Swim for Life in Provincetown Harbor

By: Jeannette de Beauvoir, September 5, 2011

courtesy Jay Critchley - Swimmers take to the water for the 1.4 mile trek across Provincetown Harbor.

There was a time when people came to Provincetown to die.

Those were the epidemic years when there were daily deaths from AIDS in this town. Then came the year when someone decided to try to stem the tide.

• Summer, 1988: Jay Critchley and his friend Walter McLean tested themselves by swimming 1.4 miles across Provincetown Harbor. They made it. A scant two weeks later, they organized the first Swim for Life to raise money for local health services, in particular those dealing with the AIDS crisis. Sixteen people took part and raised $7,000.

• Summer, 1991: Helen Roczcewski, a local gourmet chef, produced the first legendary Mermaid Brunch, immediately following the Swim for Life. It’s now an annual feast attended by over a thousand people.

• Summer, 1994: John Thomas and Jim Vincent begin the Celebration of Life Concert on the Friday night before the Swim for Life.

• Summer, 2011: Swim for Life has become an event that defines the best of Provincetown’s spirit. The AIDS crisis has lessened, but Swim for Life continues to support the Outer Cape’s ongoing health needs. Held on the weekend after Labor Day, Swim for Life now attracts more than 200 volunteers and 300 swimmers from all over the world to raise money and awareness about AIDS, women's health, and Provincetown's socio-economic needs.

Swimming for all life

Swim for Life is not just about the health issues: it’s also about the environment. A designated “safe harbor,” Provincetown Harbor is the second-largest natural embayment in the world. As founder and director Jay Critchley puts it, the event is “a celebration of this amazing ecological gift that gave birth to Provincetown and its symbiotic relationship to the sea.”

“The activation of this body of water with human bodies navigating its magical essence, along with the neon-colored swim caps and kayaks, has become an important community tradition as we become more aware of the fragility of the natural environment and our place within it,” says Critchley, who is also the director of the Provincetown Community Compact.

“Come immerse yourself for the 1.4 mile swim, glide across its surfaces in support of swimmers, or welcome swimmers on shore as a volunteer or cheerleader," he says. "Or witness.”

Or witness. If you once see the Swim for Life, you’ll be changed forever.

Promise.

Want to get involved?

The 24th annual Swim for Life will take place this year on Saturday, September 10th.

SWIM: If you can swim at all, you can swim the harbor; there’s no special training necessary. You may use flippers, waterwings, a wetsuit, whatever it takes to make you feel confident. If you get tired, there’s a flotilla of kayakers out there ready to help you: you can hang on to a kayak to rest, have one paddle next to you the whole distance or, in an emergency, have a safety boat bring you back to shore. Whether you finish or not, you’ll never feel the same again!

Swimmers raise a minimum of $100 in pledges, though there are prizes for more money raised. Most swimmers raise around $350; all swimmers receive a ribbon; those who raise $150 receive a T-shirt.

Register the morning of the event at the Boatslip Resort (161 Commercial Street) beginning at 9 AM. The Provincetown Trolley will take you out to MacMillan Pier, from which Flyer’s Boatyard will shuttle you out to Long Point.

KAYAK: Safety is the primary focus of the Swim for Life organizers: the swim lane is well-marked, a medical team and the Provincetown Rescue Squad are on hand. But perhaps the most significant safety component is the dozens of kayakers, known as the Paddler Flotilla, who make up a safety chain of their own, leading swimmers across the harbor.

Kayakers also need to register at the Boatslip beach and are encouraged to raise pledges like the swimmers.

VOLUNTEER: Swim for Life needs well over 150 volunteers to run smoothly. You can sell T-shirts, serve at the Mermaid Brunch, work with boaters, be part of the finish line, participate in wetsuit distribution, staff the lost and found, help with setup and cleanup, distribute prizes, water, and snacks, register swimmers and kayakers … the list goes on and on.