Alana Aubin

Member 2012–Present

USMS National Achievements and Volunteer Roles

• USMS Long Distance All-Star: 1 Year (2019)

• USMS All-American: 2 Years (2 Individual)

• USMS Long Distance All-American: 1 Year (1 Individual)

• USMS Top Ten Achievements: 91 Individual

• Prior National Volunteer Roles: Long Distance Committee

USMS Awards & Certifications

• 2025 Dorothy Donnelly Service Award

• 2019 June Krauser Communications Award

• Certified Coach – Levels 1, 2 & 3

• Adult Learn to Swim Instructor

New England LMSC Leadership & Awards

• Board Member: 2018–2025

  • Board Chair: 2021–2023

  • Communications Chair: 2018–2020

• Awards & Recognition:

  • 2025 Appreciation Award

  • 2022 Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Award

Open Water & Marathon Swimming

Solo Swims & Course Records:

• 2024: Around Nahant — 3:44:36 (Course Record)

• 2019: Double Boston Light Swim (16 miles) — 6:18:01 (Course Record) [1, 3]

USMS National Championships (2019):

• All-Star Status: USMS Long Distance All-Star (F25–29)

• Sprint Distance (1 Mile): Lake Willoughby — 9th Woman, 2nd in 25–29

• Long Distance (5 Miles): Lake Willoughby — 10th Woman, 2nd in 25–29

• Marathon Distance (10 km): Bridges to Bluffs (TN) — 10th Woman, 3rd in 25–29

Major Event Highlights:

• Kingdom Swim (Border Buster & 10k):

  • 2022: 6th overall, 4th woman (25km Border Buster)

  • 2021: 1st overall, 1st woman (10km)

  • 2018: 2nd overall, 1st woman (10km)

  • 2017: 3rd overall, 2nd woman (10km)

  • 2016: 5th overall, 2nd woman (10km)

• Winter Swimming Festival:

  • 2022: 1st overall (50m Freestyle)

• Boston Light Swim:

  • 2018: 4th overall, 1st woman

• Swim with a Mission:

  • 2019: 1st overall (10km)

• Glen Lake Swim (2 Mile):

  • 2023: 3rd overall woman

  • 2021: 2nd overall woman

• Charles River Swim (1 Mile):

  • 2016: 1st overall

  • 2015: 2nd overall

Other Open Water Podium Finishes:

• 2024: Champion of Champions (12 miles) – 1st overall

• 2024: Nubble Light Challenge – 3rd woman

• 2018: Nubble Light Challenge – 2nd woman

• 2017: Landshark 2-Mile Swim – 3rd woman

• 2016: Alcatraz Classic – 3rd woman

USMS Profile

Alana is a longtime competitive swimmer from Massachusetts who has achieved substantial success in both pool and open water events, making significant contributions to local and national Masters and open water swimming communities. 

Alana began swimming at age 10 with the Boys & Girls Club of Taunton. She competed for Taunton High School and later Worcester Polytechnic Institute (NCAA Divison III). Captain of the WPI team for two years, she held four individual and five relay school records upon graduation and won the Patricia A. Graham Sportsmanship Award, given to an outstanding senior woman athlete.

Alana transitioned to Masters Swimming after college, competing with Worcester Area Masters and Charles River Aquatic Masters before joining the Boston University Masters Swimming program. She started open water swimming after college through a brief stint in triathlon before diving into marathon distrances with a 10K swim in 2016. 

A dedicated volunteer, Alana helps grow the sport in New England by serving as vice president and treasurer of the nonprofit, volunteer-run Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association. In these financial and business operations roles, she helps organize several annual events, including the flagship Boston Light Swim — an 8-mile race across Boston Harbor that was first staged in 1907.

Alana is also a USMS Level 3 coach, with more than eight years of coaching experience across WPI, WAM, CRM, and the Belmont Aquatic and Commonwealth Swimming age-group teams. 

Professionally, Alana works as a data analyst. She and her husband recently welcomed their first child, a daughter. Outside of swimming and motherhood, she is a multi-instrumentalist who enjoys playing the trombone, guitar, piano, and ukulele. Her other personal interests include cycling, traveling, and walking her dog, Maple.

Guy Davis

Member 1980s–2007 semicontinuously, 2008–Present continuously

• U.S. Masters Swimming National Honors & Achievements

  • USMS Long Distance All-Star Honors: 1 Year

  • USMS All-American Honors: 1 Year (1 Individual)

  • USMS Long Distance All-American Honors: 3 Years (6 Individual)

  • USMS Top-Ten Achievements: 95 Individual

• National Volunteer Leadership & Roles

  • Current National Roles:

    • At-Large Director (Colonies Zone)

    • Finance Committee Member

    • Investment Committee Member

    • Delegate to the USMS House of Delegates

  • Previous National Roles:

    • Finance Committee (Chair, Vice Chair & Member)

    • Investment Committee (Vice Chair & Member)

• Awards & Certifications

  • 2024 USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award

  • 2024 NELMSC Distinguished Service Award

  • Coaching: USMS Certified Coach (Levels 1 & 2)

• Regional Performance & Leadership (NELMSC)

  • Board Membership (2014–2023): Vice Chair (2015–2023)

  • Pool & Open Water Records: 16 Individual Records

• Open Water Swims

  • 2025 USMS National Champion – 1 Mile OW Swim, 5K OW Swim

  • 2020 Solo English Channel crossing – 33K

  • 2019 Kingdom Swim - 25K, Lake Willoughby – 7K, Bridges to Bluffs - 10K

  • 2018 Boston Light Swim 1st Place Finisher - 12.6K

  • 2016 Kingdom Swim - 16.1K

  • 2015 Bermuda Round-the-Sound 10K

  • 2019 USMS Long Distance All-Star 

  • USMS Long Distance All-American

    • 2019 Sprint Distance (1 Mile OW)

