A one-mile swim for a good cause

Don’t miss the annual Moriches Bay Swim, hosted by the Westhampton House Swim Club, on Aug. 3.

The event, now in its fifth year, is run by Art Dresner, who coordinates the swim across the Moriches Bay to raise money for East End Hospice and the Westhampton Fire Department.

“These two organizations can have the greatest impact on a wide population in the area and they do such important work,” Dresner said of his choice to raise money for the organizations.

“Art Dressner and the Westhampton House Swim Club have done a wonderful job bringing together two of the East End’s greatest characteristics—our community’s love of the water and passion for supporting local charities,” said East End Hospice president and CEO Mary Crosby. “We’re thrilled once again to be a beneficiary of the Moriches Bay Swim Club and thank the swimmers and their supporters for helping bring East End Hospice’s care and compassion to people throughout our East End communities.”

The idea behind having a competitive swim across Moriches Bay occurred to him because he has a summer home in Westhampton on the shores of the bay. Five years ago, he said, they became very friendly with the folks at Westhampton Hospice, who at the time were caring for a close friend and neighbor.

“It was a way to raise some money for them,” he said of the original idea behind the fundraiser. “The local fire department became a recent beneficiary of the fundraiser. The Westhampton Fire Department is full of local heroes who saved the entire town of Westhampton during the Pine Barren fires of the mid 1990s.”

Dresner, an attorney, is 83, his son Steven Dresner said, and though it’s an unusual hobby for someone of his age, he loves it.

“[He] has been swimming for as long as I can remember, Steven said. “At 83 years old, he still swims in the ocean every day.  Even last year, with all the shark sightings, none of that seemed to bother him.  He went swimming anyway.”

A few years ago, he said, his mom tried to get him to wear a small buoy around his waist in the ocean.

“But I’m pretty sure he never wore it, so she asked the lifeguard to follow him as he swims jetty to jetty,” he added. “That’s how you can see he’s swimming—the lifeguard is walking back and forth on the beach.”

Art has also been a regular swimmer since high school. His father, he said, was a swimmer before him and enjoyed swimming off the ocean beaches in Rockaway during the summers of 1950 and ‘60. Art continues to swim in the ocean, pool, and the bay.

“I try to swim wherever I am traveling. It’s a great form of exercise and one which everyone can do well into the senior years, so I promote it when I can,” he added.

The one-mile swim typically attracts about 20 to 30 people. During the event, the Suffolk County Police Department also facilitates with boats to make sure all swimmers are safe in the boating channel. Several other boats will also be manned by volunteers to follow the slower swimmers across the bay. 

 The swim will start at 11 a.m. at the Westhampton House Bay Beach, 585 Dune Road, with a boat ride to the Remsenberg Yacht Club, where swimmers will de-boat and swim back.

The entrance fee or support should be made out to East End Hospice or the West Hampton Fire Department. For more information or to RSVP call Art Dresner at 917-593-3676.