Labor Day Weekend Open-Water Swims

Scores of swimmers sampled the September Salt at West Neck Beach this Labor Day weekend, signalling the "unofficial" end of Summer 2012.  A full moon on Friday marked the last day of August -- as it had the first -- bringing not only stronger than usual tides but the first "blue moon" since December 31, 2009!  Joining "the usual suspects" in the seemingly interminable against-the-current swim to the Sailboat on Saturday, September 1st, were, quite appropriately, "once in a blue moon" Pod swimmers Paul Coster, Rabbi "The Rabbit" Steve Moskowitz, Harrison Huang, Tommy Capobianco and Barry Goldblatt!                      After battling Saturday's ferocious full-moon current -- as I had every day that week -- I was surprised that I still had arms left to paddle my kayak into Huntington Harbor on Saturday afternoon, along with fellow Podders Joan Addabo, Karen Ruth and E.J. Voss, to attend the Sixth Annual Huntington Lighthouse Music Fest. This unique event -- a veritable "Woodstock on the Water" -- was founded six years ago to raise money to benefit the Huntington Lighthouse -- a beautiful, historic working lighthouse in the middle of Huntington Bay that is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is well worth preserving. Hundreds of yachters, boaters, kayakers, canoers and dinghy-ers congregated on the water to listen to fabulous music by eight different local bands throughout the day. I bought my Lighthouse-supporter tee shirt from the "pirates" who were circulating among the floating concert-goers, and left proudly sporting my "Jolly-Roger" pirate flag and making plans to be back next year -- with even more of my fellow West Neck Pod members!

 

 

 

 

By Sunday, I truly had no arms left, so I opted not to swim and instead took advantage of the dead-low tide to walk the shoreline northward from West Neck Beach to the "house at the end of Causeway," following the early morning swimmers as they slogged their way to the Sailboat against the current, then flew back on the incoming tide. It was a fascinating perspective -- with the well-spread-out line of nearly 20 swimmers in the water stretching as far as I could see -- and the orange "floaty bags" being towed by most of the swimmers dotting the surface of the water like a paprika garnish.... 

 

Monday -- Labor Day -- was a little bit less of a truck push as the full moon continued to wane -- and the nearly 20 swimmers who labored their way to the Sailboat were rewarded on their return with a Pod-first -- blueberry pancakes on the beach! -- courtesy of Susan Robinson (formerly known as "The Muffin-Woman," but who, after previously plying the Pod with homemade cinnamon muffins, then chocolate chip cookies, and now blueberry pancakes, has been redubbed simply, "Susie Homemaker"!).  Todd Rowley supplied the real Vermont maple syrup and orange juice, Rob Ripp the coffee, and Carole Wickham and I threw in a dozen bagels with butter and cream cheese to ensure that no one went home hungry -- including the lifeguards --for whom today was their last day of work for the season before heading off to their respective colleges! 

Hungry swimmers ready for pancakes

The "Floaty-Bag" Flotilla

 

It was a fabulous Labor Day weekend -- but the 2012 open-water swimming season is far from over! See you in the Salt tomorrow -- and the day after that...and the day after that! 

John Collingwood's English Channel Swim

John in England before one of his training swims (from
www.WindermereRoadies.com)
 

Honorary Pod member John Collingwood's mid-July English Channel crossing attempt nearly ended in disaster, as a severely hypothermic John was pulled from the water after more than 14 hours of swimming -- approximately 500 meters from land at Cap Gris-Nez. As the attached link to a gripping first-person account by one of his buddies reflects, John was immediately rushed by boat  to the hospital in Dover where he was admitted in dire condition, with his lungs filled with seawater and his internal organs shutting down....Once he had recovered somewhat, John also shared some of his reflections on the experience which are included in the link below....
http://www.windermereroadies.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10977&start=30#p103468

John, a Tupperware executive who is a resident of Florida but a native of South Africa, was swimming to raise money for The Boys and Girls Club of South Africa, and though he was unfortunately unable to complete his swim, he succeeded in raising more than $100,000 for this cause. 

