The Risk Of Open Water Swimming Alone In Busy Waters

The Associated Press and the Watertown Daily News reported that 66-year-old Peter Hendley was swimming from Grenell Island to Murray Island in Alexandria Bay in New York when he was hit by a boat. Peter had been swimming with a small buoy to alert others that he was in the water.

However, visibility was an issue as winds had kicked up whitecaps and the sun’s glare may have made it difficult for others to see him.

Peter was swimming alone at the time of the accident and was pronounced dead at a local hospital after being pulled from the lake by the boater who struck him.

Peter was a regular swimmer in the bay where he stayed and normally swam alone. The U.S. Coast Guard and state park police assisted in the investigation but say no charges are anticipated.

Alexandria Bay is located in New York’s Thousand Islands region where 1,793 islands exist. The region explodes with activity in the summer when boaters, fishermen, and vacationers descend upon the beautifully scenic bay.

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