Lori Adams of Jericho and Eleanor Kveton of Syosset, and Luciana Niedermuller of Brookville took part in the Red Cross Swim-A-Cross on Friday, Aug. 14 at Centre Island Beach.

"All the swimmers deserve a lot of credit," said Joan Imhof, co-founder with Judge Ute Lally, of the Red Cross Swim-A-Cross. "It was a very rough swim. It was choppy. The waves were higher than normal and a considerable wind picked up as well." The one-mile swim across Oyster Bay Harbor was from a Centre Island dock to the beach in the West Harbor area.

"This crew of swimmers did a fine job. It takes a lot of energy to swim a mile, but with wind and waves, it takes that much more energy," she said.

Two time Backstroke Olympic Gold Medalist Lynn Burke McConville took a different spin on the day. "It's really a perfect day. The wind is blowing this way, to the beach, and there's not too much sun."

Jeff Maimone took a more pragmatic view. "It was nice out there. A little breezy, but there were no jellyfish and no sea weeds." He picked up his arm and showed about 30 small red bumps where jellyfish had stung him the Sunday before, at Stehli Beach.

Coming out of the water, the swimmers looked elated. Their next job will be to collect the pledges from their supporters. The swim, after all, is held to raise money for the Red Cross, which is always there, when needed, providing food and shelter from fire and storms.

"This year, we set a goal, $20,000, and at this point, we are at $9,888, collected as of Friday, Aug. 14. Halfway to our goal," said Imhof, president of the Long Island Volunteer Center. There were 122 swimmers who got pledges as part of signing up for the swim.

If you would like more information on the Red Cross and their work, call 747-3500.