SOUTH BOSTON, Massachusetts—Swimmers have traveled from as far away as South Africa and Australia to take part in this year’s
Boston Light Swim, an annual eight-mile open water swim across Boston Harbor that will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2016. Dubbed the “Grand-daddy of American Open Water Swims,” the Boston Light Swim is the oldest open water race in the United States and was first contested in 1907.
The swim draws an international field every year, and this year, Roger Finch, 59, of Johannesburg, South Africa, is one of the event’s more storied participants. Finch was the first South African to complete solo swims across the Catalina and English Channels and a circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, the three swims that constitute the Triple Crown. He’ll be joined in the water by Suzie Dods, 56, of San Francisco, who also completed the Triple Crown in 2015. Becky Jackman, 53, and Cindy Walsh, 54, both of California have also completed the Triple Crown. Join gin them in the water will be fellow Triple Crowner Lochie Hinds, 21, of Sydney, Australia. Hinds was the youngest swimmer to achieve the feat when he swam the Catalina Channel at the tender age of 18 in 2014. His record fell last year to 16-year-old Charlotte Samuels of New Jersey.
But veteran Triple Crown marathon swimmers aren’t the only remarkable people who will be taking part in this year’s Boston Light Swim. Brian Concannon, 53, of Marshfield, Mass., is also swimming, and he’s got a message to share.
The human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) lived in Haiti for nine years, and that experience led him to advocate for Haitians to have the kind of clean water we now enjoy here in Boston.
“One of the reasons I am excited about the Boston Light Swim is that we can now do it. Thanks to the harbor cleanup, we can swim across the harbor or dunk at a beach without undue risk of toxins or disease,” Concannon says. His job involves working with victims of the cholera epidemic “brought to Haiti by reckless disposal of sewage at a United Nations military base there in 2010. Cholera has contaminated the waters where Haitians bathe, wash clothes, and drink, killing thousands.” He points to the substantial efforts taken in Boston to clean what was once the dirtiest urban waterway in the country as reason to believe the same can be done in Haiti.
“The Boston Light Swim is a source of tangible hope and inspiration that Haiti's waters can one day be made safe for the people who use them," Concannon says.
Competitors will start in the water at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning just off of Little Brewster Island. From the shadow of America’s first lighthouse, which is celebrating its 300
th anniversary this year, the swimmers will launch their 8-mile trek through the Boston Harbor Islands National Park, aiming for a beach finish at the famed L-Street Bathhouse (Curley Community Center) in South Boston. Spectators are encouraged to arrive at the beach to cheer in the finishers beginning at 10 a.m. Most swimmers complete the course in three to five hours, and there is a strict five-hour time limit on the course.
The Boston Light Swim is considered one of the most difficult open water swimming races in the world because of the chilly 58-degree water temperature typically found at the start, variable conditions, and strong tidal flows. Completion is not guaranteed and safety is the top priority for Race Directors Elaine Howley and Greg O’Connor, who’ve been running the event for the past eight years. Warm weather in Boston this year promises to ameliorate some of the cold, but wind predictions of up to 15 mph out of the east could make for a bumpy ride back into South Boston.
Despite intense demand, only 25 solo swimmers were awarded bibs via lottery back in March. The field consists of 8 women and 17 men, all of whom have significant open water experience and will be swimming without wetsuits. Local swimming phenom Eric Nilsson, 29, of Boston, is expected to cruise to his third victory in the event.
New this year, swimmers will be able to share tracking information with friends and family on shore via the new TRACK.RS service developed by Evan Morrison and offered via a partnership with the Marathon Swimmers Federation. Watch the race unfold online live by visiting:
http://track.rs/BLS2016/ .
The Boston Light Swim staff wishes all swimmers a safe and personally fulfilling crossing. This year’s race is sponsored by the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association (MOWSA), Ultima Replenisher, Harpoon Brewery, DRINKMaple, Carbo-Pro, and FINIS. An after-party will be held on the beach at the L-Street Bathhouse, followed by a celebration at the world-famous L-Street Tavern on L Street in Southie.
For more information, visit us online at
www.bostonlightswim.org. For media inquiries, please contact Race Director Elaine Howley, at
ehowley@massopenwaterswimming.org or 508-736-6268 .
Solo Entrants