    • 2019 Long Distance (5 Mile OW)

    • 2019 Marathon Distance (>6 miles <9 miles)

    • 2018 Long Distance (5K OW)

USMS Profile | HOF Contributor Profile

I was reportedly introduced to open water swimming at age one while my family was living in Trinidad. During a day out at Maracas Beach, my father took me for a ride on his surfboard and accidentally dropped me into the surf. Although I was briefly submerged before he managed to retrieve me by the ankle, fortunately, it didn't give me a lasting fear of the water. Instead, I became an enthusiastic swimmer throughout my childhood. I started competitive open water racing as a teen in Dover Harbour, where my London-based swimming club conducted an annual 1,000-yard challenge. I've maintained a great enjoyment of open water competition ever since, including a continued fondness for the traditional post-race ice cream.

Relocating to New England in 2008 was a huge boost to my open water swimming. Living in close proximity to both inland lakes and the Atlantic coast throughout the 2010s allowed me to become a dedicated member of local swimming communities and a regular entrant in the region's open water events. I feel lucky to have access to such a great variety of races, and it’s been immensely satisfying to complete so many of them. While I have always viewed myself as a versatile swimmer comfortable in both the pool and in the wild, my transition into ultra-endurance distances arrived relatively late in my journey.

Drawing inspiration from the remarkable accomplishments of my training partners, I progressed via the Boston Light Swim in 2018 and the Border Buster in 2019, back to Dover beach in 2020 to attempt a crossing of the English Channel. My preparation for that crossing during the global pandemic was a significant departure from my original training plan. With the cancellation of a training camp in Croatia and the renowned Cork Distance Week, I improvised a schedule of sessions and qualifying swims with the help of my training partners.

The camaraderie and support of the swimming community was key to my success; I very fondly recall long-distance sets at Bow Lake with NH companions, finishing my six-hour qualifier in the New York Finger Lakes with a close friend, and a final preparatory session at Rye Beach. That particular day, organized with the Great Bay Masters club using the Champion of Champions format, was a gathering of New England's most resilient and accomplished swimmers.  It was the perfect conclusion to my training before flying over to swim the English Channel.

Open water swimming continues to be a great adventure for me and I look forward to new challenges and experiences for as long as I can.

Gregory "Greg" O'Connor

Member 2009 - 2019

• 2019 - NE LMSC Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Award

• 2018 – Inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame

• 2021 - Kingdom Swim 25K, Lake Willoughby 30.6K

• 2018 - 2016 - End WET Red River Swim 58K, Massachusetts Bay 37K

• 2015 & 2018 - 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim (18.3 Miles, 19.8 Miles, 13.2 Miles, 15.0 Miles, 19.8 Miles, 15.7 Miles, 18.6 Miles

• 2015 - Swim the Suck 16.6K

• 2013 – Ice Mile Boston Harbor, Cape Circumnavigation Challenge 24.3K

• 2013 & 2019 - SCAR Swim Challenge (Saguaro Lake 15.2K, Canyon Lake 14.4K, Apache Lake 27.3K, Roosevelt Lake 10K)

• 2012 - Cape Cod Bay 30.5K

• 2011 - Lake Memphremagog 40.2K, Great Salt Lake Marathon Swim 13K, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim 45.9K

• 2010 - Boston Light 25.2K, Catalina Channel 32.3K

• 2009 & 2010 - Kingdom Swim 16.1K

• 2006 & 2008 - Boston Light Swim 12.6K

• Founder and former president of Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association

• Former Race Director of the Boston Light Swim 

• Revived the cross Caps Cod Bay swim

• Pioneered the first Massachusetts Bay 25-mile swim from Gloucester to Scituate

• First 4-way crossing (20 miles) of Lake Willoughby in Vermont

• Key volunteer for Northeast Kingdom events (safety director for the winter swim, always on the support boats for the Kingdom swim, etc.)

USMS Profile

Greg O'Connor is a 56-year-old husband, father, cancer research scientist, handyman, marathon swimmer, ice swimmer and contributor. He is a member of the Wayland Community Pool Masters group. For 10 years, O’Connor was the organizer of Boston Light Swim, the oldest marathon swim in North America, the founder of the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association, a co-founder of Vampire Swim, and a regular L Street swimmer in Boston. 

He is an accomplished and recognized ultra-marathon swimmer, having completed the Catalina Channel, MIMS, END-WET, SCAR (twice), completed the 25-mile In Search of Memphre in 2011, the 20-mile Cape Code Bay (P2P), first to cross the 23-mile Massachusetts Bay, completed the entire 120-mile 8-Bridges Swim and set the co-record with Elaine Howley in the Boston Light 16-mile double crossing for which he has been acknowledged by IMSHOF and WOWSA. The fastest BLS Double is currently held by Alana Aubin. He was the first to complete a four-way (20-mile) Lake Willoughby crossing in 2021. O'Connor completed an Ice Mile under the auspices of the International Ice Swimming Association in South Boston on 6 April 2013. He has helped organize the annual Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival since 2016 and the annual Boston Frogman Swim since 2019.  He has acted as the safety officer, observer and escort in countless open water events.

