Yesterday a training buddy of mine became the first person to swim across the Delaware Bay from Cape May New Jersey to Cape Henlopen Delaware. Straight line distance was 11.2 miles but our GPS route was 15 miles with the currents. I paced him for most (9 miles) of the swim as well as to break up the monotony. We had a 33 foot boat and 2 kayaks for support. The swim time was 7 hours 6 minutes. Jellyfish were plentiful but the water was thankfully calm. We started at 5:30 with an outgoing tide, we ended up being pushed about 2.5 miles east, which was like 1 mile out into the Atlantic. But true to the advice we received, the tide turned and we got pushed just about the same 2.5 miles west back into the bay. We made landfall right about a quarter mile from where we wanted at ‘the point’ in Cape Henlopen state park. It was an awesome experience and I was glad to be apart of it.
We had a bunch of help and good advice from the Coast Guard and the Delaware river pilots association. All the more gratifying because most we talked to said it couldnt be done…too rough, too many currents jellyfish, shark breeding grounds, etc. Many thousands of dollars were raised for a local cancer center. He is also a 3 time Kona finisher and the son of a gun got in again on the lottery this year. That is 4 out of 5 times he has been picked for the lottery. Just wanted to share the story of my memorable day. I know, I know pics or it didnt happen. Here is a link to one of the many news articles. http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=851706 You can do a search for “Paul Timmons” Cape May swim to find out more and maybe find more pics, as I hope to.