Our Journey to 20 Bridges
On June 6th, I completed the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan with my good friend, Stacey Wong. This iconic 28.5-mile swim is one of three that comprises the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming alongside the English and Catalina Channels.
My process of deciding to attempt 20 Bridges may give some embarrassing insight into how my mind works. To be honest, I initially didn’t have a major interest in swimming 20 Bridges, but I did have plans to attempt the other two Triple Crown events. Therefore, it seemed unreasonable to write off 20 Bridges, especially considering the excellent things I have heard about the course and New York Open Water. Stacey and I train together frequently and pace well, so during summer 2023 while we were training in Donner Lake, I decided to plant the seed of attempting a tandem 20 Bridges. We both had upcoming Lake Tahoe marathon swims, but agreed to revisit the conversation when we were back in the Bay Area.
Once home, Stacey and I discussed our marathon swimming plans for 2024. I remarked that we might as well apply for 20 Bridges – we both had 21-mile swims planned for August 2024 and we would need an 8-hour training swim. Attempting 20 Bridges in June was a purely pragmatic decision!
Training
Throughout fall 2023, I prioritized having fun in the water. I swam frequently with various pods and neglected to return to my USMS team or focus much on yardage per week. In December, I began holding 17k-23k weeks and doing 3-hour swims in the frigid San Francisco Bay. The water never got cold enough for me to need to supplement my yardage in the pool, so my USMS teammates didn’t see me from June 2023 until March 2024!
During spring 2024, I returned to the concrete box and completed some solid pool workouts with a grassroots group of marathon swimmers who would take over the Albany Aquatic Center on Saturdays. In April, I trained in New Zealand while on vacation with my wife. In May, I spent a week in Sydney, Australia with the Bondi Icebergs alongside 75 other members of the South End Rowing Club. These experiences provided an infusion of motivation and excitement. At the end of May, I did a 6-hour training swim in the San Francisco Bay with Stacey and our friend Maja, which was kayak supported by our incredible friends, Alison LaBonte and Sean Johnson. After that effort, I felt physically ready for 20 Bridges. A last minute change in crew created some unforeseen stress and detracted from some of the excitement around the event. Thankfully, my friend Juliet Kadlecek was able to support our swim and all was well by the time I boarded the plane for New York.
The Swim Itself
Stacey, Juliet, and I arrived to the North Cove Marina at 0615 on the morning of our swim. We were met by our observer, Camilla, and my kayaker, Alex. Stacey’s kayaker, Nathaniel, would arrive with the support boat. There was another swimmer heading out that day, but we didn’t get to chat with him much in the busyness of getting ready. I made a last-minute costume change before boarding the boat after Camilla told us there may be sea lice in the water. I decided a bikini would prevent any bothersome stings or bites from critters getting caught in a one-piece suit. Also, I was inspired by the recent biographical movie, Young Woman and the Sea, where Gertrude Ederle is depicted in her iconic two-piece suit as she becomes the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. For lack of a better term, I wanted to channel her tenacity during this attempt.
After boarding the boat, we took a short ride to Pier A where our swim would officially commence. I was a bit in disbelief that the swim was even going to happen. Stacey and I had spent the week prior obsessively checking the weather, which predicted up to 90% chance of thunderstorms throughout the entire day of our swim attempt. Thankfully, the skies were clear and we had minimal clouds at the start. We greased up, took a quick photo, and then splashed into the balmy 64-degree water. We waited at the pylons at Pier A until we heard the whistle from our observer letting us know our swim had officially started.
The East River – 7.5 Miles
Just as soon as it began, it stopped. Within minutes, we were instructed by our kayakers to pause and allow the Staten Island Ferry to pass. We quickly got back to swimming and I tried to find my rhythm in the “sporty” water (to borrow the descriptor from our observer, Camilla). The first hour or so was tough for me. The formation we were swimming in was Alex closest to Manhattan, me, Stacey, and Nathaniel furthest into the river. We decided upon this configuration because I tend to pull left and Stacey tends to pull right, and we thought it would be better for us to drift towards our respective kayakers instead of each other. Because there was a decent amount of boat traffic, we stayed in a tight pod. I felt extremely cramped and claustrophobic, with a constant worry that I would run into Alex or Stacey.
I moved to Alex’s left which helped tremendously! I now had an unobstructed view of NYC and enough physical space to stretch out. Stacey and I made a few more swaps as we began passing under the first three bridges, the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges, or BMW. Once we were through that section, we finally settled into the exact opposite configuration of what we had anticipated. Such is marathon swimming!
Alex zoomed ahead of us to intercept a high-speed watercraft, and Nathaniel motioned for us to get closer to him. Stacey didn’t immediately notice, and I began to get worried. In a moment of impatience, I shouted “Stacey, pay attention to your kayaker!” in a sharp tone. I felt bad about being so assertive, and later apologized to Stacey. Soon thereafter, I noticed that Stacey was swimming ahead, stopping to allow me to catch up, and then swimming ahead again. It typically takes me about 2-hours to warm up during long swims, but I felt fairly strong and in my flow at this point. When we stopped to take a feed along Roosevelt Island, Stacey asked how I was doing and disclosed that she was feeling cold. She was going to do sprints alongside me to try and warm up. I tried not to get too much in my head about pacing, as I knew we would settle into a rhythm together at some point, and I was so glad for Stacey to be doing what she needed to keep herself warm in the meantime.
