4th Annual Boston Sharkfest Draws Large NE-LMSC Contingent

Results

Congratulations to all who participated in the Boston Sharkfest earlier this month. Nearly 500 swimmers covered the one-mile distance across Boston Harbor from east Boston into the Seaport on calm waters under sunny skies. Members of the NE-LMSC made a great showing, taking age group honors in almost every age group in both the wet suit and non-wet suit categories. 

A special shout out to CMSC member Franny Cohen who celebrated her 60th birthday by swimming Sharkfest - her first open water race! - and taking silver in her age group.

Lin Completes Nantasket - Nahant - Nantasket Solo Swim

Helen Lin continues to prove she has no limit when it comes to navigating the open water. Earlier this month, Helen became the first person to make the 18-mile round trip swim from Nantasket Beach in Hull to Northeastern University's Marine Center in Nahant. Helen took a whopping 10-minute break in Nahant before heading back to Nantasket.

Read the Patriot Ledger's coverage of Helen's swim (along with video) here and enjoy the video from her crew here. 

Congratulations Helen! 

Howley Completes Solo Crossing of Loch Ness, One Swim Closer to her "Monster Triple"

Elaine Howley finished a solo crossing of Loch Ness late last month. She covered the  22.2-mile length in 13 hrs 21 minutes, making her the third American to swim the length of the loch. We believe that fewer than 15 people worldwide have completed the swim. Water ranged from 51 to about 57 degrees over the course of the swim. "That was a tough swim but great fun," said Howley. 

Elaine's sense of humor never died over 22 miles of cold water ... check out this video of her last feed. The water was so cold that her mouth was frozen, but that's no reason not to tell a good joke! 

Completing the Loch Ness swim puts Elaine just one swim away from the Monster Triple Crown (solo lengths of Loch Ness, Lake Memphremagog, and Lake Tahoe). She plans to swim Lake Tahoe next spring to cross the Monster Triple Crown off of her bucket list.

Media: WOWSA piece

Penny Palfrey Wins 2015 Boston Light Swim

Results

Legendary open water swimmer - 53-year-old Penny Palfrey of Seventeen-Seventy, Queensland, Australia - handily won the 8-mile Boston Light Swim across Boston Harbor on August 15th with a time of 2:56:48. Palfrey maintained an amazing 85 strokes-per-minute pace throughout the eight-mile course.

Finishing second overall, and winning the men's competition, was 63-year-old James Clifford of Poolesville, MD, the oldest male competitor in the race. Clifford finished in 3:08:22, edging out third place finisher Jennifer Olsen, 44, of Natick, MA, who finished in 3:11:28.

The Boston Light Swim is the oldest open water marathon swim in the U.S. and has been a local tradition since 1907. Participants begin in the water at America's first lighthouse, the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in the outer Harbor. The course continues past George's Island and Rainsford Island, then along Long Island (and past where the Long Island Bridge used to stand), and around Thompson's Island. Swimmers come ashore at the historic L Street Bathhouse in South Boston, home of the world famous L Street Brownies and the L Street Ice Swimmers.

Females Take Top Three Spots at Charles River Swim

Results

Congratulations to Jessica Stokes, Alana Aubin, and Katharine Dunn who took the top three spots overall at this year's Charles River Swim. They are pictured here with Race Director Kate Radville. Way to go ladies!

Charles River Swimming Club

Maura Twomey Swims the English Channel

Congratulations to Maura Twomey!  Maura completed her first one-way crossing of the English Channel (Dover, England to Cran d'Escalles, France) in 16 hours 23 minutes on Friday July 10th! Not only was this a fantastic personal accomplishment, but Maura also used this as an opportunity to raise funds for Build4life, a charity focused on developing life saving inpatient and outpatient cystic fibrosis facilities in hospitals across Ireland. 

Thanks to Maura's crew member, fellow CMSCer Jen Downing, for this great photo of the crossing!

Coaches Workshop Scheduled for March 28th

NE-LMSC Coaches Chair, Crystie McGrail, has a fantastic coaches workshop lined up focused on open water swimming. 

Three local open water experts - Jennifer Dutton, Elaine Howley and Greg O'Connor - will discuss best practices and theories/ techniques for training in the pool for open water, training in open water and open water safety.

There will also be plenty of time for interactive conversation and questions for the panelists.

Date: March 28, 2015
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (lunch included)
Worcester, MA - specific location details to come

We will limit the workshop to the first 30 coaches who register. For presenter bios and registration, visit the Coaches section of the website.

NE LMSC Swimmers Compete at US Winter Swimming Championships

NE-LMSC swimmers Helen Lin, Elaine Howley, Paula Yankauskas and Rich Born recently competed in the Inaugural U.S. Winter Swimming Championships. Swimming in a "pool" carved into the frozen Lake Memphremagog in Newport, Vermont, competitors raced in the 25 breaststroke and the 25, 50 and 100-meter freestyle. Way to go ice swimmers!!

NELMSC Celebrates Four Newly Frozen "Ice Milers"!

On December 14th, four NE-LMSC swimmers - NEM President Helen Lin, Kellie Joyce, Rena Demeo and Paula Yankauskas - became official Ice Milers when they completed one mile of outdoor open water swimming wearing only a swimsuit, cap and goggles in water under 41 degrees. Swimmers were not allowed to touch any other person or escort kayak and could not stand until the swim was complete.

The MA Open Water Association organized the event at the L Street Bath house in S. Boston, supplying EMTs and escorts for the four ladies. Helen, Kellie, Rena and Paula swam eight lengths of the beach between two fences, equaling about 1,800 meters. The water that day was 40 degrees; the air, 41 degrees.

Congratulations to all four ladies for doing something few of us can imagine, but all of us respect and celebrate!