Around Manhattan- The Backstroke Under the Bridges Swim
On 15th July 2023 Grainne Moss swam around Manhattan Island at night. Here is her blog of that adventure and a playlist to accompany a spectacular journey.
Song 1: Welcome to New York – Taylor Swift – An Amazingly Generous Offer
Welcome to New York! And what a welcome it was. We had booked an Airbnb in the Bronx which was very nice, however the day before a friend of a friend said they were away and if we wanted to use their apartment Downtown, we could. This apartment turned out to be about 7 minutes’ walk from where the boats picked you up to start the swim.
Whilst it was so easy walking to the swim, walking home from it was even better. A short walk after a long swim is indeed a beautiful thing and I enjoyed walking through the streets of New York in my bare feet and towel robe at 4am! At one point my support team suggested we cross a road not at a crossing –Jaywalk in the USA – never!
How generous of Mrs Magoo (as we call her) to open her home to an almost complete stranger. She was also on hand for advice on post swim cocktails, restaurant and tourist tips. Before I had met her, I loved her and luckily a few days after the swim we did meet her and her dog Blu. As they said in Ireland, we had a “grand” time wandering and chatting as we walked around South Street Seaport and across the Brooklyn Bridge. Amazing!
Song 2: Another John Hughes Movie- Maisie Peters– My fantastic “Mr Strong” Kayaker John Hughes
The New York Open Water (NYOW) organisation is very well organised and communicated well, with the right amount of detail prior to the swim. They held a very informative webinar for swimmers and crew….(every swim should have one) which gave you all the key details which really helped training, planning and knowing some of the unique details of the swim.
A few days before the swim, NYOW emailed all the contact details for the other swimmers, the observers and the kayakers. I had been allocated a kayaker called John Hughes, which given my maternal grandmother was a Hughes, I saw as a very good sign. We exchanged emails and had a phone call. It was obvious, before we met, that John, who has completed the swim and kayaked it many times, was very experienced and I was in very good hands. On the night, the swimmer and kayaker worked together well, and we had a very smooth swim, fast feeds and some warm interactions. I particularly liked John’s “Mr. Strong” impression which he did quite often, and I found it very encouraging!
Song 3: Let the River Run Stopping for the Staten Island Ferry –The Movie Moment
The start of the swim was eventful. There were four swimmers attempting the swim. There had been three but a swimmer had pulled out the night before, due to thunder and lightning, had returned to give it another go. This swimmer, Julie from Australia, had already swum 19 bridges at the point when lightning stopped her and a day later she was getting ready to swim the 20 bridges again. Inspiring stuff.
She and Tony, who was from Newcastle, England, were starting around 10-15 minutes before myself and another swimmer called Maya (from San Francisco). If I hadn’t already had enough inspiration from Julie’s determination Maya provided plenty more.
Maya is 15 and the youngest person to complete Catalina and Molokai – we both had completed Catalina and Molokai so had some good stories to swap as we were preparing for this swim together.
My daughter Koru greased me up and then we were ready to go. Lenny the boatman asked me if I would like to step into the water off his ladder. I opted to just jump. I had been told the water was warm and it was! We waited a few minutes for the swim to start. This was slightly delayed as there was at 6pm (our swim start time) some more lighting! Not as much as the night before so we were able to continue thankfully.
Maya and I got started and swam for a few minutes. Then John, my kayaker signaled stop. We both stopped and watched the Staten Island Ferry pass us. We waved to the boat as did several of the passengers who no doubt thought “what on earth are those people doing?”
I was really excited by this close encounter with the Staten Island Ferry which has featured in so many iconic movies including “Working Girl” (showing my age here). It made me feel I had my own special movie moment.
Song 4: Don’t Stand so Close to Me – Police– A Police Escort
There were quite a few boats in the water as we swam through the night. For a while, until we got to the Harlem River, I was the last swimmer, so I had two boats – my own boat and then the tail end safety boat. At the start of the Harlem River, I swam past Julie and Tony so no longer had the safety boat, however the New York Police Department (NYPD) escorted me for a significant part of the swim. That was cool but also a bit disconcerting as they were very close and their flashing blue light I found dazzling and reduced my ability to see the more subtle green light from the kayak and Captain Lenny’s boat.
Song 5: Jersey Girl- Bruce Springsteen – Hugging the Jersey Shore
Whilst I knew there were parts of the swim that were very tidal, the changing currents I found surprising and sometimes unexpectedly strong.
Manhattan is an island thanks to three so-called ‘rivers,’ even though two of them, the Harlem and the East, are actually tidal straits, and the third, the Hudson, is what geologists call a ‘drowned river’—in other words, pretty much a fjord (a long deep narrow body of water that reaches inland) and is called a “tidal estuary”.
