The 36Th Provincetown Swim For Life and Paddler Flotilla Welcomes 250 Swimmers, Raises Over $225,000 For Aids, Women’s Health, and The Community

As the humidity rose and the rain held off, 250 swimmers hit the warm waters of Provincetown Harbor and Wellfleet’s Great Pond at the 36th Provincetown Swim for Life & Peddler Flotilla, presented by the Provincetown Community Compact, on Saturday, September 9, 2023. 

The early 8:30 am starting time in Provincetown Harbor, in conjunction with the high tide, didn’t affect the turnout and the approximately $225,000 raised from swimmers and kayakers from across the country. This quintessential Provincetown tradition raises funds for twelve non-profit beneficiaries and was supported by twenty-two business sponsors.

A parallel freshwater Swim event was held at Wellfleet’s Great Pond with thirty-eight swimmers, while a dozen swimmers were “Swimming in Place” in locations in Florida, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts.

Registration for swimmers, kayaks, and walkers was held at Canary Wharf Park, flanked by the Prayer Ribbons Garden on the beach, under a big white tent where one hundred volunteers staffed the data collection and the distribution of wetsuits, t-shirts, Prayer Ribbons, and water and treats from the Blue Monkey Cafe & Bistro. Swimmers were escorted to the Funk Bus for transport to the beach across from the Breakwater Hotel for the start. 

The 1.2-mile swim route along the East End shoreline was sprinkled with over fifty kayaker supporters, three Harbormaster boats, and cheering watch parties at St. Mary of the Harbor and Cape Codder Guest House beach, as well as at numerous private gatherings. A special squad of Rock Stars protected swimmers from the rock groins along the shore.

A highlight of this post-Labor Day fundraiser was awarding Paul Fanizzi the David Asher Volunteer award for his longtime support of the Swim and the community, and his resilience in rebuilding Fanizzi’s Restaurant after several tragic storms. The participation of the Wellesley High School girls’ swim team once again brought the crowd together at registration and at the start with their dramatic and rousing cheers. The top fundraising team was from Lily House that raised an eye-popping $39,000.

The Mermaid Brunch followed the Swim and featured catering by Far Land Provisions and music by Zoe Lewis.

Top individual fundraisers included sixty-seven swimmers and a kayaker who raised over $1000 each, joining the $1000 Club include:

• Jim Youngerman, Lenox, MA, $11,400

• Brian Sarr, Bedford, MA, $9,060

• Gail Strickland, Provincetown Community Compact board member, $8,660

• Mike Dillion, Provincetown, $7,545

• Jonathan Scott, Provincetown, $5,725

• Ethan Herschenfeld, Truro, $4,500

• Chris Nagle, North Truro, $4,150

• George Kimmerling, Manor, NY, $3,825

• Amy Graves, North Truro, $3,570

• Libby Clark, Provincetown, $3,475

• Gene E. Landis, Amesbury, $3,150

• Jane Barber, Breckenridge, CO, $3,000

• Hunter Gaiotti, Provincetown, $2,900

Also: Maura Twomey, Neal Fessler Fessler, Linda Simon, Timothy Schirmang, Glenn Cunha, Loren Shure, Eric Hemmert, Laurie Shields, George Stamides, Peter Shearer, Jen Shannon, Terry Stangel, Adam Cambier, Jeff Giles, Bonnie Kramer, Paula Erickson, Ann Rogers, Bonnie Bishop, Amy Carow, Valerie Shulock, Jim Small, Karen Friedman, Jarrod Beck, Jennifer Goldstein, Sue Kriegsman, Hedda Rublin, Maxwell Richter, Lisa Zraket, Anne Critchley, Liz Carney, Raju Srivastava, Hara Klein, Mark Ault, Jim Seligman, Erik Koper, Brandon Macpherson, Jill Finsen, William Lawson, James Hawley, Joe Stewart, Boris Stefanov, Sue Johnson, Jeff Walker, Amy Waltch, Kimberly Duir, Terri Gerber, Robbie Manke, Jason Greene, Jabba Redgrave, Marianne Ambrose, Nancy Kates, Pat Rooney, Carol Katz, Bruce Hurter, Jean Powers, Stephanie Critch, Judy Ullman, Lisa Zraket.

Other Swim for Life teams included: Wellfleet Great Pond Mermaids at $9,700; Willapalooza at $6,125; OllieBB; Moving Violations Motorcycle Club and Friends; Team Powers Keiber; Team Thrift; Team DarbyFrench; Wellesley High School Swim and Dive Team; Infinite Coastline; Team ASGCC; Bayview Bathers; Team Friends Not Food; ShellZ; Swimmin’ Wimen; Team Vegan; Team Dangelo; Team Gebhardt; The Hot Tubs; Team Dropo; and Shark&Whale.  

The 2024 Swim for Life will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2024.

For more information about the Swim & the Provincetown Community Compact, please contact thecompact.org

The 33rd Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla celebrates the strength of community

A summer long, global invitation - A Swimming in Place Challenge, Our Place, Your Place. 

The 33rd Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla is a global, summer long "Swimming in Place Challenge, Our Place, Your Place" beginning now until September 12, 2020, the designated Swim date. This critical fundraiser and community tradition, which raises funds for AIDS, women’s health and the community, is sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact (The Compact). It is a certainty in a time of uncertainty.

The Compact invites the public to join swimmers, volunteers, kayakers, walkers and boaters to create a challenge in their home place or in Provincetown, and to take part in a virtual online celebration from Provincetown on September 12!

“This year, more than ever, we hope with everyone’s help to continue the success of previous Swims for the benefit of our beneficiaries and our community. We thank all for choosing Provincetown for your generosity”, states Compact Director Jay Critchley.

The Swimming in Place Challenge encourages swimmers and anyone to register now and swim where they are or create a challenge for themselves. It asks participants to invite their family, friends and coworkers to support them and pledge money while they are: dancing, jogging, cooking, biking, sports in place, writing, creating - wherever and whatever works for them, in a bathtub, on the beach, in a pond or pool. Personal or team challenges are encouraged.

"The Swim for Life embodies Provincetown as a place of healing and compassion. We celebrate our community as one that not only cares about our local health and well-being, but also about Planet Earth, which faces unparalleled environmental challenges. Provincetown is a spiritual home to people across the globe. A place of hope and promise. Swimmers have come from France, Bulgaria, Australia, Mexico, Spain, UK, Canada and beyond", he continued. 

“This global pandemic has no borders. Please show your longtime love of Provincetown in our time of urgency”, he added.

In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims in Provincetown Harbor in 1620 on the ancestral Native land of the Wampanoag Tribe, the Swim invited Native artist Duane Slick of Meskwaki Nation in Iowa, with strong ties to Provincetown, to create this year’s special 2020 Swim design.

The Provincetown Community Compact, Inc. was established in 1993 as a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization by artist Jay Critchley. It is organized as a community-building and philanthropic organization to support artists and the vitality of the community.

The mission of The Compact is to advance the health and cultural well being of the community of Provincetown and the Lower Cape – its people, the natural environment and the economy. Other Compact initiatives include: Dune Shack Residencies, the Think-ubator program, Prayer Ribbons and special projects.

The concept for The Compact was to recreate an inclusive, visionary and fully democratic contract with the community, reimagining the original Mayflower Compact, which was signed in Provincetown Harbor in 1620.

For more information contact: swim4life.org.

Swim for Life brought the Provincetown Community Compact to life

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