Diane Sherkow, NAS Patuxent River educational services officer, is pulled out of the Patuxent River by other swimmers after the 2017 NAS Patent River Search and Rescue (SAR) Swim. Sherkow and six other swimmers, mostly from Pax River’s SAR team, swam 1.7 miles across the Patuxent River in the annual event.
Five NAS Patuxent River Search and Rescue (SAR) swimmers, also known as, the SAR Dogs, hit the water Sept. 29 for their annual 1.7 mile swim across the Patuxent River.
Following a mandatory safety briefing that covered topics such as water and air temperature, wave height, marine life, the hazards of recreational boats in the area and what to do in case of an emergency, the swimmers entered the water from the beach at West Basin Marina and exited at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory pier on the Solomons Island side.
Accompanying the swimmers as they cut through the 75-degree water were three support boats from Port Operations, who kept track of them, alerted approaching boats to their presence, and carried rescue and medical personnel. Also, swimming alongside them was NAS Patuxent River’s Executive Officer Capt. Christopher Cox.
“I spent many years swimming competitively and playing water polo and I wanted to take advantage of a unique and challenging opportunity with some of our outstanding SAR swimmers and Port Ops professionals,” Cox said. “Our aviators will be in good hands should they have the misfortune of meeting one of our SAR swimmers or med techs on the job. They’re great swimmers and are really fast; I tried, but I couldn’t catch them.”
“I’m retiring at the end of November and I wanted to go out with a splash, literally,” Sherkow said. “I easily did the [1.5 miles] swim qual in the pool beforehand, but, during the river swim I realized I was slowing down the rescue swimmer who was accompanying me, so I got out of the water and let him go ahead.”
That swimmer was Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Joshua Kasnick, assistant SAR petty officer, who went on to finish in just under 55 minutes – the fastest time of the day.
The swim is not only a traditional team-building exercise, but is also a fitness gauge for the rescue swimmers to measure their performance and hone their skills in open water.
“It’s a motivational swim that’s been going on here for a long time,” Kasnick said. “There were a few years when it didn’t happen, but it started up again a few years ago. I’d like to give a shout out to the boat house for their support because without them, these swims wouldn’t happen.”
Serving at Patuxent River is considered shore duty for the SAR team, who stand on alert whenever aviation testing takes place over the Atlantic Ocean.
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Diane Sherkow, NAS Patuxent River educational services officer, is pulled out of the Patuxent River by other swimmers after the 2017 NAS Patent River Search and Rescue (SAR) Swim. Sherkow and six other swimmers, mostly from Pax River’s SAR team, swam 1.7 miles across the Patuxent River in the annual event.
