Last Minute Location Change Doesn't Hurt S-Mile Swim Challenge

Despite having to change the venue at the last minute, nearly 100 swimmers came out to compete in the third annual “S-mile Swim Challenge” hosted by and benefiting Southampton Village Ocean Rescue on Saturday.

The first two years of the swim were held at Coopers Beach in Southampton Village, and this year’s was scheduled to be held there again. But due to heavy surf created offshore by Hurricane Ernesto, all parties involved decided moving the swim to Long Beach in Sag Harbor was the best move.

SVOR Chief Alex King said the change wound up being a bit of a blessing in disguise. While the inaugural swim three years ago had near perfect conditions, the surf at last year’s swim in Southampton included some tough waves and currents. It wasn’t bad enough to move that event or postpone it, but it did deter some people from going out in the water.

With the swim now in the much calmer bay at Long Beach, the event seemed to be more inviting, King said, making for a “swimmingly” day.

“So, it was a grand effort to change the venue at the last minute,” she said. “Southampton Town was extraordinarily accommodating and we are eternally grateful to them, both to the parks and emergency services departments. Ernesto created waves where we would have not been able to have the swim. We waited a couple days before making the move, but as soon as we saw what we were continually getting from Ernesto, we made a plea to the town to change venues. It ended up working out perfectly for us.

“While we had a great turnout last year we had pretty sizeable waves, and while we had a lot of signups, only half the people actually turned out, and the people that did turn out last year, a lot of them were scared to go in the water,” King explained. “So I think a lot of people were relieved and happy to have it at Long Beach. And so it turned out to be this crazy blessing in disguise, with a really good vibe at the swim. It was Long Beach, it was the bay, it was warm. It was a beautiful day, everyone was in good spirits and relieved not to be in the waves.”

Dylan Zucker, 15, of New York City won this year’s mile swim in 24:05.39. Daniel Mattei, 22, of New Hyde Park finished second in 24:15.24 and Edwin Moriarty, 26, of Long Beach finished third in 25:01.35.

Chris Durand, 51, of New York City won the half-mile swim in 15:18.14. He was followed in by Robert Kujawski, 62, of Cutchogue, who finished in 18:33.08, and Andy Weinert, 49, of Edina, Minnesota, who finished in 19:59.86.

Nico Palazzi, 20, of Southampton won the quarter-mile swim in 11:31.77. Amalia Breen, 15, of Rockville Centre placed second in 13:08.64, while Marco Palazzi, 18, of Southampton finished third in 13:58.21.

All results can be found at elitefeats.com.

What has become a theme for three years running, the swim had some pretty hefty prizes. Along with trophies for the overall winners and medals for those who finished second and third, bottles of Dos Hombres mezcal and Wölffer and McCall wines were given to those who were 21 and over. Levain Bakery cookies were also given to the top finishers, and Helios custom-made pickleball paddles were awarded to the overall winners who play the sport. Additional prizes included pickleball court time at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor, gift cards to Gubbins Running Ahead and El Verano, as well as VIP tickets to the Sticks and Stones Comedy Club.

Celebrating its sixth year in existence, SVOR’s mission is to respond to water rescues in the ocean and bays, year-round, at all unprotected beaches in Southampton Village. It’s dedicated to making safe and expeditious water rescues via proven and effective techniques. All proceeds of Saturday’s swim went to the organization, a volunteer nonprofit that is particularly vital to a beach community such as Southampton.

More information is available at southamptonvillageoceanrescue.org.

Whether or not the swim will continue at Coopers Beach or Long Beach is something that’s up for discussion, King said. There were a lot of teenagers who turned out for this year’s swim, King said, so there is talk of adding an additional 13-and-under portion to the race with an even shorter swim. But the swim overall has become a mainstay, whether it’s at Long Beach or Coopers.

“We all love the ocean and love being at Coopers. It’s our favorite spot,” King said. “We actually start swimming in April doing distance swims at Long Beach and then move to Coopers in the middle of May, so we all have a sweet spot for Long Beach as well. But Coopers is kind of protected. It’s beautiful, it’s clean and it’s typically much easier to lifeguard there — there’s good visibility. But at Long Beach, there’s never rough surf like there is at Coopers.”