The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla,

Sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact, attracts 392 swimmers; honors Gene Landis for twenty-five swims and lifeguard volunteer Gordon Miller.

2018 Swim for Life Photo AlbumPhotos: Mike SyersOctober 3, 2018Over four hundred swimmers plunged into the warm but choppy waters of Provincetown Harbor at the 31st Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla on September 8. With 75 kayakers and over 40 safety patrol boats, the 392 swimmers arrived safely to cheering crowds at the Boatslip beach. All were invited to the Mermaid Brunch on the Boatslip deck, catered by Far Land Provisions, with entertainment by Zoe Lewis.Highlights of the Swim include honoring Gene Landis of Amesbury, Massachusetts with The Compact Long Point Award for swimming twenty-five years, and presenting Cape Cod National Seashore lifeguard, Gordon Miller, with the David Asher Volunteer Award for organizing contingents of Lower Cape lifeguards for the Swim for twenty-six years. The Compact also welcomed leaders of its “Think-ubator” program, including Kristen Becker of Summer of Sass, Harriet Korim of Cape Cool and Stephen Cohen, who is researching the historic Long Point and Helltown communities.The legendary Celebration of Life Concert, in its 25th year and produced by John Thomas, was held the evening before at the Unitarian Universalist meeting House. A 2018 t-shirt, with a design by artist Ellen LeBow inspired by Ellen’s humanitarian work in Haiti, was given to all swimmers, kayakers and volunteers.The event raised an estimated $250,000, bringing the total raised since 1988 to over $5.5M to support AIDS, women’s health and the community. Top fundraisers include:Jim Youngerman, Lenox, MA at $18,200Jonathan Scott, Provincetown at $14,601Mike Dively at $ 9,000, Winter Park, FL (celebrating his 80th birthday)Barbara Jo Revelle at $ 7,525, Gainesville, FLGene Landis at $ 6,526, Amesbury, MATimothy Schirmang at $ 5,007, Wellfleet, MAJon MacLaren at $ 4,258, Walpole, NHFrancey Beall/Kathryn Rafter, $ 4,077, Dallas, TX and ProvincetownJeff Giles at $ 3,631, Jamaica Plain, MATeam Joan (Nagle) at $3,500, Boston, MA.Although the Swim is not a race, each swimmer is timed.The fastest male swimmer is Justin Burkhardt from Cape Elizabeth, ME at 30:45, and the fastest female swimmer is Nellie Thompson from Wellesley, MA at 33:21.Two US Coast Guard boats, along with four auxiliary Coast Guard boats and the full support of the Provincetown Harbormaster were joined by the Center for Coastal Studies and a phalanx of charter and recreational boats to provide emergency and safety support. Swimmer safety has become a heightened concern in light of the rising seal and shark populations in the area. The Provincetown Rescue Squad was on shore along with the event’s medical team.“With safety our primary focus, we are blessed once again with the community’s support that brought our magnificent harbor to life,” stated Jay Critchley, director and founder of the Provincetown Community Compact, sponsor of the event. The Compact is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year.Those who swam ten years or raised $10,000 joined the Circle of Honor and received handcrafted medallions from Christie Andresen of Taqwa Glassworks:Jane Barber, Breckenridge, CO and ProvincetownRebecca Armstrong, Pownal, VTMichael Kennedy, Cambridge, MABoe Morgan, Moving Violations Team, Roslindale, MANancy Ballard, Medfield, MAEdward Nardell, Brookline, MAClaire Levine, Arlington, MA.Fifty-five swimmers and kayakers, who raised enough pledges to join the $1,000 Club, selected gift certificates from $10,000 worth of prizes donated by seventy-five businesses and individuals. Town officials, including Select Board Chair Louise Venden and Town Moderator Mary Jo Avellar.Business sponsors of the 2018 Swim for Life include: the Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), Seamen’s Bank (lead sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort & Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, WOMR 92.1 FM, ProTools and Seashore Point.Other businesses and organizations that supported the event include: Mayflower Trolley, CeeJay, Schooner Hindu, Flyer’s Boat Rentals and Aquasports. Provincetown Visitor Services Board, Provincetown Chamber, Provincetown Business Guild, Blue Coast beverages, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod Paper, DFlax and Perkins Food.The Swim funds a wide range of community organizations that include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Health Services, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Lower Cape Ambulance, Accessible Provincetown, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Schools, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s Place.The 32nd annual Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla will be held September 7, 2019. For more information: www.swim4life.org.

