When you’re on the beach at Brighton there’s this bridge on the eastern horizon that looks both close and far – you can’t quite tell for sure but geez wouldn’t it be cool to swim to it. Yeah! It’s formally known as The Marine Parkway Bridge (now the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge) and CIBBOWS can offer you a swim to it from, get this, the Verrazano Bridge. Oh yeah! You’ve heard about the 8 Bridges swim down the Hudson starting at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and going to the Verrazano Bridge, well this is the 9th Bridge swim and there’s even a 10th Bridge too, which we may offer to you!
And just like the Verrazano Bridge to Sandy Hook swim, CIBBOWS has some rules and regulations – because safety is our top concern. There’s a minimum of 2 safety boats that must be on these swims. A safety boat can support 1 or 2 swimmers, but if there are 2 swimmers then those 2 swimmers must swim together. If 1 of the 2 swimmers lags behind, the faster swimmer will have to slow up and allow the other swimmer to catch up or the slower swimmer must be pulled.
So find some swimming buddies that swim at your pace. Train together, and make certain that you train together in the ocean since swimmers that are the same speed in the pool are not necessarily going to swim well together in the open ocean. Conditions can get rough even on the most idyllic days. That’s what CIBBOWS is for – come out to Brighton Beach and swim with us.
Ideally you’ll want 4 swimmers so that you can split up the cost of the boats. CIBBOWS will work with you on selecting the best dates. We’ll ask for a retainer fee to hold your date but we will refund this fee to you once you pay cash directly to the boaters. CIBBOWS only charges a small processing fee. You’ll be responsible for the boaters fee, so no last minute cancellations or we’ll forfeit your retainer fee.
The boats will pick you and your crew up at Brighton Beach – you will swim out to the boats with your supplies in waterproof bags and then you get to take an exhilarating ride over to the Verrazano Bridge for the splash start. We will time your start time with the tides so that you will have the best current assist possible.
We encourage all swimmers to give back by volunteering to be boat observers for other swimmers on other dates. Please consider taking the boat observer certification course offered by our Bonnie Schwartz Nolan through NY Open Water Swimming and get your CPR certification while you’re at it.
Registration is now open!