Governor's Island Swim

For over 200 years Governor's Island was used as a military facility, first by the British and then by American forces before finally being "sold" to the city of New York in 2003 for public use. No wonder most New Yorkers have never set foot on this lovely little piece of land between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Until last Sunday morning, neither have I. But stepping onto the ferry for a short 10 minute ride to the island, I knew I was in for a really nice swim excursion. One special treat early on was seeing one of the four art installation waterfalls by Olafur Eliasson up close before docking onto the island.
But, there was still the business of a 2 mile open water swim at hand. This being a swim event, run annually by the Manhattan Island Foundation, wetsuits, while not verboten, where clearly looked down upon (means wetsuit swimmers are not eligible for awards). So I figured two miles in the choppy waters of New York would be a good preparation for the rest of my triathlon season.
Once we were taken out to the open water on a water taxi, 160 swimmers jumped off the boat, lined up behind a buoy and off we went. Now I have done quite a few open water swims before, but the kicking and smashing I encountered here was truly remarkable. Once out of the worst scuffle though, it was a swim to remember.


A nice current helped early on allowing me to lengthen my stroke and getting into a nice rhythm. At the end, I came out of the water 62nd out of 160 swimmers in a time of 44.28, 8 1/2 mins. behind the winner. So not bad for swimming a modest once a week on average.

Besides, I'll be back on the island very soon, this time though just for fun.

(photo credit goes to Susan Egan, Manhattan Island Foundation)