Some of us were privileged to meet John in May of this year, when he joined the West Neck Pod for a heroic open-water swim in 53-degree water to help him begin to acclimate to the water temperatures he'd be facing in England in July (see blogpost at http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3454244657463222992#editor/target=post;postID=40153180163331969).

 

I'm sorry that John was unable to accomplish his goal (the swimming part of it, anyway!), but I offer thanks for his survival, congratulations on his fundraising success, and an invitation for him to rejoin the Pod for an open-water swim anytime! Welkom tuis, John!

The West Neck Pod Goes L-O-N-G...

Scratch...scratch...scratch....One swimmer after another wearily emerged from the water at West Neck Beach Saturday morning after their longest swims ever, and crossed off their latest achievements from their personal "bucket lists."  First-time 5K swimmers Karen Ruth, E.J. Voss and Bonnie Millen, and first-time 5-Milers Gae Polisner and Annmarie Kearney-Woods joined veteran distance swimmers Rob Martell and Rob Ripp -- along with paddleboarders Carole Wickham and Kathy Wickham and a veritable fleet of support kayakers organized by Barry Goldblatt -- in a challenging and memorable long distance round-trip swim from West Neck Beach northward to the point at Lloyd Neck (for the 5K swimmers) and eastward around the point nearly to the Sandhole (for the 5-Mile Swimmers).  After a laptop-aided orientation by Pod-Father and Explorer-in-Chief Rob Martell, who with his training partner Christine K. pioneered the routes the swimmers were about to follow, the swimmers paired up with their designated kayakers or paddleboarders and headed toward the water, which was still shrouded in an early morning fog. One by one they started swimming, and were whisked away by an outrushing tide that virtually hurled the swimmers northward. Kayakers simply rested their paddles on the gunwales and let the current carry them alongside the whooshing swimmers. Rob Ripp, who quickly found the "Gulf Stream" in the center of the harbor, was flung northward as if shot from a cannon, outpacing even Rob Martell, and the two kayakers who were accompanying him struggled to keep pace with his flying body -- and to turn him before he reached Connecticut! 

 

Rob Ripp on the beach...1/4 mile past the turnpoint
("Where are you guys??")

But, alas, for both the 5K and the 5-mile swimmers, this was a round-trip swim, and most of the return trip was against that same onrushing current....For the 5-Mile swimmers, the current was most forceful at the point, and even the strongest swimmers swam, seemingly in place, for long minutes until, inch by inch, and one by one, they all made their way around the turn and into the home stretch while their kayakers hollered encouragement. With "home" still a mile and a half away, though, and arms and shoulders beginning to ache, this was where both the 5K and the 5-mile swimmers proved themselves to be true champions: putting their heads down, throwing their arms forward, and stroking relentlessly toward West Neck Beach and their goals...(and a well-deserved reward of bagels and bananas from Rob Martell and chocolate chip cookies from "The Muffin-Woman" Susan Robinson!).

 

 

Rob Martell posted these Facebook comments for his long-distance novitiates:

"Some passing comments on the 5 Milers.. Rob R- kick ass pace and no wonder you can swim around Manhattan. Gae.. 3hrs 2 yrs ago for 5K.. this year 3 hrs for 5MILES..No more said.. i am seeing at 10K in your future.... AnneMarie.. Never gave up.. 4 hrs swimming. Very few people ANYWHERE can swim that long. .. for everyone.. that last mile from Fort Hill is like those last miles of a Marathon.. Lastly the entrance to the CS Harbor- swimming and getting nowhere. You have to experience it to believe.

"Some passing comments on the 5Kers..40 minutes out to the turn point. sweet.! When I planned the 5Mile route, I never imagined early turn backs. The tide plan was set up to help the 5miles swimmers as they swam longer - 3+ hours , the tide would turn and help them the last mile or two. BUT For the 5kers , it was full against the tide going back ( at least not full moon tide ). Extraordinary endurance for all three of you. That was no easy 5K, its was very tough and you all accomplished it , like other things, without giving up when the conditions could have easily been seen as too hard. !! :)"
 

Congratulations, Rob R., Rob M., Gae, Annmarie, Karen, E.J., and Bonnie -- See you in the Salt (once you've all recovered)!

 

 

"Road Trip" Tripped Up...Otherwise, It's "Swimming as Usual"!

