Short Version
Results reported in The Boston Globe on Sunday
Race Stats
Details of Fred Knight's Swim: Pre-race, The Start, The Race, The Finish, The Mayor
Other swimmers
Comments on the Race
Acknowledgements
This is an annual 10-mile swim in Boston harbor. By all accounts, this year's Boston Light Swim (BLS) was particularly grueling. The cold water (58o at the start), choppy surface, an out flowing current near the end of the race, and lots of boat traffic in the South Boston channel combined to make the swim long (5+ hours) with few solo finishers (5 of 14). For the finishers, the first half of the swim to the Long Island bridge want fairly well (~2 hours), but the crossing to Thompson Island and then into the M-Street beach was arduous (>3 hours) with progress hindered by continued patches of cold water and chaotic choppiness with waves from seemingly all directions. For the slower swimmers, the outgoing current literally halted progress near Thompson Island. An amazing relay team of Joe Sheehan, Ken Lawler, and David Swenson finished at 2:56. Jeremiah Fitzgibbons, assisted by his wet suit, finished at 4:07. Fred Knight and Victor Maldonado came in close together near 5 hours, followed by Nat Mason at 5:24. Jen Dutton was the only woman to reach the shore, somewhat down the beach near Pleasure Island, and many-time BLS participant Michael Welsch completed the course in a marathon time of 7:28. Unsuccessful but valiant attempts by three swimmers to pass the Thompson Island motivated race organizer John Werner to report results in the Sunday newspapers for a second race called "Boston Light to Thompson Island (9 miles)." At the finish, Jim Doty, avid distance swimmer who revived the modern BLS in 1976, commented at the finish line that we should have started earlier and used the tactic of hugging Thompson Island before heading into M-Street beach. He may have been right, but the cold, choppy water produced by the moderate SE breeze made the race a marathon to remember. Special thanks go to John Werner for his fine efforts to orchestrate the event with finesse, good humor, and humbleness in the face of numerous rounds of applause at the pre-race banquet. And winner Fred Knight maintained John's tradition by finishing the race with a few strokes of butterfly.
Results
reported in The Boston Globe on Sunday
Boston Light to M Street Beach (10 miles)
Fred Knight, Wayland, 4:59:40Boston Light to Thompson Island (9 miles)
Victor Maldonado, Watertown, 5:03:40
Nat Mason, W. Catham, 5:24:30
Jen Dutton, Framingham, 6:07:34
Michael Welsch, Burlington, 7:28:12
Joe Sheehan, Melrose, Kenneth Lawler and David Swensen, Beverly, 2:56:56
John Langton, Jr, Somerville, Julie Burnett, Stoneham, Tom Dugan, Norton, 6:34:22
Jim McSerry, Woburn, 5:43:00
John Werner, Dorchester, 5:55:23
William Chrisman, Paradise Valley, 8:12:23
Race covers approximately 8 miles (but it's advertised as 10 miles) from Boston Light to M Street bathhouse. This year, it started at 8:05 am, about 3 hours before the high tide at L Street (11:14 am). The current assisted us at >1 mph for the first half of course, until Long Island Bridge. The wind was moderate from the SE, making the water very choppy---especially in unsheltered areas of the course. The water was cold, measured to be 58o or 57o F at the Light and fluctuated upwards and back down throughout the course. Even near the end the water remained in the 60's. The course passed south of Georges Island, north of Ransford Island, then to West Head of Long Island, between Spectacle and Thompson Islands, and then into M Street. Oops! Fred Knight told people to go north of Georges Island at the pre-race dinner, and he was the only person to take that route. (Now I know why everybody went the other way!) I think the distances are about equal, but being in the lee of Georges Island possibly protected me from the waves generated by the SE wind. Overall the race was longer this year than last year's. The fastest time last year was 3:30; this year's winning time was ~5 hours. It was windier last year, but the waves in the first half of the race were with us last year. This year's SE wind produced cross waves and chop throughout the race. The water was certainly colder this year.
