Swim from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, LI
15 Miles
July 1, 2001
As the saying goes, “no good deed goes unpunished. I had tried to organize a joint open water swim with the kids from Wilton and New Canaan. Only a few of the parents were willing to help, but most were willing to complain. Some even complained that they should not have to sign a waiver if something happened. Some parents are up in arms as there are not enough boats and the weather in the afternoon or early evening will be bad.
After a lot of bickering, we decided that the kids would swim with me for 1 and 1/2 hours and then turn back while I would go on.
Jason Paige and Andy Greco were in an inflatable boat, which is cool. We had troubles by fouling the line, no handheld compass and no vhf radio. The GU did not get into the boat, but we had plenty of water and other good things to eat.
We started about an hour late, 9:50 AM. We all dove off from some of the boats just south and east of Fayerweather Island. We headed east through the Bridgeport shipping channel and would swim that way until the tide changed and would bring us west towards Port Jefferson. We had boats from the Coast Guard, 2 from the Coast Guard Auxiliary and two police boats from Fairfield and Stratford. At the halfway point, we were to be met from the other side by a flotilla from Suffolk County Coast Guard Auxiliary.
We made two stops for food. After the second stop the kids, approximately 25, turned back. Some tried to swim without wet suits and didn't make it because they were not used to 68 to 70 degrees. About 11 made it both out to where we split off and back. They will get the shirts I purchased for those who swam and for those who raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International. Others had to get in and out of the boats to keep up with us. We did spread out a more than I ever expected. However, in the lead pack with me were 6 young men and a woman. I think they had a blast.
After I left them, or they left me, it was off towards Stratford Shoal and Middle Ground. We kept receiving conflicting estimates of where we were in the water. As it turned out, we were moving at about 2 mph. I was still tired from the 10 K swim in Florida the prior week. (It was the USS National Championships in Florida.)
At 2:50 PM, the wind started to freshen from the South. Ten minutes later, when I stopped for food, the Auxiliary said that we were going to get severe weather. I then had a choice, either get out or drown. We chose the former.
We were only at Stratford Shoal, 4 miles outside the harbor mouth. The tide was slack, but the wind was pushing me back a bit as the waves were still coming fast and furious from the south. Discretion being the better part of valor, I got out of the water and into the Auxiliary Boat. We then tied the inflatable onto the back of the Auxiliary. First Jason and then Andy got into the boat. Simultaneous with the tying off of the inflatable the rains came.
It took us an hour to get in as the boat bucked the wind and waves. By the time we got into the harbor, the rains had lessened due in part to the nature of the storm and the great protection afforded the harbor due to the natural protection of the bluffs. The President of the Historical Society, dressed in period garb, greeted us at the dock. He looked like the first James M. Bayles. His wife, also dressed in period costume, who looked like Desire Ann Hawkins Bayles, escorted him. Trina, Brooke and Kate waited for us under the tent. Uncle Jimmer, Fran and Frank Child and William Bayles and his wife were there as well. (He is William Bayles 6 or 7 and we have a common ancestor.
Also, Pieter Catlow and his girlfriend, Patty was there. (Pieter and Patty were married a few years later.) Cesar Chekijian came late, as did Ed and Vicky McDermott. Finally, while I was visiting with Frank, Fran and Jimmer at the Child house, Mike Winter came by. Later, I heard from Dave and Meryl Givner, who tried to find us but could not.
Before we headed to the old Bayles Compound up on Grant Street, we had a party in Centennial Park. Of course, most of the town doesn't know where it is, so some people arrived late. While there, the winds really hit and the rains came down in torrents. People were trying to keep the tent from blowing away while it was lightening and they were holding the metal poles as the thunder cracked and the lightening hit all around the bluffs of Port Jefferson. The mayor greeted us and then was called away due to the inclement weather. We retired to the Setauket YC to keep relatively dry, and then back to the Child house on Grant Street.
I received much great e-mail and particularly appreciated the one from the Wolfgrubers. We'll see what the other parents say.
This day couldn’t have happened without the Reitz's family inflatable, Andy Greco and Jason Paige. I would have made it except for the weather. I just hope we raise a lot of money.
TOTAL 5 hours 10 minutes 16,800 mtrs
I have gone farther, but . . . I will have to do this swim another time.