Yesterday's Road Trip to Long Beach in Sag Harbor was unfortunately rained out, but today dawned sunny and clear, if a tad chilly, and the line of swimmers' cars waiting to get into the beach at West Neck stretched back nearly to the roadway as we waited for the lifeguards to arrive to open the gate (thank you, Julia!).  With the tide dead-low but incoming, the Sailboat beckoned in the distance, and the assemblage of a dozen or so swimmers (minus those who were participating in the John Daly One-Mile Ocean Swim in Long Beach (the other Long Beach!) slogged up-current through unusually murky water that -- happily --cleared as we traversed the Causeway. Pockets of September-cold, though, nudged up against the still-sultry August water, prompting even those of us wearing wetsuits to cut short our usual Sailboat-social and head back to the beach even before the back of the pack had arrived.  The stragglers' eventual return to the beach turned out to be an anxious one, but the imposing-looking Lloyd Harbor Police officer they saw chatting the rest of us up by the showers was a "friendly" -- the Pod's own Vinnie O'Shaughnessy, who promises to join us Tuesday morning for our 6:30 swim! 

 

The day was too gorgeous to go back inside, so Carole and I rounded up various friends and family members and spent the afternoon kayaking and paddleboarding from the Mill Dam in Huntington Harbor through the channel into Huntington Bay past the Lighthouse and then deep into Lloyd Harbor. Past the last of the moored boats, Lloyd Harbor -- which would be virtually empty of water at low tide -- was vast and still and silent but for the cacophony of bird calls our arrival set off, as scores of egrets, osprey, hawks and herons took flight, scolding us for the interruption. The Sailboat -- its mast, anyway -- was plainly visible beyond the "house at the end of the Causeway," but no more reachable then than when I have it in my goggle-sights and am trudging towards it against a relentless current...much like I'll be doing again on Tuesday morning...See you (and Vinnie?) in the Salt!

"Do You Know the Muffin Man?" (er..."Muffin Woman"?)



The just-turned tide was coming in with a vengeance as nine swimmers set out for the Sailboat on this beautiful Friday morning. The water was flat and calm when we all started, but the wind spiked midway through and a surging chop on the surface of the water added to the challenge of the in-rushing tide. Margot and I were pacing one another at a pretty brisk rate and 30 minutes later were still looking wistfully at the Sailboat, which seemed to just keep receding into the distance. Eventually we made it there, followed by Joan, then Gae and Joye, and finally Sharon and her daughter Rachel, joining the Pod for her introductory open-water swim!  Rachel, who up until now had been strictly a pool swimmer, earned her Sailboat badge handily, and despite being obviously tired by the end, promised she'd be back for more!  And why wouldn't she, when on our return to the beach, we were greeted by Susan Robinson, bearing a plate of fresh-baked muffins for the Pod!  Yum!  (Don't tell Rachel this doesn't happen every time!)

Sharon and Rachel



"Look at my arm!...And ain't I a woman?" (Joye, powering to the Sailboat)

Margot and Joan

Steve Lutz, enjoying the last day of his vacation!

Tomorrow some of us will be setting out early for the West Neck Pod's first ROAD TRIP of the season, to the lovely "Long Beach" (a/k/a "Foster's Memorial Beach") on the south shore of Noyac Bay in Sag Harbor.  We're anxiously watching the weather reports and hoping that the thunderstorms predicted for tonight and tomorrow don't happen -- or if they do, that they happen somewhere else! (Watch for updates on Facebook!)  Weather permitting, we'll see you at the west end of the Long Beach parking lot at 7:30! The rest of the Pod will be swimming as usual at West Neck Beach at 8:00 on Saturday morning (weather permitting, of course!) and we'll all be back together again on Sunday morning -- all, that is, but our brave Podders who are participating in the John Daly One-Mile Ocean Swim in the other Long Beach -- on the south shore! Good luck to Evelyn Cruise, Colleen Driscoll, Margot Edlin, Barry Goldblatt, David Kaufman, Andrea O'Brien, Rob Ripp, Susan Robinson, Alice Rogers, and Erik Zaratin!  (Who's bringing the muffins??)

See you in the Salt!