15th Annual Potomac Swim Set for May 31, 2008
Join environmental groups for a picnic at noon at the swim beach at Point Lookout State Park to cheer in the 48 swimmers who will swim 7.5 miles across the Potomac River to raise consciousness and money for river restoration projects. The annual Potomac River Swim for the Environment is growing in popularity as a distance swim event.The May 31 event, which takes swimmers from Hull Neck, Virginia, 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. Last year, swimmers collected pledges of more than $12,000 to help Potomac River groups, including the Potomac River Association, Southern Maryland Sierra Club, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (with smaller amounts to Potomac River Conservancy, West Virginia Rivers Coaltion, and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy). A picnic hosted by environmental groups provides an informal forum for discussing local natural resources issues.
Each swimmer is accompanied on the crossing by a volunteer kayaker from the Chesapeake Paddlers Association or the Association of North American Kayakers. Members of the Chesapeake Bay Boston Whalers Club volunteer 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, Ridge Volunteer Fire Co., and the Ridge Rescue Squad. The swimmers will leave the Virginia shore, and with favorable conditions, could begin arriving at the bathing beach at Point Lookout State Park in about 3 hours or less.
The swim began when distance swimmer Joe Stewart who uses distance swimming as a way to raise cash and visibility for charitable causes, embarked on a solo "Swim for the River's Sake," in 1993. The race began the following year. Seven years ago, Stewart announced that he was taking a break from race organizing, and handed the reins over to distance swimmer Cheryl Wagner. Stewart will be back as one of the swimmers.
The public is invited to attend the event, and help cheer the tired swimmers to shore. To learn more about the event, or volunteer to help, contact swim organizer Cheryl Wagner at (202) 387-2361, email cherylw@crosslink.net or see our website: http://artemis.crosslink.net/~cherylw/pr2008i.htm.