Greg O'Connor had the honor of being selected as the 2014 Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association Unsung Hero of the Year. He was named a 2014 MSF Global Marathon Swimming Award finalist in the Streeter Award for Service to Marathon Swimming category. Greg was nominated as a finalist for the 2016 Yudovin Award for Most Adventurous Swim award by the Marathon Swimmers Federation for the first solo trans-Massachusetts Bay crossing from Gloucester to Strawberry Point, Scituate, a swim of 24.2 miles in 14 hours 55 minutes on 15 August 2016. He was also nominated for the Streeter Award for Service to Marathon Swimming in 2016 by the Marathon Swimmers Forum. He was inducted in the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame in 2018.  O’Connor was an honored 2019 recipient of the Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Award sponsored by NELMSC.

Martha Wood

Member 2014 - Present

• 2024 - Champion of Champions, Cork Distance Week, Ireland, 5 miles + 3 miles + 1 mile (9 miles), Nubble Light Swim, 2.4 miles, Egg Rock Scramble, 3.7 miles, 

• 2023 - Champion of Champions, Cork Distance Week, Ireland, 5 miles + 3 miles + 1 mile (9 miles), Catalina Channel, 21 miles

• 2022 - SCAR Challenge: Saguaro, 13.3 km, SCAR Challenge: Canyon, 14.1 km, SCAR Challenge: Appache, 22.8 km, SCAR Challenge: Roosevelt, 10 km, English Channel, 21 miles

• 2021 - 10-mile Kingdom Swim, 20 Bridges Marathon Swim, 28.5 miles

• 2019 - Champion of Champions, Cork Distance Week, Ireland, 5 miles + 3 miles + 1 mile (9 miles), 3rd Place woman overall, Lee Vibes and Scribes Swim, Cork Ireland, 2km, 1st in age group, St. Vincent Swim Across the Sound, 25km, 1st place female overall, USMS Lake Willoughby National Championships, 5 miles, 3rd in age group

• 2018 - Lee Vibes and Scribes Swim, Cork Ireland, 2km, 1st in age group, Champion of Champions, Cork Distance Week, Ireland, 5 miles + 3 miles + 1 mile (9 miles),

• Misery Challenge, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, 3 miles, 1st in age group skins, Kingdom Swim, Newport, VT, 25 km Border Buster, 2nd Place female, 3rd overall

• 2017 - Peaks to Portland, Portland ME, 2.4 miles, 2nd place female skins, Boston Light Swim, Boston MA, 8 miles, 2nd place female, 5th overall, Coney Island Triple Dip, 3 miles, 2nd Place female, Spuyten Duyvil 10km

• 2016 - Kingdom Swim, Newport, VT, 10-mile, 4th place female skins overall (National championship)

• 2015 - Kingdom Swim, Newport, VT, 6-mile, Misery Challenge, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, 3 miles, Boston Light Swim, Boston, MA, 8 miles

USMS Profile

Martha A. Wood grew up in New Hampshire immersed in a life as a competitive swimmer.  She went on to swim her sophomore year, and captain the first women’s water polo team at Harvard. She swam on and off after college, including for the Calgary Masters Swim Club from 1991-1997, before taking a 15-year break from swimming.  

In her fifties, she returned to swimming near her home on the North Shore of Boston. Stepping beyond the walls of the pool, she took to the ocean. In the Fall, as she put off returning to the confines of the pool, her swims became increasingly cold. A few months later, in the aftermath of a life-threatening medical debacle, she left the hospital with a resolution to make the most of the time she had left on earth:  To connect in a meaningful way with the world and people around her -- to be bold, live fearlessly and find joy.  

After swimming her way back to health in a pool, she tracked down a winter swimming group, called the Nahant Knuckleheads, and joined them for weekly swims in the icy waters of South Boston and Nahant. The Knuckleheads and L Street Ice Swimmers became the best of friends, inspiring and guiding her on an unexpected journey into ice and open water marathon swimming.

Since 2015, Martha has trained in the winters with Masters swim teams (Charles River Masters, and Cambridge Masters) typically competing in 1-2 meets per season. Each summer, she challenges herself with an open water marathon swim -- leaving the pool for long training swims in the ocean and ponds. Most recently, she has gone on to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming comprised of the 20 Bridges swim around Manhattan (2021), the English Channel (2022) and the Catalina Channel (2023). In Ice swimming, she has competed at World Championships, winning several age group medals and setting a few age group world records. In November of 2024, she became the 47th person to swim a kilometer in Antarctica.

Paula Yankauskas

• USMS Long Distance All American – 1 Relay

• USMS Top Ten Achievements – 1 Individual, 1 Relay

• USMS Certified Coach – Levels 1 & 2

USMS Profile

Paula Yankauskas grew up in central Connecticut and always loved the water. The summer she turned 11, the City of New Britain opened five outdoor municipal pools – four 25-meter pools, and one 50-meter pool – spread out over different city neighborhoods. In the East End of New Britain, the home pool for those residents was Chesley Pool, and it was there that Paula spent nearly all daylight summer hours for the next five years. 

When she turned 16, Paula was eligible to work for New Britain Parks & Recreation; at Chesley, there was only an opening for a locker attendant. Paula worked it for a short time; when the lifeguard Captain of Stanley Pool (the 50-meter facility) asked if she’d consider joining their lifeguard roster; all loyalty to the “neighborhood” vanished, and she took the job at the rival pool Stanley, taking on coaching the swim team as well as teaching swimming (WSI – babies to adults) in addition to lifeguard duties. A small claim to fame was that she guarded there for a Masters Meet on July 27, 1972 in which Larry “Buster” Crabbe (of Flash Gordon and Tarzan fame) swam.

