Crewing for Boston Light 2025
- Daniela Klaz
- Aug 17
- 7 min read
Last week, Sam and I flew to Boston to be a part of the Boston Light Swim, an 8-mile marathon swim from the Boston Lighthouse to the Curley Community Center beach. The water temps range from high 50s to low 70s most years, so most swimmers do a lot of cold water training beforehand. There have been a few years when the race was cancelled due to thick fog, so everyone had their fingers crossed for warm water and no fog on race day!
I was going to be a crew member for Felicia, a swimmer from Western Massachusetts, and Sam a land volunteer. The race itself was on Tuesday, August 12th, but the festivities started the afternoon of Aug 11th with check-in, the pre-event meeting, and a group dinner at the Boston Harbor Yacht club. At the dinner, Bob McCormak gave a brief overview of the history of the Boston Light Swim, first held in 1907, who was also swimming the next day! Boat pilot John Forgione motivated the entire group with some wise words of experience, having been a pilot for so many years. Each of the swimmers introduced themselves and their favorite swimming hole, and then folks wrapped up and headed home.
Tuesday morning, we all woke up before dawn and started the "hurry up and wait" dance of shuttling our group to the Boston Harbor Yacht Club and getting ready to meet with our boat captain. The sun was just starting to rise over Boston Harbor and everyone looked like swimmers showing up to a super early morning practice - a little bit groggy but ready to get rolling!
The water was glassy, there was no fog in sight, and everyone was running around getting all their gear onto their boats. Felicia's other crew mates (Ali, Ebiz, and Jody) and I were so buzzing with excitement, while Felicia tried to drown all of us out with some race prep music. At 6:30 AM, Stu arrived with his boat, and we hopped on for the 8 mile ride out to Boston Light, the oldest lighthouse in the nation to support Felicia as she embarked on the oldest marathon swim in the nation.
The ride out to Boston Light took just 20 minutes, which was a jarring contrast to the expected 4 hours of swimming time for Felicia. We passed through the Boston Harbor Islands, between bridge stanchions, and arrived at the historic lighthouse about 30 minutes before the first wave of swimmers was scheduled to start their race. Felicia was in wave 2, departing 10 minutes after wave 1.
We played around taking some fun photos and videos while we waited for the ideal time for Felicia to strip down so she didn't get cold too soon. We also had to attach "SLOW SWIMMER" signs on each side of the boat to notify recreational and commercial boats on the course, which is an active shipping channel, and prominently display some diver down flags.
Felicia got in the zone, and about 20 minutes before race start, she stripped down to her suit, got her cap and goggles ready, and I performed the time-honored tradition of making her look like a pasty, oily marshmallow covered in chemical sunscreen, physical sunscreen, and lots of anti-chafe lube. I also made sure to start her tracker, which I had set up on my phone.
All of the boats in each wave lined up between a large buoy and the lighthouse, and the race directors counted down over the radios. Wave 1 departed, and wave 2 was sent off a few minutes later. From then until Felicia finished, the 4 of us crew members were responsible for making sure Felicia had timed feeds and as close to perfect of a course through the islands as possible. The tide was working with the race that day, as the race started around slack tide and the tide started to come in for the remainder of the race.
A few pieces of equipment were critical in our duties as crew:
1) Marine radio (this is a good one)
2) 50 ft thick floating feed rope (ideally could have been a little bit shorter, maybe 30-35 ft, to avoid tangling on deck) (example)
3) Clip-on feed bottles (like these)
4) Battery power bank (as backup)
The pilot, Stu, was instrumental, as he navigated but also kept the boat matching Felicia's speed. If he went to fast, she'd have to lift her head up to sight, which would have slowed her down and tired her out more quickly. The person sitting on the bow of the boat (we all took turns) maintained a visual on Felicia and communicated with Stu and the other crew members if we needed to change our position.
A few times, we had to route Felicia around lobster trap buoys, debris, and other swimmer's boats. We also had to contend with the nauseating smell of exhaust fumes when Felicia overtook wave 1 swimmers, and Stu had to get crafty and creative on how to position our boat (and Felicia) to avoid smelling the fumes.
Felicia fed on the first hour, then every 30 minutes. All of us checked in to make sure the feeds were ready to throw in, yelling "15 minutes," "10 minutes," "5 minute feed check," then finally "feed anytime in the next minute!" Having kayaked for Felicia, I had previously relied on my watch to prompt me to pay attention to the feed schedule, but with 4 crew members, we were all on top of it. Felicia also got a nasty foot cramp pretty early on in the swim, so we had to adjust her feeds to add some anti-cramp pills and send in both Perpetuem and Heed pre-mixed drinks to try to keep her cramp-free. Once we adjusted the feed regimen, Felicia was the definition of "smooth sailing."