Pre-race On Friday, I was enthusiastic about the swim when I heard the weather forecast for a sunny day with the temperature in the mid 80's. I didn't take notice of the forecast of a SE wind, which turned out to have a devastating effect on the water conditions. In the evening, the pre-race dinner organized by John Werner included information on the race and tides, recommendations for precautions to take, and introductions by the ten swimmers who attended. John distributed 2001 BLS shirts and took a group photo with the finish line in the background.The morning dawned as forecast, and the swimmers gathered before 7 am at the Columbia Yacht Club with their escort boats. The breeze was freshening as the boats headed for the starting line just inside Little Brewster Island. With race time approaching, John Werner yelled some devastating news from his boat that was equipped with a water thermometer. "Fred, the water temperature is 58o." With a slight hesitation, I shouted back, "You lied," referring to John's mid-week report of a water temperature of 66o fifteen miles from shore. Immediately, John's boat driver retorted with a correction, "57o!" Well, I began to get cold feet, but, after testing the water with my toes, I remained optimistic---or too timid to tell my daughters that I had changed my mind. With me on the boat were Celia Knight, 23, in her swimsuit and ready to swim when the water got warmer, Emily Knight, 19, also in her swimsuit but definitely preferring the sunny boat deck over the water, Keith Meliones and his son Keith, Jr., and boat owner Paul Brady. My swimming buddy Keith, who is enthusiastic about every aspect of life and does everything athletic (including 17 consecutive Boston Marathons) had volunteered Paul and his boat, which is gorgeous and comes with a toilet and GPS, which he pre-programmed with the course. On the way out, we had looked back to site on landmarks for redundancy in following the shortest course. Barring significant cross currents that might drive me off course, we were ready. John Werner gave the 5-minute warning of two blasts of an air horn, and the starting blast came at 8:05 am.
The Start After the plunge into the chilly water, I could breathe. Good! However, a few strokes indicated that freestyle was impossible in the choppy water, which was driven by the SE wind. My first few minutes was slow doing breaststroke, but I soon realized that the waves were abating enough to start swimming harder. I was hoping for smooth swimming with the current over the first five miles to the Long Island Bridge, but the beginning was daunting. As I approached Georges Island the water warmed, and the waves were not a great hindrance. Contrary to my explicit instructions to al swimmers at the pre-race dinner, many swimmers headed south of Georges Island. I went north and, according to Keith, emerged on the other side in third place. (In writing this, I realized that indeed passing to the south of Georges Island was the proper course.)The Race The remainder of the first 1.5 hours went fine. I didn't feel fast but had a good pace, and the current was assisting. We passed Ransford Island on a beeline toward the bridge. Then I noticed Celia getting ready to enter the water. Oh boy---swimming with my oldest daughter in the Boston Light. It doesn't get much better than that. Celia dove in and kept in front of me until the bridge. Then we stroked together toward the east end of Thompson Island, leaving the Long Island Bridge at 1:53 into the race.
Celia and I were swimming at exactly the same speed, and I was feeling fairly strong---much better than last year at this point when I found crossing to Thompson Island difficult, having to swim diagonally against the high waves. I think the previous month of 3 miles/day in Walden helped also. In spite of the choppy water, we made it to east end of Thompson Island at just under 3 hours. With the final leg to the M-Street Bathhouse ahead and the white handball courts marking the finish in view over the waves, I was encouraged in spite of the remaining 1.5 miles. Little did I know that another two hours remained!
The chop continued to get worse. Progress seemed glacially slow, and the water varied from cool to (it seemed) as cold as at the start. Suddenly, just after we stopped for a drink at ~3:15, Celia declared she was quitting because of the cold. She said her feet felt unbearably cold, and Keith said that her lips were blue as she climbed aboard the boat. I wasn't cold, but I was tiring, and my arms ached. With the chop going every which way and boats racing across my path, I was forced to alternate between free style and breaststroke, which I've never had to do before. This continued for another 13/4 hours as we slowly approached the beach. I vainly tried to stay ahead of another swimmer, who apparently was as tired as I was. Looking back on this last leg, I find it hard to believe how slow I was going---less than 1 mph. Whenever I paused to look up, I could see Keith urging me on or maybe chiding me for being so slow. At one point, when the combination of salt water, engine exhaust, and fatigue really got to me, I requested that the boat move downwind. With no response, I made a second request, which was heeded. However, as Keith told me later, he commented to Paul, "He's delirious!" What a coach of little faith! I was in complete control, just dead tired.
