In the Summer of 2012, I watched my sister participate in the Brooklyn Bridge Swim. It was my first experience watching NYC swimmers brave the notoriously dirty shores of the Hudson & East Rivers, and swim headfirst towards Manhattan island. Ever since that summer, I wanted to try a NYC Swim event. I missed the 2013 edition of the Brooklyn Bridge Swim due to race conflicts, so when the opportunity to participate in the Great Hudson Swim came up, I immediately splurged. The registration process, however, is not immediate. In order to successfully register for a NYC Swim event, you must submit “proof” that you are capable of completing said event. Therefore, I uploaded some of my Ironman & triathlon open water swim results.
The Great Hudson Swim starts at Pier 45. We borrowed the NYC Water Taxi’s floating dock, which is a good 7-foot vertical jump into the Hudson. Hold onto your goggles!!!
After jumping into the 58 degree-Fahrenheit (14.4 degrees Celsius) water, we swam parallel to the pier until the the 3rd buoy, where we made a left turn. Sighting the rest of the buoys down the Hudson was a breeze! Thanks to the tall buildings and the 7:50am start, sun glare was not a issue.
The Great Hudson Swim reminded me of my first experience in the Hudson, during last year’s NYC Triathlon, which is a similar swim.
So about 30 minutes after making the turn, the course led us to the North Cove Harbor. All the swimmers had to navigate between two rows of neatly docked sailboats inside the harbor. Once inside the harbor, we were sheltered from the water current.
And so, after 34 minutes, I finished the NYC Great Hudson Swim! Part of me wished that the event lasted longer, because a few days before this event, NYC Swim had announced that 2014 may be the last year of the ‘shorter’ open water swim events (due to increasingly complicating event logistics).
Thank you Mom & Dad for coming out to watch me swim! (and for the pictures!)
Update: Preliminary results are posted! – Link
Garmin file included below. Did I swim straight enough?