show up, ready to go if conditions permitted, impelled me out of bed, into my bathing suit and down to West Neck Beach.  Predictably enough, minutes later Marc Leahy arrived, followed shortly thereafter by Paul Coster (and even later by Joye Brown), to join me in gaping at the tempest raging before us. Whitecapped waves raced past us, driven by a biting northerly wind that pushed the flag out stiffly and made the newly installed swim buoys rock crazily back and forth. Rain pelted our faces, and we stood there at the water's edge, laughing at ourselves for being there at all, for standing there in the wind and the rain and the cold, and for thinking, even a little bit, that "maybe we should swim anyway since we're here..."

Of course we didn't. What do you think we are, crazy?

See you in the Salt -- maybe tomorrow!

 

A Brisk Start to the 2013 Open-Water Swimming Season...

There was a lot of head-shaking going on in the parking lot of West Neck Beach this afternoon as one Polar Podder after another arrived for what has now become an annual event: The West Neck Pod's New Year's Day "Polar Pod" Swim!  Much to our chagrin, though, the infamous northwesterly wind had also arrived, and we were met with a distressingly choppy, wind-tossed harbor that looked as cold as the icy air that was stinging our hands and cheeks as we shivered in the wind and debated what to do. Even Annmarie Kearney-Wood, usually the gamest of us all, announced that she didn't think she'd be able to go through with the swim, though she'd driven all the way from Babylon for it.  But it was Joye Brown, already clad in her wetsuit and sporting a polar bear hat, who egged us on, ultimately cajoling us off the beach and into the water.  Five of us finally took the plunge -- Polar Pod veterans Annmarie, Joye, Rob Ripp and I, joined by novitiate Sharon Hochberg, while Cammy and Rocket cheered us on from the shore (thanks for the pictures, Cammy!).  As soon as the first icy waves rolled over us, filling our wetsuits with frigid water and scouring our exposed skin, we knew that our first open-water swim of 2013 would be a very brief one, and stayed in only long enough to catch our breath and take a few tentative strokes as icicles formed on our faces!  Then it was back to the beach to gulp down some hot chai tea, exchange New Year's hugs, and head for home to dream of an early Spring -- or the next warmish day!  Happy New Year -- see you in the Salt!

 

 

 

Shine On, Harvest Moon...

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!)

 

Wake me when we hit the water

Happy 50th Birthday, Chris Vassallo!

 

 

Monday's a day off for me, then it's back in the Salt Tuesday morning at 6:30 for my first open-water swim of October 2012! See you then!



 

Still Savoring the September Salt

Yesterday's day-long on-and-off rain and this morning's grey, overcast skies and chilly temperatures made the idea of an open-water swim unappetizing for most, and only five swimmers besides me showed up at West Neck Beach this morning for the 8 a.m. swim.  Greg and Magda Petryk were the first in while Paul Coster, Karen Ruth and newbie Andrew Zitofsky suited up on the beach and I waded in for a temperature reading (Andrew's actually been swimming regularly at West Neck with his Tri-pal Jonah Gruda, but this was his first OWS with the Pod).  Surprisingly, the water temperature had actually climbed back up to 69 degrees from 64 degrees a few days ago, but the 55 degree air temperature and the gloomy weather made it feel colder than it actually was.  The water had somewhat lost its crystal clarity, too, and there was a suspiciously unpleasant odor emanating from the water that went beyond the usual low-tide pungency.  Still, on the theory that E. coli is no more smellable than it is visible, and with only two swimming days left in the month of September (and perhaps because we were all suffering from cabin fever!), we plunged in (after first tying up our flip-flops at the Floating Pod Sandal Station -- thanks again, Rob Todd!).  Unsure whether those cloudy skies harbored the potential for thunder and lightning, we opted for a close-to-home buoy swim despite the incoming tide, and headed first to the north buoy so we could at least enjoy a long, fast run to the south buoy. Paul Coster loped his way there with his usual long, slow strokes, making it all look easy and arriving minutes before Karen and I, followed shortly thereafter by Andrew, and we all enjoyed our usual "buoy chat," made memorable by Paul's observation -- in his inimitable, clipped, British accent -- about the "latrine-like" quality of the water....That launched us rapidly toward the north buoy, where Karen and I called it quits and headed for the beach, while Paul, who was just getting warmed up, it seems, and Andrew, who's training for a triathlon and needed to get in some serious distance, continued on toward the yellow sign....None of us have shown any symptoms of infection yet, so unless we succumb during the night, we'll be back tomorrow -- hopefully with better weather!



Magda, heading towards the south buoy

See you in the Salt!