As our time in the East River ended, we passed by Mile Rock en route to bridge number five, the Ward’s Island Bridge. Stacey and I stopped under that bridge to allow a decaying sturgeon to float by. Maritime law states that wildlife has the right of way… just kidding, but we definitely did not want to get any closer to that fish!
The Harlem River – 8 Miles
Stacey was warmed up, our pacing was steady, and the Harlem River was shaping up to be awesome, even though I wouldn’t realize we were in the Harlem for about another hour. Alex instructed me to swim close to Randall’s Island, which I thought was Roosevelt Island at the time. I loved this part of the swim because there were so many people on land to say hello to! I swam over a particularly shallow patch of rocks, and Alex positioned himself between me and the island to make sure I wouldn’t run into anything else. I laughed as he used his hands to paddle along next to me; it almost looked like he was crawling. It wasn’t until the eighth bridge, The Willis Avenue Bridge, that I asked Alex if we were in the Harlem yet. He laughed and reoriented me.
The water in the Harlem felt very warm and the scenery around us was quite industrial. It reminded me a bit of the stretch of water between Alameda and Oakland, but with many more bridges. Stacey and I really found our flow in this section, and the swimming was so joyous. The narrow river allowed me to really see how quickly the water was pushing us, and we were absolutely cruising along!
After the seventeenth bridge, The Broadway Bridge, the cityscape began changing and trees replaced buildings. The most beautiful part of the swim was the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, which connects the Harlem and Hudson rivers. This area was so lush and green! We passed the iconic Columbia C and swam under the Henry Hudson Bridge before approaching my personal favorite bridge, the Spuyten Duyvil. This railroad swing bridge was open for us when we arrived, allowing safe passage of our support boat. As I swam underneath, the bridge seemed almost close enough to reach out and touch, but not quite… yes, I tried. We had entered the Hudson River with only one remaining bridge, but 13 miles until we would arrive back at Pier A. I had been warned that the Hudson could feel like it would never end, but Stacey and I had a very exciting time in the Hudson!
The Hudson River – 13 Miles
We stopped to feed just after the Spuyten Duyvil and Stacey had her first experience of taking a nurse dose of pain medication (a larger than anticipated amount!). Nathaniel instructed us to swim towards the western span of the final bridge, the George Washington Bridge. Once we were about halfway there, we aimed midspan to take advantage of the building tide by swimming down the middle of the Hudson.
Alex and Nathaniel remarked that they had never seen the water so glassy. I’m not sure if they brought it or found it during our swim, but they started throwing a tennis ball back and forth over us and that made me laugh so hard! One of them noted that they were getting bored because we were swimming so strong and the water was so calm. I was really enjoying the swim and was in a positive head space. Alex and I chatted at a feed about how I wanted to go back to SCAR (where we first met in 2023) and swim again, as 2023 was a low-wind year and I wanted the “true” SCAR experience.
Shortly after that conversation, Alex stopped us and said “I need to feed you early because *that* is coming for us,” as he pointed ahead at an ominous dark storm cloud. The water became increasingly bumpy as we approached the storm and I took an empty trash bag directly to the face. I always pick up trash and stuff it in my suit when I come across it in open water, and I counted this as my clean-up for this swim.
It began pouring as we approached Chelsea Pier. White caps surrounded us and we swam into a strong headwind. Visibility was so poor that I couldn’t really make out the New York skyline and the Coast Guard boat stayed very close to us. I could tell Stacey wasn’t really enjoying the rough conditions, but she was doing an amazing job putting her head down and pushing through. On the other hand, I was having the absolute time of my life swimming into the wind and feeling the power of the water. Alex also had a big smile on his face and told me “I can tell you like big water.” Yes, Alex, I do!
As the storm continued, I focused on shortening my stroke and maintaining a strong catch underwater. Though I was having a great time, there was an ever-present worry in the back of my mind that a bolt of lightning could end our attempt in the seventh hour. Thankfully, the storm only lasted for about 30 minutes before the sky cleared and the water calmed. I was energized by the intensity of the storm, and was swimming a bit ahead of Stacey. I worked on drills to keep pace with her until we took our last feed. Just as soon as I could make out the World Trade Center complex, we were already past it and I knew that we would be finishing imminently. We were directed by Alex and Nathaniel to start swimming towards Manhattan. They cheered “SPRINT” and Stacey and I made the final push towards the finish. When I picked up my head to get my bearings, I could see the familiar pylons where we had started. We finished with a final time of 8 hours, 0 minutes, and 15 seconds.
As I have done for past marathon swims, Stacey and I partnered with an organization to make an impact through our swimming endeavor. We chose to raise money for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, an organization that has provided free medical care to children in Palestine since 1992. In total, we raised $4,500 for this very important cause!
Thank you to all who trained with us, sent words of encouragement during the swim, and donated to our fundraiser. This experience would not have been possible without all of your support. I would also like to acknowledge our crew with a special thanks – Juliet, Alex, Nathaniel, Camilla, and all at New York Open Water – you all made this swim an incredible experience!
Kerianne Swims 
I’ve been reading all your posts and am impressed! I just Alcatraz a couple months ago and have been hitting the pool hard ever since. I did a 5k training swim in the pool last Saturday while holding a 1:40 pace. I have my eyes set on bigger things but I’m wondering…how do you fund all this travel?
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