Paula is now a Vermont swimmer – she came to Vermont for college in the fall of 1972. Attending UVM for undergraduate work, she was on the swim team for seven semesters. She also worked as a lifeguard for faculty and open swims in the Forbush Natatorium, and put in one year toward a Master’s degree in physics. 

In 1977 Paula and her sister Valerie decided to swim across Lake Champlain and succeeded in crossing a 9-mile expanse in August. They tackled the swim because they felt they were good swimmers and thought they could do it. This was the summer before Paula started veterinary school; she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia in 1981.

Paula founded Lamoille Valley Veterinary Services (LVVS) in 1985 as a mixed animal practice. Over the years it has evolved into a seven-doctor, full-service facility for small animals – mostly cats and dogs. Paula’s current clinical focus is on the behavioral and emotional health of dogs and cats. 

Central to Paula’s life are 3 things: LVVS, family, and swimming, and not necessarily in that order (the attention devoted to each varies daily). LVVS and family took over for the 20 years between education and the 2001 opening of The Swimming Hole in Stowe, but once she had a pool to stretch out in, she was set to return to swimming and has not looked back since. To top it all off, the Green River Reservoir State Park is in Paula’s hometown of Hyde Park, Vermont. This “quiet” body of water (no power boats) is so ideally suited for open water swimming. 

A mature endurance athlete, Paula has, at times, held titles for age. She was formerly the oldest person on record to have swum the length of Lake Memphremagog, a 25-mile swim she completed in September 2014, at 60 years of age. Currently, she is the third oldest (average age) swimmer to complete the Triple Crown of open water swimming, which includes solo swims across the English Channel, which she completed in 2016 at age 62; the 20 Bridges Swim Around Manhattan in 2017 at 63; and the Catalina Channel in 2018 at 64. When she swam the English Channel, Paula was the oldest American female to have done so. 

In 2023, Paula reclaimed the title for the oldest person to have swum the length of Memphremagog, at 69, closing out and bookending the decade of her 60s with that swim. She does think the age thing gets a little “old” at times but is thrilled to motivate people to swim into their senior years, or even to get started then.

A grandmother, and practicing veterinarian, Paula has completed some of the toughest and most grueling Marathon swims in the world. In addition to completing the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, Paula has completed:

• The SCAR Lake Arizona swim series multiple times. This series features four marathon swims totaling 41 miles over four days.  

• Swim the Suck in Tennessee multiple times, a 10K race down the Tennessee River.

• The 25-mile length of Lake Memphremagog twice.

• The Three-Rivers Marathon Swim in Pittsburgh, a 30K urban swim. 

• The 8-mile Boston Light Swim.

• Multiple distances at the annual Kingdom Swim and Swim the Kingdom events in Newport, Vermont many times over.

• Cork Distance Week in Ireland many times.

• An officially recognized Ice Mile (a 1-mile swim in water that’s 41 degrees Fahrenheit or colder without any heat-retaining gear or assistance. She was the 98th person to achieve this grueling feat.  

Loving the water and swimming as a result is a lifelong, long-life experience, Paula says. And, as wonderful as pools are, the open water is a calling; for Paula there are many miles to swim before she sleeps.

James “Jim” Doty

Jim Doty was an American open water swimmer and race director. He served on the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Board of Directors until his passing in 2012 and was inducted as an Honor Swimmer of the IMSHOF in the Class of 2007.

In 1956, Jim finished 78th in the Boston Marathon and decided that longer was better. He had been spending his summers on Black Cat Island, Lake Winniepasaukee, New Hampshire. One time he had to swim a half mile for help after his boat broke down. That swim coupled with his recent 26-mile marathon run and a liking for long distances, led Jim to start swimming long distances in 1968, training with Jack Starrett, a 1964 English Channel Swimmer. Jim trained for a couple of summers with Hall of Fame coach Charlie Silvia at Pine Knoll Swim School in Massachusetts. 

It didn’t take long for Jim to become a local open-water swimming legend; there isn’t a body of water in New England that Jim didn't swim over the course of his lengthy career. In addition to completing a staggering number of marathon swims over several decades, Jim was also dedicated to offering more swimming opportunities to others. To further this mission, he formed the New England Marathon Swimming Association (NEMSA), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting swimming and a clean environment in New England waters. (NEMSA has since become the New England Open Water Swimming Association, which continues to offer open water opportunities throughout New England). Jim also re-started the Boston Light swim in 1976 after it was halted in 1941 due to World War II. He won the 1976 race with 6 swimmers. In total, Jim swam the Boston Light Swim 18 times and participated as part of 5 relay swims.

He established the International Swimming Hall of Fame Irving Davids/Captain Roger W. Wheeler Memorial Award in 1968 and was also a future recipient of the award.

Jim is the namesake for “The Doty Swim,” an annual, informal, one-mile swim held in memory of James Doty each June at the L Street Bathhouse. There are two Jim Doty Memorial Clocks posted at the clock tower at the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston that aim to help open water swimmers training in the harbor know how long they have been out in the water.

If you want to know more about Jim, there’s a book about his swims, “The Jim Doty Story: Accounts of Some of the Marathon Swims of a Great Boston Swimmer,” by Robert L. McCormack. Jim stated on the dedication page of McCormack’s book: “I want to thank my family: my wife, Paula, and children Polly, Elinor, and Jay. They did not see much of me on the weekends from May to October for many years. Unfortunately, this is one of the sacrifices one makes in the pursuit of a career in ocean and marathon swimming.”

