View 13 photos

PORTLAND — Before Saturday morning’s Peaks to Portland Swim for Kids, two-time champion Brim Peabody gave rookie racer David Steinbrick some advice on how to best navigate the 2.4 mile-long open water swim across Casco Bay.

As the two friends approached East End Beach, swimming together in stride, it was clear Steinbrick listened closely to the defending champ’s pointers. The 19-year-old from Cape Elizabeth broke away in the final 100 yards, reached the shore first and crossed the finish line ahead of almost 250 other swimmers with a time of 47 minutes, 26 seconds.

Peabody, 22, from Scarborough, wasn’t far behind at 47:34, and neither was Hope Taylor, 18, also from Cape Elizabeth, who had the fastest female time of 47:39 and finished third-overall for the second year in a row.

“I just remembered it can get really confusing out there,” said Peabody, who recently graduated from Bowdoin, where he was a member of the swim team. “You have to not go too close to (Fort Gorges), but you also don’t want to go too far, and there are a bunch of currents out there. I was just giving (Steinbrick) advice on where to go and things like that. He’s a really strong swimmer, so he didn’t need any swimming advice, but I’ll take it.”

Steinbrick, a rising sophomore on the Naval Academy swim team, appreciated the advice.

“It’s nice to have those friends who help you out and tell you what to expect,” said Steinbrick. “It was a good swim. It was a lot of fun. It was really cool to be able to swim through Casco Bay.”

Many people have swum the 2.4 mile-long stretch from Peaks Island and Portland since the 1920s, but for over the past 40 years, it’s been for the benefit of the YMCA of Southern Maine and its mission to make healthy living accessible to all.

As of Saturday morning, the YMCA had raised over $184,000 in donations. This year’s fundraising total is still short of their $200,000 goal, but well exceeds the $113,000 collected during the 2024 event. Donations will still be collected up until Friday.

“We’re just really grateful for all the swimmers and all the people helping to fundraise for our youth programs,” said YMCA of Southern Maine CEO Helen Breña. “That’s a real big thing for us. I know that people see this as a race, but it’s really a fundraiser, because all the money that we raise goes to support our youth programs. That’s camp, that’s pre-K, that’s swim lessons for kids, and our goal is to grow. We want to provide 800 more swim lessons this next year, we want to double the number of kids that we’re serving in day camp next summer, and we’re looking to open a second pre-K classroom at our Casco Bay branch to serve 19 more working families who need child care.”

The philanthropic cause was one of the reasons why David Cedeño decided to make the drive from Jackson Heights, New York to participate in his first-ever open-water swim.

“I was looking for some swimming competition, and our friend lives here, so it was a perfect combination to come here,” said Cedeño, who helps run a health and education-centric non-profit in Ecuador. “…It’s so beautiful that it’s to support kids in the community.”

Rena Andoh, who splits her time in New York and Harpswell, decided to sign up for her first Peaks to Portland race after seeing signs in the Casco Bay YMCA last year.

“I just turned 50, so I decided this would be a good way to celebrate,” Andoh said.

Saturday was not her first open-water event, but the first in the frigid Maine waters. A sign at the East End Beach said water temperature was 61.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Taylor, who will be competing for the Amherst swim team next year, said she knew the cold water would hurt based on last year’s race, but said it was even chillier than expected.

“The wetsuit definitely helps,” Taylor said. “But I am just like, mind over matter trying to get through it.”

Allison Sparta of Portland,said she trained for her first Peaks to Portland inside the YMCA through the winter and spring months. Despite Saturday being the first time she swam in the outside, Sparta wasn’t worried about the temperature difference between the heated pool and the open ocean.

“I met the most incredible people (while training), and I really got that sense of community I was looking for,” Sparta said minutes before lining up to depart Peaks Island. “Hanging out with them right now, we’re all being really supportive, and I know it’s just going to be super fun.”