Blue Hill Bay Swim 2023
Hmm… well, that was harder than it used to be. Probably I’m just getting old.
Okay, rewind. This year was the 29th swim! The water was a good deal colder than it has been in the last few, and the choice of date meant that the tide was not compatible with an inbound swim, so our swim was (for the second time ever) from the Becton’s dock out to the island. Besides meaning that swimmers couldn’t see much in the way of landmarks, it also meant that the water got colder and colder as we approached the finish.
Justice had the bright idea of borrowing race markers to help guide the swimmers and the chase boats, which was quite helpful. Who knows where we would have ended up otherwise.
I personally cannot comment much on the pointy end of the swim; I was slow slow slow, and by the time I crawled out of the water the rest of the swimmers were relaxing in easy chairs, sipping martinis. Not quite but pretty close. This was definitely a wet suit year.
Many kudos to two first-time swimmers: Mike Keene, and Laura Lutton. I would like to offer a huge shout-out to Laura for her entering-the-water howl, which kept me going for most of the swim. This was also the fifth swim for Ted Heyd and Pat Starkey, a tip of the swim cap to them.
This was also a year that honored Jeannie Becton, who is no longer among the living, and will be forever missed. Swimmers and others made donations to the Heritage Trust in her name.
Next year will be the 29th anniversary, and the 30th swim. Goodness.
Swimmers:
- Amanda Herman
- Jerome Lawther
- John Clements
- Justice Pollard
- Laura Lutton
- Mary Clews
- Mike Keene
- Pat Starkey
- Ted Heyd
Inimitable and priceless support crew:
- Andy Wanning
- Anika Clements
- Brenna Cohen
- Charlotte Taylor
- Eliza Wilmerding
- Hal Clews
- John Manderson
- Joyce Ferris
- Neddy Clews
- Springer Huseby
- … whom did I leave out? Yikes I hate this part
All-time swimmer stats : /Granite-Mon-Website/
The photos above are courtesy of Andy Wanning and Eliza Wilmerding.
Many many thanks to Mary Clews for taking the lead on planning the event and getting up very very early to bake scones!