Given all this and more (it’s complex) figuring out what the tide is doing in New York Harbour can be a challenge. Fortunately, the experts at New York Open Water (NYOW) know all the details and work out with great care the tides, timing and how the tides will impact on each individual swimmer. The team had predicted that I would complete the swim in 8 hours and 48 minutes (and I finished in 8 hours 50 – so how good are the experts eh! Amazing.)
Then you have the tides pushing against the shoreline and swirling under bridges. This can mean very different flows at different parts of the river and why the expertise of the NYOW and my “Mr. Strong” kayaker and Captain Lenny were very important. So, for times I hugged the Jersey shore and was a Jersey Girl as this was the best way to get some help from the flowing water.
Song 6: The 59th Bridge Street Song: Feeling Groovy– Backstroke Under the Bridges
This Bridge Simon and Garfunkel wrote about – and no it isn’t Bridge over Troubled Water (although there is some troubled water in Manhattan due to the tidal flows).
The Song they wrote was “Feeling Groovy” as they apparently felt this each time they crossed this bridge to do a gig in Manhattan.
I felt groovy for most of this swim especially when I swam under each one of the 20 bridges. At the first bridge I had done backstroke. I then decided that I should do that for all the bridges. Swimming under such a range of immense structures, looking up at them, sometimes hearing the trains thunder over them was so special- I kept thinking – how did I get lucky enough to do this?
Song 7: With a Little Help From my Friends- Beatles– My Wonderful Crew
No marathon swim is a solo effort and as well as the NYOW team, Mr. Strong, Lenny the Captain, Eri the Observer, I was very lucky on this swim to be accompanied by two of my kids and my long-time bestie Amanda. That and the crew back in NZ, Ireland and all over the globe who sent messages meant the swim felt easier. I had swum the Catalina Channel eight days earlier (Blog here) and my body did feel that it had done some work! But I had great help pre-swim (pasta loading), during the swim and help with recovery after. A big shout to all my training buddies in NZ – the Spud Buds and Washing Machines and coach Philip Rush as they helped get me ready for 2 big marathon swims in 8 days!
Song 8: No Sleep Till Brooklyn: Beastie Boys –Swimming through the Night
This swim is so unique and special for many reasons, swimming in three different rivers, going under bridges…however the factor that made it so different from most of my recent ocean swims, especially those done at night, is the constant feeling of progress as you see the twinkling lights of Manhattan and New Jersey.
You are always swimming past something whereas out in the ocean often there is nothing to see or gauge progress from. On this swim, you can count bridges, watch famous sights go past. However, I always tried not to let my eyes trick me. I never like to gauge how far you have left to swim as optimism can disappoint.
As I saw Pier A in the distance nearly 9 hours after I had left it at close to 3am, I thought wow maybe I am nearly finished. I was – the sound of the whistle as I crossed the finish line, and the cheering was indeed music to my ears.
Once finished I carefully climbed up the boat ladder and got my towel robe on so that I didn’t get any yucky swimmers’ grease on Captain Lenny’s lovely boat. Lenny took us to the Marina and there Maya and her crew greeted me with cheers. Maya and I then waited for Tony and Julie to finish and enjoyed some celebrations and photos at around 4am New York time.
Huge congrats to all my swim buddies on this day, Tony and I shared not just this swim but we both completed a Triple Crown on the same night (Catalina, Manhattan and the English Channel), Julie swam an amazing 39 bridges given she had completed 19 the night before and Maya was one of the youngest to ever do this swim. What inspiring company.
I was also very lucky to continue to receive lots of donations for the charity I am raising money for – Kenzie's gift, who supports children and young people who suffer significant grief and loss.
Song 8,9,10: New York State of Mind – Billy Joel & Empire State of Mind JAY-Z, Alicia Keys, New York. New York Frank Sinatra- Post Swim – Sightseeing in New York
Okay so most of my blog’s finish with the swim but we can’t finish there, and we have to have at least three songs for this section. What followed was an amazing week in New York with loved ones seeing fantastic sights, going to Hamilton on Broadway and having Malachy, my nephew from London, come visit from his Camp America base in Boston.
Whenever I asked my crew if I’d “swam past that” world renowned landmark, the answer was always, “Yes Grainne, if it’s on Manhattan Island, you swam past it!” The fun bit of trying to spot landmarks you’d seen in the water from the sky decks and different angles was really cool. It kept that Feeling Groovy going for days and helped make swim recovery faster as the photos below attest too.
Around Manhattan Swim
15th July- started at 6pm finished just before 3am. Time: 8 hours and 50 minutes.
by Grainne Moss