Swimming the Hudson River

Overcoming sharks, oil tankers, eels, tides, yachts, and old age.

The author in the middle of the Hudson River — photo by Louisa Warner, used with permission

For several years I lived on a bluff overlooking one of America’s geographical icons, the placid, shimmering, mighty Hudson River.

Swimming across it became a fantasy that gripped my imagination. At 66, I was still young, I figured.

I began by writing a fictional story about an old-timer who attempted to swim the river. Like any protagonist worth his salt, he ran into trouble, but hey, at least he gave it a shot!

But simply writing a story did nothing to quell my brewing real-life fantasy. It continued to perk and stew. The river was hardly over half a mile wide at this point. I’m not a particularly strong swimmer, but what’s to lose? Why not give it a shot?

Asking around, I discovered someone else who was intrigued with the idea, and we put our heads together. Within a few weeks, we had rounded up some other like-minded individuals, and put together a plan.

We set the date for September 4, 2021.

The weather was perfect, air temperature 70°, clear skies, and bright sunshine.

There were 10 of us, all told, eight swimmers, a leading kayak, and a trailing kayak carrying safety equipment. The youngest participant in…