Swim for Alligator Lighthouse 

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN
KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR

Registration for the annual 8-mile swim to Alligator Lighthouse is open now! The event, to take place on September 10th, 2022, is quickly creeping up on us, and swimmers and moral supporters are getting ready. For those that don’t know, the Swim for Alligator Lighthouse is a heavy duty, 8-mile open water swim, and was stated as “1 out of the 8 toughest swim challenges in the world” by Tom Ward, according to redbull.com, on November 13th, 2019. 

The annual swim began when Lighthouse Larry, an Islamorada based artist, decided to swim from his native town of Islamorada to Alligator Lighthouse and back, and upon return, said, “every open water swimmer should experience this.” He was inspired to do the swim to raise awareness for the restoration of the lighthouse. Ever since Lighthouse Larry’s daring expedition, he became the anchor to the Swim for Alligator Lighthouse. According to the website, swimalligatorlight.com, “The Fighting Manatee Swim Club, the Masters swim club of Islamorada, accepted the challenge to present a world class open water swim event in the Florida Keys. The Fighting Manatees presented the Inaugural Swim for Alligator Lighthouse in 2013. It’s here to stay!” 

There are five people that originally started the charity in 2009 to provide scholarships to local high school athletes, provide money for coaching, and subsidize some of the equipment. Rob Dixon, one of the starters of the event along with Larry Herlth, said, “We originally started it to raise awareness. Something needed to be done about the lighthouse because we knew that they would just repair a newer one. So, after Larry swam there and back to raise awareness for Alligator Light, the swim has just continued to gain traction. Next year will be the tenth anniversary.” Proceeds from the swim benefit the Friends of the Pool in Islamorada. They also support investments towards the preservation of Alligator Light and bring awareness to Historic Lighthouses on Florida’s Coastal Waterways. 

The event is inclusive for everybody involved. According to Rob Dixon, “We will probably have 450 swimmers, and each swimmer brings an average of three people with them, including their support kayaker and family and friends, so we will probably have closer to 1500 people in town.” All event goers explore Islamorada, from hotels to restaurants and sites. Dixon finds that nobody ever comes for just one night. Some stay for up to 10 nights. He says, “There are people coming in for the swim from Bermuda, Canada, Australia, and Mexico. There are typically 35-40 different states that people come in from. It’s not just a local thing, and each year the demographic is made up of 60% new swimmers.” 

One of the many sponsors of the event, Florida Keys Brewing Company, has been on board with the event ever since they started. They are even giving free beer to swimmers willing to fill out a 2-minute survey! They also brewed a beer a couple months ago called “Alligator Lighthouse Lager,” a beer with the Alligator Lighthouse on it, and they donate a dollar for every draft beer that is served to the charity for restoration.

If you’re envious of the swimmers and aren’t a capable athlete yourself, consider heading to savealligatorlighthouse.org, the website for the restoration project, and donate to help with the cause. 

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