OCEAN CITY — Regional businesses and swimming enthusiasts are sponsoring an Open Water Swim in Ocean City this month to benefit the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation Program.  

The event features one-mile, three-mile and nine-mile distances for qualifying swimmers of all ages Saturday, July 20, beginning at 10 a.m.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for both swimmers and tourists to challenge their abilities in open water, and more importantly to be a part of the good work being performed by the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation Program,” said Crossing Currents Aquatics Swim Coach Traci McNeil of Annapolis/Riva, a life-long open water swimmer who successfully completed an English Channel Swim in 1994. “The Ocean City Swim is patterned to provide the novice and experienced open water swimmer alike a safe and structured environment.  The swims run parallel to the shoreline and are conducted in cooperation with the phenomenal Ocean City Beach Patrol and Coast Guard.”

The swim was conceived by Corey Davis of Berlin who was treated at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Neuro Rehabilitation Center following a brain injury he suffered in a motorcycle accident.

“Registrations are coming in from Florida, Texas and California,” McNeil said. “We expect to see a lot of triathletes run into the surf for the open water experience as well as youth swimmers getting their first taste of the open seas in the one miler.”

The nine-mile course runs parallel to the shoreline from 146th Street with a south current start and a north current finish. If there is a north current, 146th Street will be the finish with the Inlet the start. If there is a south current, the Inlet area is the finish and 146th Street the start.

The one-mile marker is 131st Street and the three-mile marker is 92nd Street. Safety buoys will be placed on 6th, 19th, 32nd, 62nd, 77th, 92nd, 112th, 126th, and 139th streets.

If there is a north current, the one-mile start will be 131st Street with 146th Street as finish. If there is a south current, the one-mile start will be 8th Street with the Inlet area the finish. With the three-mile swim, a north current will mean a 92nd Street start to 146th Street, and a south current will mean a 39th Street start to the Inlet area.

For more information and to register for the swim, contact McNeil at 443-994-4275, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.crossingcurrentsaquatics.com