We kept a parallel course, staying within 5 to 10 feet of Felicia. It’s a pretty delicate dance — the boat has to stay close enough to offer support, but far enough not to come in contact with the swimmer or make them anxious.
Around mile 7, the skyline started to feel closer. We could see the boats gathering near Carson Beach. Adrenaline surged. But the last two miles can be tough — currents shift near the shore, and there have been strong eddies around Thompson Island that catch swimmers and tire them out.
As Felicia got close to the finish - the M street side of the Curley Community Center - we cheered, we waved and we played Felicia's favorite pump up song.
As Felicia was flying into the finish, she was a tiny speck on shore. Our boat had to stop a ways back due to the shallow depth of the water (9 ft). We cheered as we squinted to see her cross under the giant inflatable chute, and then Stu maneuvered the boat back to the Boston Harbor Yacht club. For us on the boat, it was a moment of deep pride. We didn’t swim the 8 miles — but we were there every second of the way.
As we walked from the Boston Harbor Yacht Club to the Curley Community Center to congratulate Felicia, we couldn't help but boast a little about our excellent crewing abilities, but mostly describe the awe we had for Felicia. I have to say, crewing for this swim was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I had previously crewed for another swimmer a few years ago (Maggie), who finished just 5 minutes before the event cutoff. I feel like I've had two incredible crewing experiences: one where the swimmer was tidally assisted and finished well under the cut off, and one where we had to make a lot of adjustments to try to push our swimmer against the tide to finish the race in time.
Tips for Boater Crew Members:
Know the course and tides. Preparation is everything.
Keep detailed feeding schedules. Practice using the same rope, bottles, containers, and feeds as you plan to use for the race. (If possible, from the same type of craft; feeding from a kayaker is very different than feeding from a boat.)
Find ways to stay peppy and alert so you're vigilant and motivating.
Communicate clearly with your swimmer and the other escort boats (and have a way to do so easily, like a second radio - one radio for the regular boating communication, one radio for race-specific communication).
Celebrate the small moments, like reaching a feed or a distance milestone. They matter.
Tips for Swimmers:
Rest appropriately leading up to the event, especially the day before.
If you can, get a short/delightfully fun swim in the day before to get a feel for the water you'll be swimming in.
Test your equipment thoroughly before race day (feed bottles, feed rope, glow sticks/lights, sunscreen, anti-chafe, etc.)
Try your feeds for long swims well ahead of race day.
Make sure you eat what works best for you the night before. If there's a pre-event dinner serving food you know will give you indigestion or cramps, bring your own meal so you can still participate without being hungry or eating something that might keep you from getting good sleep.
Make a list of what you need to do the day before, and a second list for tasks to complete the few hours before the swim (i.e.: night before list and morning-of list) so you don't forget anything due to anxiety or nerves.
Envision using your equipment and how you'll experience the swim so you're prepared for: the start (jumping off something? wading in? will it be light or dark?), feeds, how close or far you'll stay from the vessel, how to ask your crew to make adjustments, and what you might need to plan for as backup (example: what if you get motion sick?).
Pack what you'll need once you get out of the water, whether you're getting onto a boat or the shore. You might need to bring two bags of clothing/towels: one for if you finish successfully, and one if you're pulled onto the boat for any reason.
General Equipment List (Swimmer Responsibility)
Marine radio (this is a good one)
30-50 ft thick floating feed rope (ideally could have been a little bit shorter, maybe 30-35 ft, to avoid tangling on deck) (example)
Feeding bottles: Wide-mouth bottles or bottles with cords attached for tossing. Blender bottles or sports bottles work well.
Feeding pole (optional): A long pole (telescoping or DIY PVC) to hand the feed to the swimmer more precisely. (example)
Extra carabiners or clips as backups for feeds
Tupperware, baby food pouches, or cups on strings (for non-liquid feeds)
Clip-on feed bottles (like these)
Feeding schedule printout (suggested: laminated or in a plastic sleeve)
Timer/watch for timing feed intervals
Battery power bank (as backup)
(If at night/early morning): clip on waterproof lights
(If at night/early morning): glow sticks on feed bottles/rope
(If at night/early morning): headlamps for crew (red light setting suggested)
Anti-nausea medication
Anti-chafe
Dry erase board for communication (some swimmers prefer this to hand signals)
Trash bags (for crew nausea and actual trash)
Swimmer and crew member medical info sheet (in case of emergency, covering things like allergies and emergency contacts)
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