Good Morning Gloucester

Fun spectator sport even if you’re not out there! And for this special 40th anniversary it’s a two day affair. Here’s the schedule for the  (already) registered folks for  friends and fans who’ll cheer them on.

SATURDAY AUGUST 11, 2018

8:15 – SAFETY Director will meet with Kayakers/Lifeguards.
8:45 – MANDATORY Meeting for coaches, officials, and swimmers
8:00- 8:45 WARM UP

Events 

1. 8-12 year old  boys/girls 500 meter –  Event starts: 9:00 A.M. 
The race will consist of a 500m course which will be along the beach and back around green buoys   Shallow water start and shoreline finish. 

2 .  Open Men/Women 1.2 mile – Event start: 9:30 or 10 minutes after the final swimmer finishes the 500 m event.  The course will be a rectangle, starting in shallow water. The swimmers will swim approximately 0.55 miles out from the beach to a buoy where they will make a 90 degree turn to the left, keeping the buoy on your left. The second leg will be approximately 0.1 miles, and the swimmers will make another 90 degree turn keeping the bouy on their left. The swimmers will then proceed to swim back to Niles beach and finish at the orange buoy at the shore/finish line.

NEW THIS YEAR – SUNDAY EVENT

The 10 Mile Celebrate the Clean Harbor Relay.
6:30 a.m. Registration/Check in opens
7:15 a.m. Safety Meeting. 
7:30 Start of First leg.
No one will be allowed to start a new leg after 1:20.p.m. 2:00 p.m  Course will be cleared.

NEOWSA (formerly NEMSA) Printed matter about the Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim:

The CELEBRATE THE CLEAN HARBOR OPEN WATER SWIMMING FESTIVAL will be held  August 11 and 12, 2018. This year, in celebration of 40 years of aqua activism for Goucester Harbor water quality, we are expanding to a two day open water event  sponsored by New England Open Water Swimming Association (NEOWSA), formerly New England Marathon swimming Association (NEMSA).

Starting off  the festival will be the  Clean Harbor Kids Swim on Saturday, a 500 meter swim along the shore of Niles Beach for 8-12 year olds. Held since 2015, this is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the sport of Open Water Swimming.

Also on Saturday will be the 40th Annual 1.2 Mile Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim

For 2018, we are adding a second day to the event, creating the festival. We will be holding the  10 mile Clean Harbor Relay event on Sunday, August 12th. This event will be held on a 1.0 mile course, very similar to Saturday’s event.  We suggest teams of 5, and swimming through the rotation two times..  Your team may have more or less than 5 swimmers. We believe the more the merrier. There will be a 6.5 hour limit. This will be a fun atmosphere, so bring a beach chair/blanket, snacks, some sunscreen and shade, and have a great time hanging out on the beach between your swims with your closest swimming friends.  

Proceeds from the event will go toward supporting two organizations in the local area: Maritime Gloucester and Gloucester Fisheman’s Wives Association.

The mission of Maritime Gloucester is to inspire students and visitors to value marine science, maritime heritage and environmental stewardship through hands-on education and experiences.

The Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association is a non-profit organization promoting the New England fishing industry, helping to preserve the Atlantic Ocean as a food supply for the world, and assisting active and retired fishermen and their families to live better lives.

We have reason to celebrate this incredible resource that is Gloucester Harbor, and we owe it all to  four Cape Ann residents who, in 1979,  swam across Gloucester Harbor in protest of its polluted status. This evolved into an annual Audubon Society-sponsored event to help raise funds for cleaning the harbor, hence the name “Swim for a Clean Harbor.” When, in 1993, the harbor was deemed clean by the Audubon Society, the efforts of these pioneering swim-eco-activists became a cause for celebration and “Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim” was born. Don’t miss this year’s event. We have reason to celebrate and what better way than to Jump in. Get Wet.”

Complete results will be posted to the New England Open Water Swimming Association Facebook page. A few prior GMG posts about the swim:

• 8/12/16 Gloucester’s Clean Harbor: H2O No No’s are in the past – some history of the swim
• 8/10/16 Accclaimed writer, Gloucester resident, and one of the trio that inspired the Clean Harbor Swim Sarah Fraser Robbins excerpt ( the title of her classic book The Sea is All About Us was a nod to Gloucester summer resident TS Eliot’ Four Quartets)
• 8/6/16 litter 1978 Crackdown at the quarries 
• 8/4/16 history of the swim and news about 2016 Celebrate the Clean Harbor Swim Conservation Inspiration