By Dillon Stambaugh
SEA BRIGHT – Tradition is back, and it’s taking over Sea Bright each summer in the form of an ocean mile swim. On Sunday, the borough held its first annual Andy-Rooney Ocean Mile swim, a revitalization of the popular Andrew Manning mile swim, which honored the late Sea Bright mayor in the 1980s and 1990s.
“We’re back,” declared Sea Bright Councilman Charles Rooney III. “We had a great turn out.”
Rooney spearheaded the revamped Andy-Rooney swim, which now also honors his father, another former Sea Bright mayor.
“My father started the first ever ocean mile swim on the Jersey Shore,” explained Rooney. “He had the idea of using school buses to take the participants a mile north or south, depending on the currents. This made it so people didn’t have to swim up current. It’s a way of getting more people involved. It gives people confidence.”
The Andy-Rooney swim featured 113 participants of all ages. The fastest time of the day was registered 23:20 by 42-year-old Mike Barrows, an endocrinologist from Shrewsbury, who is also the United States Lifesaving Association national team coach.
“This is my second mile swim of the year,” said Barrows. “It’s a great workout, and I love the social aspect of it. A lot of my friends are here”
Rooney, whose son Andrew finished fifth and first in the teenage division, explains that the race is important for the borough of Sea Bright.
“It brings people back to Sea Bright who haven’t seen it since Sandy. That’s why I got on the council. I wanted to help out after the storm.
“I plan to continue the Andy-Rooney tradition and host the ocean mile swim each summer in Sea Bright.
“It’s good to bring people back to the area,” he stressed.
