I was recently a guest in Harvard and swam at Bare Hill Pond. It is a beautiful pond and the water was lovely.
As a lifetime swimmer and endurance swimmer for decades, I make a point of swimming in every water possible wherever I travel in the world. The first thing I want to learn before swimming in a new area is what is under and living in the water. In your case, it is the weeds.
I swam the first day inside the right side of the ropes to the outer edge, where I continued on further accompanied by a paddleboard. After using the breaststroke to swim over the weeds to the outer edge, weeds were tangled over me head to toe so that I had to pull them off.
The next day, I swam just inside the perimeter of the roped off area, and cut back to center from the far left side. The weeds were so thick at the surface, I had to shallow breaststroke and even then, my arms and legs were caught and tangled in the weeds, causing me concern.
It seems some of this roped-off section may be clearer for swimmers, but I feel if I was not a swimmer who knew how to manage this, it could be disastrous. I knew a rescue swimmer who drowned in 6 feet of water due to weeds dragging them down as they caught each stroke of arms and legs. As a lifeguard for many years when I was younger, I know this could result in disaster, either in losing sight of someone or in trying to rescue them.
I saw some kids jumping off the raft and piling up weeds on top that they had pulled. Maybe they were trying to clear that area more. Children getting caught in those thick weeds that reach the surface could be deadly.
I understand Harvard has taken steps to try to mitigate this issue. But I would be very concerned about the safety for swimmers and lifeguards in the swimming area’s current condition. Perhaps there are alternative methods to try.
Good luck, Harvard. You have a beautiful town and resource in your lovely pond.
Kristin Grant
Vernon, Vermont
Editor’s note: According to members of the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee, the next session of diver-assisted suction harvesting is scheduled for the week of Sept. 9. The first use of DASH was in June.
