Southold Swim

SOUTH TO NORTH

August 24, 2021

The Dawgpatch Bandits swimming mainstays - Drew Harvey, Nico McMahon, Jeremy Grosvenor, Spencer Schneider, and Kyle Sturmann - completed a four mile swim from Jessup’s Neck to Goose Beach in Southold. They were joined by the cuckoo bird Payton Dwight (in his first Dawgpatch swim), who bravely swam the first and final legs of the swim while resting on the boat in between. 

An exaggerated low tide caused by a full moon made for an unusually exposed Jessup’s Neck, where the bandits had to high-step for about ten minutes in the dark before launching into the water. 

As they approached the eastern point of Great Hog Neck, a peninsula sticking out from the North Fork, the bandits encountered some of the heaviest chop they have ever swam through in the Shelter Island Sound. They were swimming directly against the heavy current strengthened by the flooding tide. In this moment their ocean swimming and lifeguarding experience came in handy. 

After pushing through the thick of the current and holding a team meeting to identify a landmark to set their final course, the team swam strong to the finish with Spencer, Jeremy, and Nico leading the way. The bandits completed the swim in under three hours. 

This was the second bandits swim to start on Jessup’s Neck. It was also the second swim to connect the two forks of Eastern Long Island. It was the first Dawgpatch challenge to start or end in Southold. 

Two boats supported this mission. In the first were Captain Dave Harvey and spotter Uncle Mark. In the second were Captain Dawn Harvey, lifeguard Chuck Partellow, and spotter Jennifer Ferry.