Dori Miller

• USMS Pool All American Honors – 1 year individual

• USMS Long Distance All American Honors – 1 year (1 individual)

• USMS Top Ten Achievements – 32 individual2014 English Channel two-way solo crossing – 26 hours 21 minutes

• 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 South Head Rough Water swim 

• 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 South Head Rough Water swim 

• 2011 Rottnest Channel (Perth Australia) – 19.7km

• 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 South Head Roughwater (Sydney)  solo– 10km

• 2013, 2015 South Head Roughwater (Sydney) Duo– 10km

• 2010 Bridge to Beach (Sydney Harbour) – 10.4km

• 2009 Santa Barbara swim – 16 miles Santa Barbara to Ventura

• 2008, 2010, 2012 English Channel one-way solo

• 2007 Lake George Marathon Swim

• 2005, 2006, 2010 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles

• 2006 St Vincent’s Swim Across the Sound Swim – 25km

• Swam 50 x 400M on her 50th birthday

• USMS Profile

Hailing from New Haven, Connecticut, Dori has been a competitive swimmer from 11 years of age. She attained an athletic swimming scholarship to the University of Maryland. A testament to her tenacity and commitment to swimming, Dori has swum the English Channel five times, including a grueling two-way swim in 2016 in 26 hours and 21 minutes.  

Dori migrated to Sydney, Australia in 2009, and immediately got involved with ocean swimming and surf lifesaving. She joined the Bondi Surf Club in 2010. She has won more than 50 gold medals in Australian Masters Surf Life Saving and Pool Rescue championships (6 world records) and Masters World Lifesaving Championships. She was named NSW Surf Lifesaving Masters Athlete of the Year in 2014 and was inducted into Surf Life Saving Australia Hall of Fame – Masters Legend in 2022.

In addition to participating in ocean swims, Dori is the race director for the Bondi Blue Water Challenge, a fundraising event for Bondi Surf Club, held at Bondi Beach Australia in February each year. The event, which includes 500m, 1.5km and 3km race distances, draws 600 swimmers to swim at the iconic beach.

Dori is a consummate athlete in the water and on land competing in Ironman Wisconsin, and eight running marathons, including the Boston Marathon five times and the Philadelphia Marathon two times. 

Phil White

• 2013 - selected by the Newport Daily Express as Man of the Year

• 2014 - one of 10 nominated by WOWSA for Man of the Year

• 2019-2020 recipient of the Service to Marathon Swimming Award from the Marathon Swimmers Federation

• 2020 - selected as one of the Vermont Sports 30: people and organizations who have had a significant impact on Outdoor Recreation in Vermont during the past 30 years and who have shaped Vermont’s outdoor recreation landscape

• 2022 - received the Jim Doty Award from the L Street Swimmers for devotion to swimmers

• 2022 - swims were among 10 nominees for WOWSA’s Event of the Year

Phil is an open water swimming race director, administrator, and photographer from Newport, Vermont. The following is from his 2014 nomination for the 2014 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year - 

“Race directors have to be committed, caring, and creative. Phil White is the epitome of the much-appreciated organizer who has breathed a renewed sense of community, adventure, and challenge into the idyllic Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, a region dotted with numerous lakes of rare beauty. White envisioned all kinds of courses and competitions where none existed before. He not only has attracted athletes and volunteers from many states and countries to his green corner of the world, but he has also kindled a wide spectrum of support from corporate to governmental entities.” 

With his wide-reaching Kingdom Games, Phil and his team now support more than 40 days of competition ranging from ice swimming to marathon swimming. He inspires people from all walks of life, ages, and abilities to participate in races both short and long on a year-round basis. He enthusiastically encourages daring people to dream and helps them achieve those goals. 

Chronology of the growth of swimming in the Northeast Kingdom

• 2009 – Started Kingdom Swim as a 1, 3, and 10-mile event.  100 swimmers of all ages signed up

• 2010 – Started the Lake Willoughby Swim (5 Miles) with 12 swimmers.  200 showed up for Kingdom Swim

• 2011 – Started (with Elaine Howley) In Search of Memphre, a 25 mile international swim the length of Lake Memphremagog between Newport, VT and Magog, QC  9 solo swimmers and 1 relay.  Only four completed the swim that first year.  A added a 6-mile distance to Kingdom Swim.  A added a Lake Caspian Swim on the Sunday following the Willoughby Swim.

• 2009 to 2013 – Held these swims as fundraisers for Indoor Recreation of Orleans County (IROC).  In 2013 IROC closed its doors.  Started Kingdom Games, Inc. to continue and grow open water swimming, biking, and running events.  It is a small for-profit company based on Newman’s Own with all net profits going to local charities.  Started with no capital on a cash only basis and the patience of many local vendors.  Now host over 50 days of running, biking and swimming in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the Eastern Townships of Quebec.   

• 2013 – Started the NEK Swim Week, swimming 8 lakes in 9 days for a total of 46 Miles.  Crystal, Island Pond, Lac Massawippi, Seymour, Echo, Memphremagog, Willoughby and Caspian.  Sarah Thomas double crossed Lake Memphremagog in some fierce conditions.  Renamed his house, The Clubhous, as the nerve center for Kingdom Games, with a small amount of lodging available to participants, and as a place from which to swim out and around the islands of Derby Bay on Lake Memphremagog.

• 2014 – Added the Border Buster (15 Miles) to Kingdom Swim.

• 2015 – Held the first Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival.  Ice was 3’ thick.  41 Winter Swimmers participated.  Crewed for Sarah Thomas, Elaine Kornbau Howley, and Craig Lenning in their Loch Ness Swim, establishing the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims (Loch Ness, Memphremagog, and Tahoe) 

• 2016 – Lengthened the Border Buster to 25 km.

