Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Bridgett Hobart’s Nazareth College Finger Lakes Challenge is now 2 for 2 with Stage 1 (15.5-mile Canandaigua in 7 hours 38 minutes) and Stage 2 (19.8-mile Keuka in 9 hours 7 minutes) in the books, and Stage 3, a 16-mile crossing of Skaneateles Lake scheduled for this Sunday.

While her swim was originally scheduled to be across all 11 lakes, two of the smaller Rochester area lakes are non-swimmable.

The 5 Majors & The 6 Minors Swimming for a Cause is now The 5 Majors & The 4 Minors Swimming for a Cause.

“The two lakes not allowed because they are protected as drinking sources for [the city of] Rochester. I had discussions with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) who nicely contacted me and explained the regulations and why they were important. In summary, I’m not looking to make waves doing this, but prefer to respect regulations in place. I want this to be repeatable for others, and it can’t be if I push to be treated different than others.

I also think regulations should be followed by all to be fair to all. Other groups tried for swim permits and were denied. I shouldn’t be any different and don’t want to be. The DEC was really nice and easy to talk with and I really just have a lot of respect for folks so passionate about the positions they were retained for. They show true commitment to protecting water quality for the residents of Rochester and we should all respect their roles, not challenge them.

Therefore, I will only be swimming 9 of the swimmable lakes.”

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