City Journal Article |
Different Strokes
Ten years after Bill Weld jumped in, the Charles hosts a new breed of swimmer.
By Anthony Costanzo
Frans Lawaetz sees the water as his playground. Makes sense for a guy who grew up practically on the beach in the Virgin Islands. When he moved to Boston six years ago and saw the Charles River, his first thought was: “Let’s go swimming.”
It’s taken a while, but thanks to the city’s $4.5 billion cleanup—and with a special permit—Lawaetz’s new Charles River Swimming Club will take its first authorized plunge in the dirty water on 9/9 with a race in the river’s lower basin.
City law says swimming in the Charles is illegal (it’s also gross) but Lawaetz, also an avid windsurfer, has on occasion taken in a mouthful. The taste? “It’s organic,” he says. “And slightly nutty, too.”
How appropriate.
It’s taken a while, but thanks to the city’s $4.5 billion cleanup—and with a special permit—Lawaetz’s new Charles River Swimming Club will take its first authorized plunge in the dirty water on 9/9 with a race in the river’s lower basin.
City law says swimming in the Charles is illegal (it’s also gross) but Lawaetz, also an avid windsurfer, has on occasion taken in a mouthful. The taste? “It’s organic,” he says. “And slightly nutty, too.”
How appropriate.
Originally published in Boston magazine, September 2006
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