Swim Across America – Boston Harbor Swim
July 13, 2010
This coming Friday, July 16th, 2010 I will join 83 other swimmers for the annual Swim Across America Boston Harbor swim. This will be the 17th anniversary of this 22-mile relay swim and my third year of participating in the event.
The swim offers a tour of the Boston Harbor and Islands from a very unique perspective; the water. 
The purpose of the swim is to help raise funds that will go to The David Perini Quality of Life Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Last year we raised almost $300,000.
Essentially there are two boats that will ferry two large groups of swimmers throughout the day beginning from the dock at Rowe’s Wharf in Boston’s Financial District. We will start off at 7:00 a.m. with a number of past Olympic swimmers including Craig Beardsley, Carlton Bruner and Janel Jorgensen who will kick things off in the first wave, jumping off of the pier into the Boston Harbor. In addition to the two larger vessels two Zodiac boats will follow swimmers in the water and shuttle them back to the larger boat when their heat is complete. Each heat consists of a :15 swim which is essentially just over a 1/2 a mile for a steady swimmer.
The two large boats will head out in a staggered position with the Zodiac boats following behind. When one group’s swim is over, the next will jump in from the second boat keeping the pacing going forward. The Zodiac boats will pick up the previous heat’s swimmers who are still in the water and drop them off on their respective boats. This leap-frog procession will continue throughout the day until the 22 mile journey is completed back at Rowe’s Wharf. 
I’ve had such a blast doing this, and luckily the weather’s cooperated the past three years. I am still open to raising money for this event as I’m currently sitting at $1,500 out of my goal of $2,000. You can donate to the cause by clicking on the following link: Swim Across America Thank you in advance if you choose to participate!
Charlie