• 2017 – Crewed for Sarah Thomas during her 104-mile swim on Lake Champlain 

• 2019 – Reorganized In Search of Memphre to eliminate the use of kayaks and small aluminum boats, and instead escorted two swimmers at a time using two pontoon boats, in several three day windows, selecting the best day in each window.

• 2020 – In the midst of the pandemic, Kingdom swim postponed for a year.  Started the Saturday Clubhous Swim Series with no more than 10 swimmers and 10 kayakers.  Held the NEK Swim Week with similar limitations.

• 2021 – Resumed Kingdom Swim and NEK Swim Week and kept the Saturday Clubhous Swim Series.  Started some regular cold water swims from September through the beginning of January

• 2022 – The Border re-opened and we resumed In Search of Memphre.  9 swimmers successfully completed their swims.  9 more are scheduled to attempt the swim this year.

During the winter of 2023, 155 winter swimmers participated in The Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival.  Over 150 swimmers have registered for Kingdom Swim and more than 50 swimmers have already signed up for one or more swims during NEK Swim Week. The Saturday Clubhous Swim Series now has 5 to 15 swimmers signed on for any given Saturday.

Over the course of the past 15 years the Northeast Kingdom has become widely recognized as a world class venue for open water swimming.  The lakes we swim are clean (many are pristine), beautiful, with low boat traffic and strong community support, all of which makes for an unlikely mecca for swimmers of all ages and all abilities. Over the years, we have drawn thousands of swimmers and kayakers from over 45 states, three Canadian provinces, and 15 other nations around the world. We have done this with substantial local support and a volunteer pool that has grown to over 150, some of whom travel from as far away as California, Maryland, and around New England just to volunteer.   

A robust, tribal, and joyful community has developed around these swims. The Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival roars with joy.  The Kingdom Swim has become a true celebration of open water swimming, with youngsters parading beside Triple Crowners at our Pet and Swimmers Costume Parade and sharing the same award ceremony at the end of the day.  Our motto has stood the test of time: NO LANES – NO LINES – NO LIMITS . 

And, I have made some of the best friends of my life among swimmers, kayakers, and other volunteers.  

Charlotte Brynn

• 2022 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

• Years Active 2008 - Present

• 2019 NE LMSC Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Award - was established in honor of Frank Wuest to recognize outstanding contributions to open water and Masters Swimming in New England. This award is presented based on sportsmanship, mentorship, camaraderie, love of sport, hard work, event participation, promotion of swimming, and more.

• Marathon Swimmer, Channel Swimmer, Ice Swimmer, Exercise Specialist

• 55 Marathon Swims

• 2x International Ice Swimming Association Mile (1st New Zealander)

• World Open Water Swimming Association’s (WOWSA) 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women list 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019

• World Open Water Swimming Association’s (WOWSA) list of top women open water coaches and mentors in the world 2018

• Epic Swims include - Catalina Channel, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, Atlantic City Around the Island Marathon Swim, In Search of Memphre Marathon Swim, Lake George Marathon Swim

• In addition to conquering the above iconic marathon swims, Charlotte is a pioneer of local endurance swimming challenges such as the Lake Memphremagog crossing.

• Charlotte recently finished her term as NELMSC Open Water Chair, which culminated in hosting two USMS Open Water National Championships at Lake Willoughby, and previously served on the USMS Open Water Committee.

• USMS Long Distance All American – 2009, 2015 & 2020, 2022

• USMS Top Ten Achievements – 26 Individual

• USMS Certified Coach Level 1, 2, 3 & 4

• USMS Certified Adult Learn to Swim Instructor

• Club: New England Masters (STOW)

• USMS Profile Charlotte J Brynn - USMS Swimmer

A native of New Zealand, I was born for adventure, growing up, New Zealand’s scenic lakes, rugged mountains and ocean waters were my playground.

I now live in the state of Vermont with my family.  I am wired for adventure and am passionate about helping others realize their goals and dreams while stretching my own physical and mental limits.

As Executive Director of the Swimming Hole, Nonprofit Community Pool and Fitness Center, Stowe, Vermont (since 2001) Charlotte coaches local swimmers in the pool. She also runs Open Water Clinics and Camps, but her impact goes beyond Stowe Masters; she is an enthusiastic cheerleader and inspiring mentor to swimmers near and far.  

Bob Fernald

• 2022 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

• USMS Active member 2008 to Present, who found his “lane” in ultramarathon open water swimming

• 2019 NE LMSC Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Award – was established in honor of Frank Wuest to recognize outstanding contributions to open water and Masters Swimming in New England. This award is presented based on sportsmanship, mentorship, camaraderie, love of sport, hard work, event participation, promotion of swimming, and more.

• Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming - 2014 English Channel – 21 Miles, 2015 Manhattan Island Circumnavigational Swim – 21 Miles, 2016 Catalina Channel Swim – 20 Miles. Bob was the 139th person to accomplish this, and New Hampshire’s first swimmer to earn this title. 

• Other long swims - Boston Light Swim, 3-time finisher, 2013 Swim Across the Sound, 15 Miles

• After achieving the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimmer Bob has dedicated himself to “paying it forward” through knowledge sharing, and volunteering for the sport of open water swimming raising awareness for local non-profit organizations

• Appreciated in the local triathlon/swim community as a mentor/coach who takes a special interest in swimmers of all ages who are less familiar with the open water, helping them gain confidence and sharing his expertise generously.

