Drew Nemetz will attempt to swim the English Channel in early October
Between October 3 and 7, Drew Nemetz will enter the water between Dover and Folkestone on the southern coast of England and swim 21 miles toward Cap Gris Nez in France, through 60-degree waters and one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Nemetz has two goals: to successfully swim across the English Channel and to raise awareness of the importance of clean water back home in Long Island Sound.
As he trains for his marathon attempt, Nemetz is raising money for Save the Sound and its Center for Water Protection.
“I am swimming to support Save the Sound, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the very waters that shaped my childhood,” said Nemetz, 43, who owns Alpen Pantry, a sandwich shop in Old Greenwich, CT, with his wife, Frannie Willsey. “Their mission resonates deeply with me. I’ve seen firsthand what pollution can do, how it can shut down beaches, disrupt communities, and take away something as simple and powerful as the ability to swim freely.”
Nemetz grew up swimming in the Sound and recalls summer days from his childhood when the beach at Tod’s Point in Greenwich was closed and swimming was off-limits for a week or two—not because of an active rainstorm but pollution.
“I want people to not take it for granted,” said Nemetz, who now does most of his distance training swims at sunrise in the open waters off Oakland Beach in Rye, NY.
During his crossing, Nemetz will be trailed by Masterpiece, a pilot boat captained by father-and-son tandem Fred and Harry Mardle. The crew on board assisting Nemetz, monitoring his progress and providing him food and drinking water, will include Peter Linderoth, director of healthy waters and lands for Save the Sound. Linderoth and Nemetz met at the sandwich shop and have often discussed water quality in the western Sound in the years since they’ve become friends.
“Drew’s commitment to a cleaner Long Island Sound now and for future generations is admirable,” said Linderoth, who oversees Save the Sound’s water quality team, its Larchmont-based John and Daria Barry Foundation Water Quality Lab, and water quality reports such as the 2026 Long Island Sound Report Card which will be released in September. “He is a strong environmental steward of this beautiful estuary.”
For updates on his training and progress, follow Save the Sound’s blog:
Support Nemetz’s fundraiser for Save the Sound at https://www.justgiving.com/page/drew-nemetz-1
When the day comes, use the Marathon Swimmers Federation’s Live Tracker, created by Evan Morrison, for live positions of Channel swim pilot boats: https://ultraswimming.org/track/english-channel/
Save the Sound leads environmental action across the Long Island Sound region to protect the Sound and its rivers, fight climate change, save endangered lands, and work with nature to restore ecosystems. More info at savethesound.org.
