Dear friends and family,
Yes, I’m doing it again! It’s the 20th Annual Great Newburgh to Beacon Hudson River Swim, so how can I not participate? Last year, I completed my first swim across the Hudson River. I was not fast (it took me more than an hour), and the waves and currents were challenging. Once you’re in the river, you have no idea whether you are going in the right direction. Fortunately, a flotilla of kayakers is there to guide you, and guide they did.
The swim takes place Saturday, July 27, (rain date is July 28). As many of you know, I love open-water swimming. I’m also passionate about a swimmable Hudson River. I will be connecting both loves to help raise funds for the River Pool at Beacon. The River Pool is a circular floating pool with a netted bottom on the Hudson River, accessible from the Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park, in Beacon, New York. It’s in shallow water, so it’s perfect for kids and families, and it’s free. I work for the Hudson River Estuary Program, which funded the construction of the River Pool through a grant in 2004.
The Hudson River is a tidal estuary for 153 miles from Troy to New York Harbor. The Mohican, Munsee, Lenape, Schaghticoke, and other Algonquin-speaking people called the river Muhheacannituck, “the waters that are never still”. Indigenous people stewarded the lands and waterways of the Hudson River Valley for thousands of years.
An important commercial navigation channel runs through the middle of the river, but on July 27, the United States Coast Guard issues a Special Local Regulation establishing a restricted area in the vicinity of the swim. How cool is that? No barge traffic! The swim also takes place at slack tide (hopefully), which occurs between flood and ebb tides (high and low tides), so the river is mostly calm. Actually, it's never calm!
If you are inclined to do so, please contribute to my fundraiser—any amount, no matter how small—helps. Thank you to all of the many, many supporters who contributed to my 2023 fundraiser for the River Pool at Beacon.
Maude
