On August 3rd, 169 swimmers participated in the 2024 St. Vincent's Swim Across the Sound. The 37th Annual Swim consisted of 10 Solo swimmers, 1 two-person relay, 17 Classic (non-wetsuit) relays, 9 Traditional (wetsuit) relays, and 1 Corporate Challenge relays. The weather forecast for the day was relatively clear conditions in the morning with an increasing chance throughout the day for showers and squalls.
The weather was beautiful and the seas were calm and relatively flat when Wave 1 started from the beach at Port Jefferson at 8:33am. Wave 1 consisted of all solo swimmers and the two-person relay team. The conditions continued to be almost perfect for the start of Wave 2 (9:15am) and Wave 3 (10:00 am) and the tides were favorable.
The swimmers were strong and fast. No solo swimmer or relay team risked being moved up due to missing time cutoff at distance milestones. However, throughout the day, the Swim Committee had been monitoring radar for the powerful, fast-moving, storms forecasted for early evening. At 3:30 pm, high activity was approaching over land. The decision was made to move the back of the field up, in case the direction changed. At 4:15 pm, radar picked up the directional change of a very strong and fast moving line of thunderstorms and high winds. The Swim was called with the remaining Solo swimmers and Teams removed from the water. Of the 38 escort boats that started, only four boats crossed the finish line.
Just after 3 pm, Solo swimmer Joey Nizzardo (Monroe, CT) crossed the finish line with a time of 6:36. Joey also finished 1st in 2023, beating last year’s time by 33 minutes. Maribeth Robertson (Glastonbury, CT) finished in a time of 7 hours, 50 minutes leading the female solo swimmers and setting a new course record.
The remaining results of the Solo category were determined by location from Buoy 2A at the time the Swim was called:
Solo Male category: 2nd: Alexander Morris (Hampden, MA); 3rd: Benjamin Casey (Boynton Beach, FL); 4th: Isa Muqattash (Ronkonkoma, NY); and 5th: Jeremy Grosvenor (Sagaponack, NY). Eric Schall (Kingston, PA) withdrew after the 4 hour mark.
Solo Female category: 2nd: Siân Clement (Aberavon, Wales); 3rd: Qing Li (Chicago, IL); and 4th: Melodee Liegl (Delafield, WI).
The Two-Person Relay category (non-wetsuit) had one team. Seasoned Swimmers was made up of Marcella MacDonald and James Bayles.
In the Classic Team Relay (non-wetsuit) category, both Water Rats Swimming (6:23) and Marist Men’s Swimming (6:25) crossed the finished line within two minutes of each other. However, upon Swim Committee review, Marist Men’s Swimming was awarded 1st place due to a Safety Rule Violation.
The remaining results of the Classic Team Relay (non-wetsuit) were determined by location from Buoy 2A location adjusted for wave start group at the time the Swim was called: 2nd: Fair Diego; 3rd: The Pool Boys; 4th: Team RBG; 5th: Pisces Pride; 6th: NC Cross Currents; 7th: UConn Club Swim; 8h: Hungerford's Just for the Halibut; 9th: UConn Swim Club; 10th: Blue Marbles; 11th: The Goofy Goobers; 12th: Half Shells - Shuckin' out Cancer; 13th: Pisces Strong; 14th: Backus for a Cure; 15th: Make Everyday Beautiful; and 16th: Barbara’s Bunch.
In the Traditional category (wetsuits allowed), all results were determined by location from Buoy 2A location adjusted for wave start group at the time the Swim was called: In 1st place was Boo's Crew 3 – Rapids; 2nd: Black Bears; 3rd: Masons Dolphins; 4th: The MK Fan Club; 5th: Club Swim UConn; 6th: Orthopaedic Specialty Group; 7th: Rapid Crushers; 8th: Survivors; and 9th: Cardinals.
The Corporate Challenge category had one team and was won by St. Vincent’s Emergency Department team, Code Blue Fish.
The "Dream of Life" award was presented to Derek Yach for his commitment to the Swim and as an advocate for the health and welfare of those around the world. Derek has demonstrated exceptional grit and determination, having been told a year ago that because of his type of cancer, he would not be able to swim again. This was his third battle with cancer. For the past 12 months, he has been receiving chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and also had surgery for esophageal cancer. Derek has participated in the Swim Across the Sound Marathon over 10 times and joined the Survivor Team this year.
A new award was created this year called, “The Beacon of Hope” award. This award was presented to Thomas Dolan for his unwavering dedication and compassionate service that has been a beacon of hope for countless individuals battling cancer and reflects the true essence of what it means to be a volunteer. Through every challenging wave and every calm stretch, his commitment shone brightly and embodied the spirit and passion of Jan Williams, who this award honors. Jan believed in the power of community and the strength found in helping others. Her unparalleled devotion to the Swim Across the Sound continues to guide and inspire us. Tom has participated in the Swim Across the Sound Marathon as a boat captain for more than 30 years and is a cancer survivor himself.
While the Swim provides an opportunity for swimmers to get in shape, meet new people, and create some friendly competition, the success of the Swim Across the Sound is measured by the amount of donations we raise and the number of patients and their families we can help.
The 2024 Swim Across the Sound was a huge success, raising nearly $600,000 with more funds coming in each day.
Here are some highlights (as of August 8th):
Six teams raised over $20,000!
At the top of the leader board, Make Everyday Beautiful raised over $44.6k, Barbara’s Bunch ($36.8k), Fair Diego ($29.8k), Code Blue Fish ($29.3k), Orthopaedic Specialty Group ($28.2k) and The Pool Boys ($20.3k)Six teams raised over $10,000!
Backus for a Cure ($16.9k), Survivors ($15.0k), The MK Fan Club ($13k), NC Cross Currents (10.8k), Water Rats Swimming 1 ($10.2k) and Hungerford’s Just for the Halibut ($10.1k).All SOLO swimmers crushed their pledge!
Joey Nizzardo was also our top fundraiser in the solo swimmer category raising $6.5k.Top five individual Fundraisers raised nearly $80K!
Jeremiah Houlihan $24.7k with Barbara’s Bunch, George Mladsi $19.2k with Make Everyday Beautiful, Danielle Honrath $15.5k with Fair Diego, Dante Brittis $12.7k with Orthopaedic Specialty Group, and Suzelle Hendsche $7.2k with Backus for a Cure.
We are extremely grateful to the boat captains, their crews, Swim officials, observers, medical support, land volunteers, and kayakers who volunteered for the event. The Swim cannot happen without you and all the swimmers that reach out to family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues and strangers for pledges that go toward supporting current cancer patients needing assistance with items that are not covered by insurance like mortgage, rent, utility and car payments, and transportation to treatments to name a few ways we support.
We have an amazing team of volunteers on the Swim Committee who work throughout the year with Karen, Chris, Alyssa, Tara, Frank, Julie, Teren and Todd from St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to this event year after year.
With gratitude and admiration for you all,
Liz Fry
Swim Across the Sound
Marathon Director
Swim Committee Members: Jim Doyle, Matt Hlavna, Ryan Conrad, Bill Selski, Bill Dragan, Rich Langlois, Kevin Blanco, Mitch Lasky, Teresa Gagnon, and Jeff Sargent.