  • Hosts annual open water safety clinics for non-profits and local endurance teams (NAMI, Blue Ocean, Save the Indoor (Portsmouth, NH) Pool, SheCoast Multisport)

  • Mentors open water swimmers on their journey to becoming accomplished marathon and ultramarathon open water swim athletes

• Open Water Administration

  • Race Director “Fall Open Water Classic,” Hampton Beach 2022 (new event!) to benefit Blue Ocean    Society

  • Co-Organizer Garbage Swim 2021 to benefit Blue Ocean Society

  • Race Co-Director (since 2018) Nubble Light Swim, York ME, in support of NAMI, and the Michael Phelps Foundation

  • Director Kingston Open Water Swim, Kingston NH, 2017, open water swim designed for local youth swim teams (returning in 2023)

  • USMS OW Race Official & USMS OW Safety Official, Kingdom Swim Festival, multiple years,

  • Marathon Swim Federation OW Observer

  • MOWSA OW Observer

  • Frequent volunteer crew and safety support at Boston Light and Kingdom Swim events

  • Board of Directors, Save the Indoor Pool (SIPP)

• 2017 PiscataquaTEDx Series Speaker, “Facing fears in open water swimming”

• 2017 NH Film Festival Documentary, “An Allegedly Good Swimmer”

• USMS Top Ten Achievements – 4 relay

• USMS Certified Coach – Level 1 & 2

• USMS Profile Bob Fernald - USMS Swimmer

Bob Fernald is an open water swimmer who lives in New Hampshire a state with just about 20 miles of coastline.  Bob was always fond of the ocean growing up but always had a healthy fear and respect for it as well.

Open water swimming came as a discovery in an “adult on-set” kind of way.  Like a common group of wanna-be athletes, Bob was bullied into triathlons  by “friends.”  Initially hating the swim, and completing, only a handful of short tris, he found open water swimming after several years of absence from the water.

Self coached, he found the elusive efficient body position in the water through his pilates practice.  And so began the journey of his open swimming, and a change in life focus.

The journey is ongoing.  His mission….to share the joy of open water swimming with the world.  “If I could take what I learned and put it in a bottle, I would give it away.”

Sharon Beckman

• 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

• 1983 Swam on the professional marathon circuit where she finished as the highest-ranked female marathon swimmer in the U.S. and third-best in the world. Swims included:

  • Length of Lake Memphremagog – 25 miles

  • Around Atlantic City – 22 miles

• 1982 First woman from New England to swim the English Channel (21 miles). Her time of 9 hours 6 minutes was the 17th fastest time for men or women at the time and is still among the top 40 fastest female finishes.

• 1982 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles, First place finisher overall

• 1981 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles, First female & second finisher overall

• 1977 Lake Michigan – 10 miles

• USMS Records

  • Pool – 1 lifetime relay

• USMS Top Ten – 8 individual, 17 relay

• Club: New England Masters (NEM)

• USMS Profile

Born in Chicago and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, Sharon Beckman swam AAU as an age-grouper and then competed in high school and college. She was co-captain of the Harvard Women’s Swimming and Diving team under Coach Stephanie Walsh and captain of the Harvard Women’s Water Polo team. Walsh crewed for Beckman on her English Channel swim in 1982.

Sharon’s name (along with that of her sister, who swam the English Channel 24 years later) on the wall in the White Horse Tavern in Dover, UK

Sharon graduated from University of Michigan Law School and clerked for two federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. She practiced criminal and civil rights law in Boston and Chicago before joining the Boston College Law School faculty in 1995. She is founder and director of the Boston College Innocence Program, a clinical program where students and faculty represent innocent people wrongly convicted and imprisoned in Massachusetts for crimes they did not commit. She is a cancer survivor, wife, and mother.

George Brunstad

• 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

• 2010 Length of Lake Winnipesaukee – 22 miles, age 76

• 2004 Became the oldest person to ever swim the English Channel (21 miles) at age 70 years and 3 days, completing the swim in 15 hours 59 minutes.

• USMS Long Distance All-Star – 15 consecutive years (1996-2010)

• USMS All-American

  • Long Distance – 44 (1992-2010)

  • Pool – 1

• USMS Records

  • Pool – 1 lifetime individual

• USMS Top Ten – 121 individual, 2 relay

• Club: New England Masters (NEM)

• USMS Profile

George Brunstad was a college swimmer in the 1950s but never attained elite status, partly because he only swam what he now calls short distances. “I later found that I am a true long-distance swimmer,” he says. “Looking back, I probably could have done well if they had the 10K that is part of the Olympics today. I do not claim to have a lot of natural swimming talent, many others have much more. I just worked hard and was blessed with endurance.”

George started Masters swimming under the old AAU near its beginning in 1973 and achieved some success in the pool, including National Championships in such events as the LC Meters 400, 800, and 1500 free, 400 IM, and 200 Fly. “But my true place proved to be in long-distance open water events,” he says. “I became the USMS Long Distance All-Star (one person per age group per year) for 15 consecutive years from 1996 through 2010, winning multiple National and World Championships along the way.”

George says his “best effort” in swimming was becoming the oldest person to swim the English Channel in 2004 at the age of 70. His swim was guided by pilot Michael Oram, assisted by Alison Streeter and observed by Marcy MacDonald, all Channel swimming legends in their own right. George’s swim was recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records and George was depicted in a Ripley’s Believe-It-or-Not cartoon. The swim received worldwide recognition and an account was read into the Congressional record.

