Thousands Raised For The Watershed Center During Third Annual Swim For Grand Traverse Bay

“This is our third year, yep, every year we are here,” agreed racers Tracy Andrews and Ashlea Walter.

Seasoned swimmers and new swimmers alike pulled on their swim caps and goggles for the Swim For Grand Traverse Bay starting at Greilickville Harbor Park.

“That was amazing just to see everybody take off, I was like ‘oh my God, we got to get in the water now, we got to catch up,’” said Julie Scott, who raised the third largest amount of money for The Watershed Center.

Ashlea Walter and Tracy Andrews came prepared with lessons they’ve learned over their years competing in this race.

“Go in the right direction, try to swim straight so you don’t double your course length,” said Walters.

“You can’t see anything but your fingertips, it’s a little intimidating,” said Andrews.

While some racers prefer to stay focused on the finish, other swimmers ,  like Anita Halborsen prefer to let their minds wander in the open water.

“I am singing songs, also thinking about what I am going to eat after wards,” Halborsen laughed.

The race ends at Volleyball Beach in Traverse City.

“It’s over, it feels good, we are done,” Andrews and Walter cheered.

“It was longer than I thought it was going to be and definitely wavier than it looked from the shore, but the water looked great, it was beautiful and the sun came out about two-thirds of the way,” said Andrews.

Meredith Cote, the first female, crossed the finish line at about 54 minutes.

But she says the reason behind the swim is what trumps finishing first.

Each swimmer raised at least $150 for the watershed center.

“For me, loving open water swimming, it’s important to keep the bay clean and The Watershed Center does some amazing work in the area, so just continuing to support that so we have this great resource for years and generations to come,” said Cote.

“The Watershed Center is working every day to make sure there’s clean water in the bay the reason we want it to be clean is so we can drink it and swim in it and recreate,” said Andrews.

Tracy raised more than $2,000 of leading up to the race.

While she says two miles is certainly a challenge, it was the least she could do for the beautiful bay we’re lucky enough to enjoy every day.

“It’s a great way to see the bay from a different perspective, to be out on it and in it,” said Andrews.

“We will be back next year,” said Scott.

The was a huge help to 9&10’s Lauren Scafidi to train for the swim.

also helped with the kayak rental for support paddlers that completed completed the two-mile race.

To donate to The Watershed Center, click .