Test Swim from Long Point

Swim for Life Blog #2

Jay Critchley

As Walter and I stood at water’s edge for a moment on Long Point, with a last glance and giggle before the immersion, our eyes focused on the sheer volume of water and the challenge before us. The townscape faded, the water became vibrant. This swim would be our “Yes” to the year of “Not!”. A year when Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No campaign took on viral properties that encompassed drugs, sex, rock music and anything pleasurable, complimenting Ronnie’s Just-Say-No-to-AIDS Mourning in America agenda.

But this is Provincetown, we know who we are and we know what we can do - create our own Star Wars, one stroke at a time, one breath at a time, one helping hand at a time. These were the dark days of the pandemic. Now, in 2011, it’s difficult to recall all those who have died. Things fade, names come to mind unexpectedly - Don Sterton, Preston Babbitt, Paul Fonseca, David Rodale, Stephen Clover, Doug Kibler. I’ll need to dig out the list I started back then, but stopped after 50 names.

The community was becoming activated with grass-roots responses to the living, the dying and to those in harm’s way. Like New England weather, no one stood still. The town expanded its vision of health and compassion while continuing to upgrade the quality of life we expect out here on the edge. Two pressing issues being addressed were affordable housing and waste disposal. The sludge pit would soon be a thing of the past as the town acquired a “cider press”, a mobile sludge system. One step at a time.

We swam side by side, talking little as the support boat puttered behind us. It was clear, calm and sunny. The anticipation had dissipated; the focus was now on our breathing and the musical splashing of the water. We touched bottom just east of the Boatslip. We let out a scream, hands raised. It was two weeks to Labor Day, did we have time to organize an event the weekend after? Would anyone come? Would anyone care?

The 24^th Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla is scheduled for September 10, 2011. It is sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact, a non-profit, tax-deductible organization. For registration forms for swimmers, paddlers, security boaters, volunteers and sponsorship opportunities, or to make a donation, contact: Swim for Life, P.O. Box 819, Provincetown, MA 02657, thecompact@comcast.net, and at its website, www.swim4life.org. Join us on FaceBook: “Provincetown Harbor Swim for Life + Paddler Flotilla”

20011 Swim image: a block print by Breon Dunigan

Business sponsors include:  Boatslip Resort, Far Land Provisions, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant by the Sea, The Lobster Pot Restaurant, Seamen’s Bank + White Porch Inn.

When it all began - 1988

Swim Blog Entry # 1

Jay Critchley  

Of all the changes the town has seen since 1988, there is little evidence of it when we look out over the harbor toward Long Point. The pulse of the lighthouse continues its century old protective presence across the vast tidal basin, unfazed by the enormous, continuous movement of seawater.

We were just two guys with an idea and a harbor in front of us, sitting on the beach, gazing across the expanse to the white, rectangular reflective structure ahead. There was much to reflect upon.

Twenty-four years ago Walter McLean and I often hung out at the Boatslip beach, lazy afternoons that don’t feel the same now. There is a new Boatslip deck after its collapse, a fancy new Town Landing with a stairway, and dog poop signs and even water sampling going on. This was before the first housing bubble crash of the early 1990s. HIV was running rampant in the town and Kim Crawford Harvey was ministering to a bereaved community.

Reports of medical waste and debris washing up on New England beaches, closing many, seemed remote to us. We were spared out here on the Cape tip. Resilient. The harbor would protect us with its far-reaching arm, and we wanted to embrace it.

We made a decision to swim across and began looking for a support boat to accompany us. We were told the bluefish were feeding- people were skeptical. But there were a couple of stories of adventurous townsfolk who had made the swim and we became resolute. By the end of August we had lined up a powerboat that took us to the Point for the day of reckoning. The harbor now looked vaster, deeper, wider, and more menacing. We landed on Long Point and looked across the water at the modest skyline, punctuated by the neoclassical tower. It was time for the plunge.

The 24^th Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla is scheduled for September 10, 2011. It is sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact, a non-profit, tax-deductible organization. For registration forms for swimmers, paddlers, security boaters, volunteers and sponsorship opportunities, or to make a donation, contact: Swim for Life, P.O. Box 819, Provincetown, MA 02657, thecompact@comcast.net, and at its website, www.swim4life.org. Join us on FaceBook: “Provincetown Harbor Swim for Life + Paddler Flotilla"

Business sponsors include:  Boatslip Resort, Far Land Provisions, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant by the Sea, The Lobster Pot Restaurant, Seamen’s Bank + White Porch Inn.

PHOTO: Jay and Arthur at Carnival Parade 2010. We are looking for volunteers for this year’s parade, Aug 18.