Swim for Life Water Safety Plan Update

Safety Boat Guidance.pdfSwim For Life Incident Action Plan August 2018.pdf

CCNS Lifeguard Gordon Miller receives Swim for Life Volunteer Award

Since 1997 Gordon Miller, longtime Cape Cod National Seashore lifeguard has organized Park Service and other lifeguards to provide safety on the water during the Swim for Life. At one event be recalls a tired swimmer who hung onto the back of his board as he paddled to shore and they discussed James Joyce’s epic novel, Ulysses. With a degree in English literature and a masters in philosophy, Gordon was in heaven.“This is an exciting event and I want to give back to the community,” he states enthusiastically.This year he will receive the David Asher Volunteer Award at the 31st Swim for Life, set for September 8 at the Boatslip. The awards ceremony, set for 1:00pm (or after the last swimmer arrives safely on shore) is open to the public.  The community is also invited to greet the swimmers arriving from Long Point beginning at 11:30 am, and to partake of the Mermaid Brunch at noon. Gordon was born in the small town, Bolivar, Tennessee, named after the famous South American revolutionary, Simon Bolivar, into a family of eight siblings. His dad owned a grocery store and his mother was a civil rights activist. He became fascinated with the opportunities site of working at various national parks while in college, beginning with his first summer gig at Arcadia National Park in Maine. He started lifeguarding at the Seashore in 1985 and now supervises the north district, which includes Head of the Meadow, Race Point and Herring Cove beaches, with over 20 lifeguards.To assure a stable crew of workers, the Seashore provides housing and even includes an extra week of housing for lifeguards who stay to work at the Swim.During winters, Gordon spends time in Maui, Hawaii, where for years he worked as a dorm councilor at the oldest colonial school east of the Mississippi, Lahainaluna High School. This unique and expansive campus overlooking the ocean began as a Christian, missionary boarding school in 1831.Business sponsors of the 2018 Swim for Life include: the Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), Seamen’s Bank (lead sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort & Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, WOMR 92.1 FM, ProTools and Seashore Point.The Swim funds a wide range of community organizations that include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Health Services, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Lower Cape Ambulance, Accessible Provincetown, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Schools, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s Place.Swimmers, boaters and volunteers are welcome. Swimmer and boater registration begins at 9:00 am on September 8. We are particularly looking for any size motorboats to provide back up to swimmers and kayakers on the water. Swim 2018 t-shirts, designed by Ellen LeBow, are available at Seamen’s Bank in downtown Provincetown. For more information go to www.theswim4life.org or jay@thecompact.org

