Manhattan Island Foundation Cross Currents

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"Manhattan is an island" is a popular saying among long-time MIF swimmers. While many aren't quite ready to tackle the 28.5 mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim just yet, the 2-mile Governors Island Swim gives swimmers a chance to circumnavigate another historic island in New York Harbor. With a unique ferry boat start and great views to be had all around, it's a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon in late June.

Although the State of Missouri is landlocked — bordered by eight states and comprised of only 1.17% water — there's a tall, mild-mannered man there with water on the brain — specifically open water swimming. Jaes Overley was raised in this Midwestern enclave where the closest thing they get to a wave is from the fans at a Kansas City Chiefs game. He's now training for the English Channel — and his successful participation in our very own summer series allowed him to gain the experience and confidence to believe a goal was worth pursuing. "After I returned from swimming in the Hudson, I realized I wanted to swim the English Channel," notes Jaes.

"My friends think I'm crazy," says Jaes, 37, who works as a Business Analyst for Cerner Corporation, a health-care information technology provider. "They wonder how you go from swimming in pools in a landlocked state to flying across the world to swim from England to France? They really can't believe I swim in the Hudson. Even swimmers on my masters team can't understand why I'd leave a perfectly good pool for the open water."

For Jaes, the answer is simple — well, kind of.

First, he's a life-long swimmer. And even though those first dips were in a predictable container we call a pool, there was nothing predictable about them. "My father says he'd just throw me in the pool — even before I could walk," says Jaes with his calm Midwestern grin.

When he was in 4th grade, his parents divorced and his dad moved to the East Coast. After that, he'd spend summers in Maryland in his dad's pool and one week each summer body surfing and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean — usually at Virginia Beach. When he'd return to Missouri, he'd miss the ocean.

In 2002, Jaes started thinking about swimming out of the box — that's out of the pool box. But in the Midwest, if you want to do open water swimming, your option is a lake. (Rivers are said to be too dangerous.) Jaes' first lake swim was a 2.5K 2-loop swim near his home town of Kansas City called The Little Swim on the Prairie. "I vividly remember, I was in the middle of my second loop when I realized I couldn't touch the bottom. It kind of frightened me." But it also thrilled him. "Even though I couldn't see any critters in there, it was fascinating."

The next event he found was another lake swim across the state in Lake St. Louis — and pretty soon he was surfing the web looking for something deeper. He found the Manhattan Island Foundation's Great Hudson River Swim. This was a 2.8 mile swim down the Hudson from 79th Street Boat Basin to Hudson River Park’s Pier 62 at 23rd Street.

"My friends couldn't believe anyone would swim in the Hudson." For Jaes, the Hudson was even more exciting and unpredictable than his new experiences lake swimming when he realized he couldn't see or touch the bottom. "I'm a guy who swam in a couple of lakes, I was afraid of swimming in the current and having it carry me past the finish line, " recalls Jaes. "I remember the morning of the swim standing in line surrounded by people from the East Coast — New York and New Jersey. Everybody was nervous — there was tension in the air." Then — as will happen at MIF events — something unexpected happened: "One of the swimmers waiting to start said, 'What happens if I run into a dead body?' And this guy, in a thick Brooklyn accent said, 'Check to see if he has his watch.' It really broke the ice and the tension released."

That MIF swim was a turning point for him. This was the first time he felt the freedom and motion of a powerful untamed body of water. He realized his dream was to swim the English Channel — and he'd train hard for that end. But it wasn't smooth sailing from there. In 2003, he injured his shoulder while training for the Big Shoulders Swim in Lake Michigan and needed surgery. "I thought my life's dream of swimming the English Channel was over," recalls Jaes. A year after surgery he was still in too much pain to swim.

Nearly five years after his surgery, on January 15th, 2008, he got back in the pool. After success and no pain for a couple weeks, he began searching the internet and started researching swim events. This year he's scheduled to participate in eight open water events across the country — including three Manhattan Island Foundation events. "I tell them that there's nothing quite like swimming in the Hudson!"

"I tried to figure out what drives me," he says. "It's just a freedom I don't think I get anywhere else. I read a great quote by Kathy Watson that really hit home for me: '… it's a sport that brings you face to face with your deepest self; you can't spend that much time alone in that silent universe, without acquiring self-knowledge,'" quotes Jaes. "It gives you time to reflect on your life, your dreams, your goals and solve any problems you might be facing. "

On the last weekend in June, he's headed to San Francisco for the 16th Annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim. Then to make things even more challenging he is taking the red eye across the country so he can participate in Manhattan Island Foundation's 4th Annual Governors Island Swim. "I figure if I can do that I can do anything. "

"My friends still think I'm crazy," says Jaes. "When I told them I'm swimming Alcatraz, they asked me if I'm afraid I'll get eaten by sharks. I tell them my plan is to swim in the middle of the pack of swimmers so the sharks would have to eat through the outside swimmers to get me. Then I give them my best shark eating grin. "

Penciled in his calendar in August, 2010 is The English Channel. Can you guess what his friends think?

Jaes' website is www.openwaterswim.com.