The Finish When that finish line came perceptibly closer, I got excited. There's that time when the finish line details begin to be clear and grow remarkably larger. There even appeared to be a fair number of people on the beach, different from last year. However, I found out that, unlike last year, the L-Street festival was actually at our finish line instead of next door as it was last year. People were there to be fed and entertained. I gave them a moment of fun with a final few strokes of butterfly and then some exaggerated staggering as I got to my feet in the shallow water at 4:59. No boats could land easily where we finished, so Paul took the boat to the Columbia Yacht Club to drop off Celia and Emily and then continue toward the Charlestown mooring. The girls joined me on the beach, and I warmed myself in a sweatshirt and ate a welcome hot dog.
The Mayor When Tom Menino appeared on the beach to make an appearance at the festivities, John Werner moved rapidly to his publicist to arrange for a photo-op with the BLS swimmers in front of the FINISH banner. We posed with smiles while the photographer snapped away, and John inquired whether the mayor might want to join in next year's swim. About all he was interested in was verifying that the harbor was clean enough to keep us all healthy. So we beamed robustness into the camera and listened to Mayor Menino jaw with the crowd. And he looks and talks just as on tv.
Jeremiah Fitzgibbons had finished at 4:07, but he wore a wet suit so he was discounted in the final standings. He must have swum a fast race. On the official yellow pad of results was, in addition, a three-person relay team that had finished in an amazing 2:56. Wow! Following a few minutes after me, a smiling Victor Maldonado stroked strongly to the beach at 5:04, and Nat Mason, who has swum icy cold Lake Windemere in the English Lake District, finished at 5:24. Victor had a throng of doting relatives; Nat and I commiserated.The fate of most of other swimmers gradually became known. Jim McSherry was on the beach and detailed his fruitless struggle to make any progress near the end of Thompson Island where he finally declared an end to his swim. Then John Werner appeared from the street, having likewise abandoned his swim in the same location. At 6:07, Jen Dutton motored to the beach after having finished at the Pleasure Island shore when she succumbed to nausea. At 6:34 three long-time BLS competitors, John Langton, Jr, Julie Burnett, and Tom Dugan, stroked strongly to the finish together. As we were told, in mid race, the three, who started the race as solo swimmers, had realized the inevitable and declared themselves a relay team in order to complete the course together. All but two other stalwart competitors had quit early. According to Sunday's paper, aging but unbelievably rugged Bill Chrisman also made it to Thompson Island at the 8:12 mark. Ironman Michael Welsch was the fifth and final finisher at 7:28:12, completing yet another BLS. He called me the next day, and we congratulated each other on amazing swims. Of the 14 solo starters, five finished. On Sunday, the world knew the results as reported by the wily John Werner, who surprised the participants by creating a second race to note the three swimmers (himself included) who ended at Thompson Island.
I've referred to a few items that deserve mention in this section. Per Jim Doty's suggestion and because the slower swimmers were stopped by the outgoing current after high tide, starting earlier relative to high tide might be advantageous. Even though the fastest current in the first half of the race occurs by starting 3 hours before high tide, the outflow starting ~1 hour after high tide was fatal to three swimmers' progress and certainly slowed all of the finishers except the first relay team. Publishing the course details would have prevented my incorrect passage around Georges Island. I got sunburned, so reminding swimmers to put on sunblock would be good. The many boats zooming through the final channel certainly scared me. The harbor patrol boats couldn't help, so starting earlier in the day might be better. Mayor Tom Menino seemed interested in hearing that the harbor was indeed safe for swimming. He might like to make an official pronouncement next year advertising the pristine water condition.
For a third consecutive year, John Werner organized another successful Boston Light Swim with all the trimmings: good publicity, detailed information for swimmers and escort boat drivers, an enjoyable pre-race dinner, and ample support on race day. I thought Friday evening's dinner was fun, especially talking to other swimmers. My daughters and friends on my escort boat were particularly encouraging throughout the race, even when I rebuffed the helpful prodding. Keith Meliones put it aptly, "Don't you just want to say 'Why don't you get in and swim!' to well-intentioned encouragement at your lowest point in the race." Swimming with Celia was fantastic; what a trooper she is! Emily never quit being enthusiastic. Thanks so much to Paul Brady for volunteering his boat, time, and GPS system. I hope I'll be ready for a third swim next year.