MIMS cancellations

KarenT

I saw that the NYC Swim Great Hudson River Swim was cancelled today due to bad weather - bad luck to all the organisers and swimmers.

But with shameless self-interest, it also made me wonder about MIMS. I know that this cancellation was due to a storm and is one of those things that happens in this sport, but in the time-honoured tradition of obsessing over things over which I have no control, plus plain curiousity - does anyone know how often MIMS has been cancelled, if at all?

Kx

david_barra

Not often. I don’t know if today’s event was cancelled by the the organizer or the coast guard. It is likely that the CG would be much more conservative with a mass start event than with something like MIMS, although with a small craft advisory, it is also likely that it would be impossible to get all the support craft necessary to the course.

evmo

MIMS was canceled in 2005 due to heavy storms and accompanying pollution in the preceding days. Apparently many of the swimmers did the swim anyway the next day (unofficial and unsanctioned but not unsupported).

Other MIMS races have been halted mid-swim for lightning, but later resumed. I think '05 was the only one that was outright canceled, going back to 1982.

When I did the Ederle Swim in 2011 it was postponed for 24 hours due to a small craft advisory. Not sure about other NYC Swim cancellation history.

KarenT

Thanks for the info - very reassuring. I think I can safely move on to pointlessly worrying about something else for a while.

Leonard_Jansen

Karen -
Yes, 2005 was cancelled. I was entered and decided not to swim due to the runoff. However, there was such a hue and cry about it being officially cancelled, that in 2006 MIMS management annouced that they would not, in the future, cancel the race due to water quality, but rather, that they would advise about water quality and let people decide for themselves. (I don't know if this is still their position.)
I was also in the 2006 race and it was raining lightly before the start. We were advised that the water quality was "somewhat compromised" and allowed to start. Big mistake on my part. During the race it started to POUR at a biblical level and the water was absolutely disgusting. My brother said they took the boat ahead to push aside all the used condoms and other crud in the Harlem River. The next three days were possibly the sickest I've ever been in my life - every molecule of water in my body was trying to get out in any way that it could. I just slept on the bathroom floor for three days and the cats wouldn't even come in to visit.

-LBJ

KarenT

Well....thanks for that, @Leonard_Jansen. I'm starting to wish I'd never asked...but you have at least taken my mind off the prospect of it being cancelled.

loneswimmer

@KarenT, I hear they have lampreys in the Hudson this year also. :-)

ChickenOSea

loneswimmer wrote:

@KarenT, I hear they have lampreys in the Hudson this year also. :-)

Hahahaha

KarenT

I'm sorry, what? I couldn't hear you - I have my fingers in my ears and am singing very loudly.

timsroot

Heh. My mother in law, who is less than thrilled about the concept of swimming with wildlife sent me a message the other day that a tv show she was watching had lamprey's or something in a lake near the Canadian border. My next swim is kingdom swim. Hope she ignores that part.

Thankfully, the wife is okay with my habit, and is paddling for me that race

ChickenOSea

I think that's Lake Champlain?

david_barra

ChickenOSea wrote:

I think that's Lake Champlain?

there are so many lampreys in Lake Champlain, you could walk across....

KarenT

La la la la la la.

timsroot

ChickenOSea wrote:

I think that's Lake Champlain?

I think she said it was.

I think we had some in Lake Erie, too. But I've never seen one. If I get bitten by one, it would suck, but I'd get a cool story from the scar.

KarenT

"It would suck, but I would get a cool story from the scar"? What is the matter with you people?

Okay....this is how it's going to go. For now, I'm going to continue with my strategy of denial in relation to what is clearly a made-up Freudian nightmare of a creature. However, in the event that I am ever attacked by one (which is unlikely, since they are made up), you will be treated to a blistering display of uncontained squealing, flapping and generally undignified behaviour and you should all hope that someone has a video recorder handy.

And now I shall return to my mental preparations for a definitely not-cancelled MIMS, which involve sliding gracefully and with unexpected speed through crystal clear waters scented with nothing more than the perfumed dust from the wands of a thousand protective fairies.

I'm glad that's all been cleared up.

gregoc

@KarenT, don't listen to them. The Hudson will be smooth, after a heavy rain the Harlem River smells a lot like flowers, and you will not see a lamprey because nothing can live in the waters around Manhattan! Nothing that happens at MIMS is permanent except for the memories. Good Luck.

Lynnkub

I have heard the Hudson River tastes like chicken. Maybe from all the lamprey leftovers?

loneswimmer

At least we're all safer by NOT wearing a wetsuit. A study of River Thames swimming which is not classified as swimming-suitable showed those wearing a wetsuit were seven times more likely to develop illness. Swallowing water led to a 42% increase. Risk was reduced for those who'd swum in a river in the previous 24 months and for those over 40.

firebah

Karen, at least as a swimmer from the UK you will be ready for the current water temp of 59F! Hope it warms up over the next week for all of you swimming MIMS!