Another big splash

SANDPOINT – No money was being raised. And the effort isn’t meant to highlight some important cause.

Swimming from end to end of Sandpoint’s Long Bridge is done for essentially the same reason chickens cross roads.

“Just because it’s there,” said swimmer Jon Lewis, of Sagle, Idaho.

A record number swam the 1.76-mile course Saturday during the 10th annual Long Bridge Swim. The race began shortly after 9 a.m., with neoprene-covered arms flailing through the water like a hoard of angry octopi.

Race volunteer Caroline Brown said about 450 attempted the crossing, which handily sank last year’s record turnout of 340 swimmers. Participants ranged in age from 6-year-old Patricia Petrina, of Sagle, to 83-year-old Imre Schmidt, of Bonners Ferry.

“I’ve always enjoyed swimming,” Schmidt said, catching his breath and toweling dry moments after completing the swim. “I swim a couple times a week. But not in wintertime. I ski in winter.”

Schmidt’s wife, Anna, looked on from the comfort of a portable chair. “I always tell him to take it easy, that finish time doesn’t matter,” she said.

Although the majority of swimmers take a casual pace, some see it as a race. The fastest time went to 16-year-old Matt Benoit of Kent, Wash. Benoit swam the bridge in 34 minutes, 18 seconds.

“This is my first big open-water swim,” Benoit said. “I’m not used to having to look up all the time, with the pilings and other swimmers.”

The water temperature hovered somewhere near 70 degrees, which is warmer than usual, swimmers said. Only about half wore wetsuits.

Alex Martinek, a 12-year-old Spokane resident, braved the course without a wetsuit. “I was going to smear Vaseline over my body, but we forgot to buy some,” he said.

Martinek swam with a partner, Bill Bresko, a 77-year-old lifeguard from Medical Lake. The two were not worried about the distance being too difficult. Martinek once swam across Upper Priest Lake. Bresko had his own tale of difficult swimming.

“I once rescued a cow,” he said. “This is not as bad as rescuing a cow.”

Swimmers peering through their goggles spotted rocks on the lake bottom arranged to read, “Go Paulina” near the finish area. This fits with the swim’s whimsical roots.

It all began in 1994 when Eric Ridgway discovered a better way to commute across the Long Bridge. Ridgway lives in Sagle but crosses the bridge each day on his way to work in Sandpoint.

“I always thought, ‘I’ve got to swim that sometime,’ ” he said.

That’s what he did, with two friends in kayaks serving as safety patrol.

“In the next weeks and months, I was approached by tons of people who said, ‘Next time you do that, tell me,’ ” Ridgway said.

Ridgway expected that maybe 20 people would swim with him the following year.

“We had 78,” he said. “Obviously, the idea has been in a lot of people’s minds.”

About half the swimmers are now coming from out of state, Ridgway said. “I have no idea how they heard about it.”

Ridgway and other local racers say the Long Bridge Swim is growing in popularity because it’s inexpensive ($12, including a T-shirt) and the event captures the friendly, fun-loving spirit of Sandpoint.

The most recent edition of USA Today mentioned the race in an article gushing about the town’s charms. Sunset and Outside magazines have also recently focused on Sandpoint. The USA Today story reported rumors that famous resident Viggo Mortensen was expected to participate, but he was nowhere to be found. The story also described Sandpoint as “Norman Rockwell meets Ansel Adams” and included a joke about another well-known local: “How do you know it’s springtime in Sandpoint? Mark Fuhrman is out planting gloves.”

Although some residents would like the national media spotlight turned to a quaint town somewhere – anywhere – else, Ridgway has another take: “I’m grateful we’re getting the positive attention.”

Not long ago, North Idaho was synonymous with skinheads, Ridgway said. “That was really misrepresenting the people of this area. We’re not a racist area. The people here are welcoming.”