NYC SWIM

Events » Aquathlon: Stars & Stripes

Ederle Swim

This is a low-key event, harkening back to the earlier days of open-water swimming, but there's nothing low-key about the challenges of following Gertrude Ederle's 17.5-mile swim course from Battery Park to Sandy Hook, NJ. Recent swimmers have had to contend with severe chop, fog, and unseasonably warm temperatures as they made the crossing through New York Harbor, yet with today's knowledge of the tides, most participants cover the course faster Ederle's record, which lasted from 1925 until 2006. With especially fast tides in 2009, the record may drop again.

GPS maps showing the course routes for individual swimmers are now available. Please note that the red course line is only meant to provide some guidance to those who are viewing the map – it was not the official course.

Track Full Field

Course Description

Swimmers will enter the water at Gangway One in Battery Park, and then cross over to Buttermilk Channel, between Governors Island and Brooklyn.

The swimmers should swim south/southwest into the Upper Bay past Red Hook, Brooklyn; Gowanus Bay; Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to the Verrazano Bridge/the Narrows.

Swimmers will continue swimming mid-Bay past Coney Island and then towards, across and finally parallel with Ambrose Channel. It is important that swimmers follow the directions of the boat captains to maintain their course.

Finally, the swimmers will work towards Sandy Hook, crossing both the Swash and Sandy Hook Channels until they reach the beaches of Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

Once the swimmers reach land, they will be required to swim back to their escort boat for the return trip back to Manhattan.
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