People may swim the Peace River between Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda July 4, but it won’ t be at an official Freedom Swim.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY — For the first time since a group of friends first swam from Port Charlotte to Punta Gorda, there will be no Freedom Swim across the Peace River to celebrate July 4.
"There’s no public invitation to the Freedom Swim; the official freedom swim is not happening," said Michael Haymans, the Punta Gorda attorney who helped start the swim in 1991.
"There’s a group of us who put this on together back in the day; we struggled with the question about Freedom Swim for months," he added. "Look at the numbers — we made the decision when we saw that the numbers were coming back up, but I think we're going to start seeing some shutdowns again."
Hundreds of swimmers and paddlers annually attend the Freedom Swim.
The decision was made mid-June to cancel the formal event, which means no U.S Coast Guard notification, no safety help and no big after party at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda.
"We believe it’s responsible to protect one another from infection," Haymans said of the decision to cancel what would have been the 29th official Freedom Swim.
It also means no potential clash with authorities in a time when social distancing protocols prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic call for no group gatherings larger than 50 people, six-foot social distancing requirements and no mask debates.
Haymans said people have urged that the swim proceed as a symbolic fight against regulatory overreach.
"This isn’t the time for us," he added.
Ironically, the actual swimmers don’t prompt as much concern as the public crowding together to watch the spectacle.
While there won’t be a spectacle in 2020, Haymans admits there will be swimming.
"Will there be people out there swimming in the Peace River on the Fourth of July?" Haymans said. "You know there’s going to be.
"There won’t be a start or a finish," he added. "Fisherman’s Village has been notified that there’s no official Freedom Swim."
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