June 2004
A horn sounded, and with his hands securing his goggles and cap, Andrew Hewitt leapt off the dock and into the Hudson River, the smack of the brackish water his baptism for the day ahead. The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim had begun, and Hewitt's race number, inked onto his left bicep, gleamed in the early morning light. Dozens of swimmers were attempting a circumnavigation of Manhattan, and the water grew choppy as they kicked and stroked their way out of the cove. Tracing the island counterclockwise, Hewitt and the others would head down the Hudson, around the Battery, and up the East River. From there they would cross the Harlem River and then swim back down the Hudson. At twenty-eight and a half miles, the swim was longer than either the English or Catalina Channel swims. It was Hewitt's first triple crown event. A 41-year-old former Navy Seal, Hewitt hailed from San Diego. Like the other racers, he had two support boats accompanying him, a small fishing boat and a kayak...
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