America’s Channel Got Talent
The American Channel, formerly known as Massachusetts Bay, has been sitting dormant for nearly a century when it comes to marathon swimming.But Greg O’Connor (shown on left) of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association changed all that. With his vision and drive, he is reviving a swim that has attracted attention since 1915.
Earlier today under sunny but windy skies, 54-year-old Paul Rekoff of New York set off from White Horse Beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts to Provincetown in the P2P.
On Saturday, his New York colleague 62-year-old Mo Siegel will also attempt the P2P before he heads off to the Tsugaru Channel in Japan to complete his third channel in the Oceans Seven.
By aiming to complete the P2P across the American Channel, Paul Rekoff is hoping to replicate a crossing only a handful of individuals have achieved.
According to local lore, Harry Kemp, an American writer known as the Poet of the Dunes, first developed the idea of swimming point-to-point between Provincetown and Plymouth to create a symbolic link between the first colony and the first landing place in America. Three swimmers — Charlie Toth, Samuel Richards, and Henry Sullivan attempted the swim in 1915, but none were able to reach the other side.
The swim fell into obscurity until the 1950s when several people made unsuccessful attempts during a mid-century marathon swimming revival. Finally after nearly 2 more decades, 41-year-old Russell Chaffee achieved the first crossing of P2P in 14 hours 40 minutes in 1968.
Last August, the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association (MOWSA) sanctioned and reinvigorated the waterway with marathon swimming enthusiasm. MOWSA offered the swim as a solo sanctioned event to an exclusive group of experienced marathon swimmers. MOWSA President O’Connor led the charge, completing the swim in 10 hours 22 minutes. Janet Harris, David Barra, and Eileen Burke also completed the P2P among coolish 63ºF (17ºC) water, recreational boat traffic, variable weather conditions, marine life, and strong currents and tidal flows.
For more information, visit www.massopenwaterswimming.org.
Copyright © 2013 by Open Water Swimming
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
Latest posts by Steven Munatones (see all)
