Columbia River swim returns after 90 years to "go the distance" for BuildCMH
Contact: Sarah Bello
CMH partners with Astoria Regatta for Columbia River swim fundraiser this summer
ASTORIA, Ore. — Columbia Memorial Hospital and the Astoria Regatta are partnering to offer an exciting event, The Swim Across The Columbia, in August. The Regatta hosted this unique experience 90 years ago and is bringing it back this year.
Participants will swim from Knappton, Washington, to Astoria, Oregon. Dr. Paul Silka, CMH’s Emergency Department medical director, will lead the five-mile swim across the river as part of the Regatta’s closing ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. Swimmers will meet at Knappton Cove at 5:30 a.m., with the swim beginning at 6 a.m.
“This is actually a resurrection of a trans-Columbia River swim that first occurred in 1934,” Silka says. “When I first got to Astoria and I saw the river, having been an open-water swimmer, I said, ‘That’s got to be done, we’ve got to cross that river.’”
Registration is open (*closed as of 08/09/24) for individuals who want to join the swim and costs $250 per person. Each swimmer needs someone on a personal watercraft (ex: kayak, jet ski, etc.) to ensure their safety in the water. (Registration for personal watercraft also closed as of 08/09/24.)
All swimmers and personal watercraft operators must be age 18 or older or have a parent’s permission to participate in the event. Personal watercraft operators must have a personal floatation device or wetsuit.
A complementary event, the Stay Dry Swim, will be available for those who want to cheer on the swimmers and personal watercraft operators, but don’t want to make the five-mile trek. Participants will experience the exhilaration of swimming in the river without actually doing so. They will get free swag and have the chance to take photos with props that will make it look as if they swam the river. Registration costs $35 per person.
Funds raised through event registration and pledges in honor of the swimmers’ hard work will go directly toward the BuildCMH Expansion Project, which aims to expand the hospital over the next few years.
“Over the course of the last year, as I’ve tried to get other swimmers in the community involved, there’s been a great deal of excitement,” Silka says. “When we saw that we could swim the Columbia and do it with purpose, supporting BuildCMH, it really heightened everybody’s focus on getting this done.”
Dr. Silka is the fourth CMH caregiver to participate in a ‘going the distance’ fundraiser for the organization.
To register for the events or pledge a donation, visit columbiamemorial.org/columbia-swim. Any amount can be pledged. Registrants must sign a participation waiver acknowledging the risks of swimming in the Columbia River.