Ellen LeBow’s Swim for Life design inspired by her Haitian experience

The creative human spirit pervades all that artist Ellen LeBow touches. There are no boundaries between her studio work and the communities she has nurtured around her, from her Wellfleet family to her long-term project in Haiti. Since 2013, she and her partner Seth Rolbein became legal guardians of two 15-year old Haitian girlsIn the late 1990s, in a village on the island of Ile de la Gonave, Haiti, she and Christine Low saw the women battling to feed their families as the men had less means to make a living in traditional farming. Thus was born Art Matenwa, harnessing women’s latent creativity to provide more economic stability for their families.From the beginning, they were challenged by the fragile ecological balance of the area with its limited wood and water.“Learning to hand-paint brilliant imagery on silk scarves offered an elegant solution,” Ellen explains. “Low-tech, unbreakable, an ideal vehicle for self-expression. And scarves are a traditional accessory for Haitian women,” she adds.Inspired by her work in Haiti, Ellen designed this year’s Swim for Life t-shirt with an inspired Tree of Life image set in a boat. The original pencil drawing was color designed by Andrea Pluhar. The100% organic cotton shirts are available at Seamen’s Bank, downtown Provincetown.For twenty years, Art Matenwa has thrived under the sponsorship of the Provincetown Community Compact’s unique Think-ubator program, which nurtures short and long term initiatives of residents of the Lower Cape, providing administrative and strategic support and tax-exempt fiscal sponsorship. The Compact is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.Ellen will share her experiences with Art Matenwa at a special community reception at The Residences at Seashore Point on Friday, August 24 from 6:00-7:30pm. The event is free and open to the public and includes refreshments, entertainment and door prizes. Ellen also opens an exhibition of her work at Rice Polak Gallery in Provincetown on Friday, August 17 at 7:00pm.Business sponsors of the 2018 Swim for Life include: the Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), Seamen’sBank (lead sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort & Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, WOMR 92.1 FM, ProTools and Seashore Point.The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, which has raised $5M for AIDS, women’s health and the community since 1988, will take place September 8, 2018. For swimmer, kayaker, boater and volunteer information, go to thecompact.org

Celebrating our 25th year of nurturing community.

tree of life

The quintessential  Provincetown tradition, the Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, enters its fourth decade, raising funds for AIDS, women’s health & the community. The 31st Swim for Life  will take place on Saturday, September 8 in magnificent Provincetown Harbor. Swimmers, kayakers, boaters and volunteers from across the US and beyond are invited to participate in the 1.4-mile harbor crossing. The annual, post-Labor Day event, which has raised over $5M for the community since its inception in 1988, and includes the Celebration of Life Concert, the Mermaid Brunch and the Awards Ceremony.The public is invited to greet swimmers here beginning at 11:30am on the day of the Swim. followed by the Mermaid Brunch on the Boatslip deck. The brunch is open to the public and is catered by Far Land Provisions. Provincetown’s own international performing artist, Zoe Lewis will provide the entertainment.The Celebration of Life Concert, produced by John Thomas, will be held the evening before, on the 7th of September “The Compact, celebrating 25 years as a community building organization, is proud to support and nurture  our vibrant community on this spiral spit of sand we call home," states artist and director, Jay Critchley.The Swim for Life builds community and provides year round funding and support for social services, youth and educational organizations that include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Health Services, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Lower Cape Ambulance, Accessible Provincetown, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Schools, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s Place.This year’s t-shirt design, created from a Tree of Life image from Haiti and designed by Ellen Lebow with Andrea Pluhar, will be available at Seamen’s Bank on Commercial Street in Provincetown by mid July.Personal fundraising pages for for swimmers and kayakers, may be set up through the Swim website:www.swim4life.org. Those unable to attend the Swim in person this year, might consider a Satellite Swim in another location, such as a nearby pool.Business sponsors  include: Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), Seamen’s Bank (lead sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort & Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, WOMR 92.1 FM, ProTools and Seashore Point.Swimmers, kayakers, boaters, volunteers and friends of the Swim for Life may contactwww.swim4life.org for registration, pledge sheets and volunteer opportunities.

Swim for Life in Mexico!

There were no borders between Provincetown USA and La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico this winter. Summer resident Arthur Richter recently brought the Swim for Life to this Pacific coastal town and it embraced the event with over one hundred participants, raising ,700 USD for the town’s elderly.“The whole town came out! We doubled our expectations,” Richter exclaimed.Richter is a board member of the Provincetown Community Compact, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and a longtime swimmer. For years he swam with his grandson Max as well as annually soliciting $10,000 in prizes from businesses for the top swimmer fundraisers. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island.His contagious enthusiasm for the Swim for Life while vacationing in this seaside town inspired local residents Leti Hernandez and Conrado Martinez Serrano to organize the event, “Nadando por Ellos”. Along with the fifty-five swimmers, there were sixty walkers who also helped raise pledges. The community is already planning another event in 2019.The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, which has raised over $4.5M for AIDS, women’s health and the community, will be held September 8, 2018.www.swim4life.org