Atlantic City: Past and Future; Atlantic City by the Sea and Vegas of East; Atlantic City, home for 40,000 residents and the dynamic casino industry.

            Few events combine Atlantic City’s glorious heritage as a seaside resort and its potent promise as a major gaming and sporting center in the way that the Around The Island Swim does.  Now known as the World Championship Ocean Marathon Swim, this thrilling event traces it’s roots to the strokes of two legendary Atlantic City lifeguards, Ed Solitare and Ed “Dutch” Stetser.

            The late Jim Toomey was the mastermind behind Solitare and Stetser’s swim, and his dream was to stage a race with a top international field.  That dream became reality in 1954 and it was to continue for the next 10 years as a mid-summer classic.

            Every top distance swimmer of the era competed in the Atlantic City race.  Champions like Tom Park, Cliff Lumsden, Alfredo Camarero and Greta Anderson become honorary citizens of the area during their July visits.  Park won the event 3 times and his Toronto boyhood buddy Cliff Lumsden, won twice; the Argentinean, Camerero, upset the field with his victory in 1957.  Denmark’s Greta Anderson was the top woman swimmer throughout the years of the competition.  Overall, however, the single dominant performer was “The Flying Dutchman,” Herman Willemse, who reeled off 5 straight overwhelming victories 1960 through 1964.  Only the demise of the race in ’65 stopped him from continuing his dominance.

            The swim was dormant as the city suffered through some lean years, but in 1978, with the city awakening, the time was ripe to bring back the swim. Jim Whelan, a guard on the Atlantic City Beach Patrol, had gained prominence in the various beach patrol competitions as the man to beat.  In 1978 he decided to turn his attention to the conquest of the island.  Whelan not only conquered the island but did so in record time of 8 hours 30 minutes, and the spark was ignited that led to the 1979 race.

Around The Island 
In Eight Hours

Why would anyone want to swim 22 ½ miles around Absecon Island?

Man vs. Nature. It is perhaps the oldest conflict on the planet. It is a basic tenet of every college-level introductory philosophy class. It is also a primal instinct that makes man do some pretty stupid things.

Like taking the plunge over the 173-foot-high Niagara Falls in a round wooden container. Or climbing a massive snow-covered pile of rock named Everest, the top of which is 29,028 feet from the bottom. Or jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and swimming 22 ½ miles around Absecon Island, where the Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate and Longport can be found.

Yet, to swim 22 ½ miles around Absecon Island is exactly what the world’s best marathon swimmers plan to do each year in July, when the World Championship Ocean Marathon Swim takes place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Better known locally as the Around-The-Island Swim, the race is considered to be one of the toughest among a growing number of annual competitions sponsored by FINA as a part of the international World Cup Series . It is a grueling test of athletic prowess made even more difficult by a constant battle against the strong shifting tides and temperatures of the ocean and back bays.

“It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” says former winner David Aliva of Blacksburg, Virginia. “And it always will be.”

The professional race usually begins at 9:00 a.m. at Gardner’s Basin, located off North New Hampshire Avenue in the inlet section of Atlantic City.  The race normally attracts a handful of qualified amateurs and a few dozen 6-person relay teams who join the pros for the “fun”. The swimmers will head out of the inlet, into the ocean and south down the island. After about 3-4 hours, the swimmers turn and follow the course at the point in Longport (known as The Longport Jetty) and heads through the back bays of Longport, Margate, Ventnor and Atlantic City before returning to the finish back at the basin. The race takes about 7-9 hours to complete (on average). 

The Around-The-Island-Swim Is A Great Spectator Sport

 The Around-The-Island Swim is a great spectator sport, especially for the local people of Absecon Island. As the swimmers make their way around the course, they are greeted and cheered by spectators at key points, including the Longport Jetty, the docks behind Margate and the homes along the waterway in Ventnor.. Spectators have lined the sides of the bridges, such as the Dorset Ave Bridge in Ventnor, while homeowners along the inland waterway in Ventnor are known for their spectacular parties who cheer the swimmers on as they make their way. As the swimmers enter the back bays of Atlantic City, the local residents can be found along the bulkheads at the end of the streets, clapping and cheering. Homeowners have been heard clanking pots and pans to make a joyful noise in support of the world class athletes in this event. As the swimmers enter the final leg of the race, and often the most difficult if the tide is against them, spectator boats will congregate in front of Harrah's Casino and the vicinity of the Brigantine Bridge. Many find it hard to believe that these swimmers have made it so far and for so long, and yet are able to swim strong enough to make headway against the fast current at the Brigantine Bridge. But the largest crowd and loudest cheers are at the finish line in Gardner's Basin, where it all started earlier that day. If you are a local, or just happen to be in town the day of the Swim, you dont want to miss this great spectator sport. You will truly be amazed at the accomplishment of these swimmers as they emerge from the water after seven to nine hours of continual swimming.

The Around-The-Island Swim made its debut in 1954, and as Atlantic City enters the Twenty-first century, organizers are thrilled to host an event that has grown to include something for everyone. Normally the week prior to the Swim, Marathon Swim Week festivities take place tol allow residents and visitors alike to interact with some of the world’s greatest endurance athletes. 1999 FINA World Cup Champions Stephan LeCat (France) and Peggy Buchse (Germany) and a host of up and coming stars have been at these events. Local legends include Samantha Chabotar, John Kenny, and Cara Manlandro. Argentina’s favorite son, Claudio Plitt swam in every race from 1978 to 2001.

How It All Began

It is not surprising that the Around-The-Island Swim can trace its roots back to a dare. Throughout its history, Atlantic City has always been a place for the proud and the boastful, for those willing to take a chance on something that seemed darned near impossible to everyone else. Atlantic City has boasted the best and most athletic lifeguards in the world, both as swimmers and rowers. The ocean is the City's greatest natural asset, but can also be unpredictable and dangerous.

And so it seems that it happened again in the early 1950’s when a local entrepreneur named Jim Toomey offered $100 to two lifeguards if they could swim around Absecon Island. Being that they were, after all, lifeguards, and that $100 was a pretty good chunk of change at the time, Ed Solitaire and Ed “Dutch” Stetser took Toomey up on his challenge. Solitaire and Stetser completed the swim and according to legend, spent all of their prize money that night going around the island again – this time, from tavern to tavern.  

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