2001 Potomac River Swim for the Environment 7.5 Miles June 2, 2001 by Curtis Dalpra

Left to Right:   Back Row: Nick Olmos-Lau, Julie Peterson, Bob Astheimer, Mike Maier, Richard Wallace, Matt Fetters, Dan Dooher, Bob Aitcheson Front Row: Mark Rodriguez, Emily Watts, Janet Carpenter, Peter Garver, Henry Eckstein, Meryem Tangoren-Masood

A sign on an information table overlooking the river at Point Lookout State Park, Md., on Saturday, June 2, read "A Swimmable, Fishable Potomac." The river, about 7.5 miles wide at that point, was very swimmable according to contestants in the 8th annual Potomac River Swim for the Environment. Event winner Bob Astheimer won for the fourth consecutive time out of five attempts. "It was really good water today," he said shortly after finishing. "The waves were gentle and rolling, there was a tailwind that helped push us along, and there were few jellyfish," he said. The conditions were in sharp contrast to last year's event, where several swimmers did not finish, and Astheimer's time was nearly 50 minutes longer.

The June 2 event, which takes swimmers from Hull Point, Va., across the river to Point Lookout State Park in Maryland, provides a challenging distance swim for the participants while raising environmental awareness about the river as well as funds for several Potomac environmental groups. While none of the contestants set a new record for the swim, as a group they did set a new record in raising more than $7,000 to help environmental groups. Swimmer Dan Dooher led the way collecting $2,100. The funds benefit the Potomac River Association, Southern Maryland Sierra Club, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Point Lookout State Park, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. Members of those groups held a picnic at the park while waiting for the swimmers to arrive that provided a chance to discuss environmental issues.

The event began the previous evening, when the swimmers and support volunteers met for a pasta supper prepared by parishoners at the Trinity Parish Hall in St. Mary's City, with desserts provided by the Patuxent Friends Meeting of Lusby, Md. The next morning, swimmers were ferried from Point Lookout State Park across the river to Hull Neck, Va., and began their swim back to the park at 8:16 a.m. Each swimmer was accompanied on the crossing by a volunteer kayaker from the Chesapeake Paddlers Association or the Association of North American Kayakers. The kayakers and their boats were taken across the Potomac by Captain Jack Russell aboard his skipjack, Dee of St. Mary's. Members of the Chesapeake Bay Boston Whalers Club volunteered their boats and time as lead, escort, and tail boats for the race, along with public safety vessels and staff provided by the U.S.

Coast Guard, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Charles County Dive and Rescue, Ridge, Md., Volunteer Fire Co., and the Ridge Rescue Squad. Race organizer Joe Stewart, who began the event in 1993 with a solo "Swim for the River's Sake," noted that the race would not exist without the many volunteers who make the event a success. Special thanks was given to Stewart, who had earlier announced that this would be his last effort at organizing the event, along with several other charity swims he runs each year. "After these many years, it's time for me to take a break. He will be ably succeeded by Cheryl Wagner, who has participated in several of the swims. Stewart's years of organizing and coordinating the event were noted with the presentation of the Bernie Fowler Award for Conservation and Environmental Action in Southern Maryland by the Sierra Club.

Other contributors to the event included Bob Knight, Point Lookout State Park, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sheible's Fishing Center, Hale House, local boaters, and David Hyatt/Creative Imaginations. Southern Maryland artist Jeanne Hammett designed tee shirts for the event. Plans for the Year 2002 event, which will include a May 31 pasta supper and the swim on Saturday, June 1, are underway. For more information, contact Cheryl Wagner, (202) 387-2361; cherylw@crosslink.net

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