Piermont's Siegel Oldest Man to Swim Cape Cod Bay

Mo Siegel, 61, of Piermont jokes about not being able to run after the bus, but he can still swim a long way.

Siegel demonstrated that again Aug. 17 when he completed the 20-mile swim across Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth, Mass. in 12 hours, 32 minutes, becoming the oldest person to complete the task.

"It was definitely a channel-level swim in terms of distance and water temperature," Siegel said. "It was a challenging swim. It's not the English Channel or Catalina, but it's right below those, I would say."

Siegel would know. He traces his swimming career back to his grandmother setting an example when he was very young and took up open-water swimming in the early 1990s, enjoying the challenges it presents such as strong currents and marine life.  

"I think it's a unique kind of challenge," Siegel said. "I love swimming. I love being in the water. It's a unique set of challenges.

"It's fun to complete these. It's a great feeling knowing you swam across a unique body of water. The training is intense. The swims are intense."

Siegel swam the English Channel in 2010 in 14 hours, 18 minutes. 

"That's considered the climbing Mt. Everest of swimming and it pretty much lives up to that," Siegel said. "It's a very challenging swim. The currents are much stronger. You can be in sight of where you are landing and hang there for hours trying to get in."

That is one place where having strong support crews. They do things such as provide food and water when neded, ensure the swimmer's safety and often give them a swimming companion as Eileen Burke did during the Cape Cod Bay swim. 

"It's a great group of people," Siegel said. "Everyone involved is a top-notch swimmer themselves. It makes it really special. You look at the boat and they could probably all outpace you and they've been through it. I like the core of people I get to know, worldwide really."

Siegel will take on an international challenge for his next swim, the Tsugaru Channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in japan in early September. He said he can do longer swims relatively close together when he is at a high enough level of training.

Following an accomplishment that is notable in part because he was the oldest to accomplish it, the obvious question or Siegel is how long he sees himself taking on these long swims.

"I have a dream of swimming the English Channel at 80 and 100, but those are both kind of a long shot," Siegel said with a laugh. "I'm in great shape for 61. I'll be 62 in a couple of weeks. Swimming is the best ongoing activity. Low impact. High rewards."