George’s name on the wall of the White Horse Tavern in Dover, UK

George recalls that “the swim had an important purpose. Our church missions committee was trying to help a sister Haitian church whose pastor had a vision to start an orphanage and school in a remote area of Haiti where there were no public schools or even electricity. On my 69th birthday I started intensive training for a Channel swim with the purpose to fund this project with my wife Judy as the fundraiser. We were able to raise $55,000 by way of the swim to start this project and now the school [Center of Hope Haiti] has 126 full-time students in grades 1 through 9. The children are getting an education, have clothes, meals, comfortable quarters and electricity (generator) among other things. Our contribution was a starter and now many others have come on board to support its continued success.”

George’s 22-mile swim the length of Lake Winnipesaukee on his 76th birthday has also become part of the local folklore in the New Hampshire lakes region and among marathon swimmers. That swim was completed without a wetsuit (as was his Channel swim) and also featured a charity fundraising component.

Jennifer Dutton

• 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

• 2019 Inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame

• 2019 SCAR Swim Challenge – 15.2 km, 14.4 km, 27.3 km, 10 km

• 2018 First person to swim the length of Great Sacandaga Lake, NY – 33 miles

• 2016 Ninth person to swim the length of Lake George – 51.8 km

• 2015 First person to swim the length of Keuka Lake, NY – 53.1 km

• 2014, 2015, 2019 Kingdom Swim Border Buster, Lake Memphremagog, VT – 25 km

• 2014 First person to swim the length of Torch Lake, MI – 19 miles

• 2013 Lake Tahoe – 34.2 km

• 2012 In Search of Memphre, Lake Memphremagog, VT – 40.2 km

• Early 2000s Burlington YMCA swim across Lake Champlain, VT – 8 miles

• 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2012 Boston Light Swim – 12.6 km

• 1986 Candlewood Challenge, Candlewood Lake, CT – 10.5 miles

• Club: New England Masters (NEM)

• USMS Profile

Jennifer Dutton (nee Spencer) had a most ordinary high school swim career in Connecticut, then attempted college swimming at Bates College (ME) after a severe brain injury during freshman orientation. That season did not go very well, but she had completed a local 10-mile swim just prior to her injury and she soon found that the open water welcomed her back unconditionally. Since then, she has gone on to complete a wide variety of challenging open water marathon swims, including three firsts in Torch Lake in Michigan, and Keuka Lake and Great Sacandaga Lake in New York.

Jen has been a high school coach in MetroWest (mostly at Wellesley High School) for nearly 20 years, and has completed two, two-year stints as an assistant coach at Wellesley College. She has been a local Masters coach for two decades and is a USMS Certified Level 3 Coach. She has two college-aged kids who swim and play water polo and a husband who is her tireless support crew. 

Elaine Howley

• 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

• 2017 Inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame

• Third person to complete the Triple Crown of Monster Swims, solo crossings of:

  • 2016 Lake Tahoe – 21.5 miles

  • 2015 Loch Ness – 22.2 miles

  • 2011 Lake Memphremagog – 25 miles 

• 32nd person to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, solo crossings of:

  • 2009 English Channel – 21 miles

  • 2009 Around Manhattan Island – 28.5 miles

  • 2008 Catalina Channel – 20 miles

• 2019 Swim the Suck, Tennessee River, Chattanooga, TN – 10 miles

• 2019 First female to complete the 3x Boston Light Swim – 24 miles

• 2019 Solo circumnavigation of Absecon Island, NJ – 22 miles

• 2018 Mackinac Straits, MI – 4.4 miles

• 2018 Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, MD – 4.4 miles

• 2017 END-WET race up the Red River, Grand Forks, ND – 36 miles

• 2017 Mercer Island Marathon Swim, WA – 12.5 miles

• 2017 Ice Kilometer, International Ice Swimming Association World Championships - 5th place

• 2015 Lake Del Valle, CA – 10 km

• 2014 First person to swim the length of Lake Pend Oreille, ID – 32.3 miles

• 2012 Swim Across America Long Beach – 10 km

• 2012 Fifth American to complete an Ice Mile, Boston Harbor

• 2011 Ederle Swim, NY – 17.5 miles

• 2011 Lake Willoughby Swim, VT – 5 miles

• 2010 2x Boston Light – 16 miles, Fastest female

• 2010, 2013 Kingdom Swim, VT – 10 miles

• 2007, 2009, 2011 Flat River Reservoir, RI – 10 km

• 2006, 2007, 2008 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles

• USMS Top Ten – 1 individual, 1 relay

• Club: New England Masters (NEM)

• USMS Profile

Elaine K. Howley grew up in South Jersey’s summer league swimming ecosystem, and joined a club team in middle school. In high school, she could be relied upon to earn a solid second or third place in the 500 free or 200 IM (and whatever other events no one else wanted to swim), and thus earned her role as captain through persistence rather than speed. After spending her freshman year of college rather miserably rowing crew, she walked onto the swim team at Georgetown University, where again, she was not a point-earner but cracked the whip with the underclassmen during workouts.

During the summers while in college, Elaine worked as a lifeguard on Long Beach Island in New Jersey, which introduced her to open water swimming. In 2006, after having completed graduate school at Emerson College, Elaine began swimming more and her love the ocean drew her to open water. Her first official marathon swim was the 2006 Boston Light Swim, an event she now directs.

Since then, her resume has grown to include several record marathon swims, and she continues to plan and enjoy as many ultramarathon swims around the world as she can. A swimming journalist, Elaine documents the sport for several publications, including USMS’s SWIMMER magazine and the UK-based open water magazine, Outdoor Swimmer. She’s also deeply involved in the administration of marathon swimming, helping others to achieve their open water goals as a crew member, mentor, and observer both locally through the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association and farther afield through the Marathon Swimmers Federation.