The day is nearly upon us. The 17.5 mile (as the crow flies) event that was scheduled for the 16th of October had to be rescheduled due to atmospheric conditions that produced high winds and waves. Historically, this is not an uncommon occurrence for the middle of October in NY, and the NYC Swim Ederle event has seen a fair amount of adversity. To date, only 50% of those who have started the swim have touched Sandy Hook and the percentage of swimmers who have withdrawn before the start is quite high as well. There are many reasons for this, but the two most common are scheduling/rescheduling issues and unfavorable conditions.
I am happy to report that the rescheduling of this years swim has not been the cause for any withdrawals and all 10 of us will splash tomorrow morning, including Michael Miller who has traveled from Hawaii to swim in the not-so-tropical NY/NJ harbor.
The water temperatures continue to drop under the influence of cold nights and diminishing daylight and where we were seeing 64 degrees at the Battery last week, it is now reading below 60.
Clare and Sharoz will be on my boat, and Michael Hayes will be paddling alongside me.
The course will start at the Battery and head east through the Buttermilk Channel (between Governors Island and Bklyn); follow the Bklyn shore past the Gowanus Canal (insert Jimmy Hoffa joke here) and under the Verrazano Bridge before heading west to Sandy Hook.
Splash Time: 10:10 EST
or: twitter.com/dvdbarra