ERIC AHLQVIST
THE COOPERSTOWN CRIER
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David Bonderoff, 17, of Cooperstown and Amy Hage Delli-Coli41, of Exeter, N.H swam the entire length of Otsego Lake last Saturday. They began their 9.2-mile swim at Springfield Landing at 7 a.m. on the north end of the lake, along with their friend, Emily Kerr, of Exeter, New Hampshire.
Bonderoff, Hage and Kerr were followed by a motor boat and two kayaks that carried supporters whose role was to provide them with guidance, safety, and nutrition along the way.
Bonderoff and his father, Scott Bonderoff, who paddled a kayak alongside his son, arrived at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and touched historic Council Rock in a time of five hours and 12 minutes.
David will be a senior at CCS in the fall, and is a captain on the boys swim team. ``I had been planning to swim the lake since the beginning of the summer,’’ David explained. ``A family friend, Mo Sherman, put me in touch with Amy. I met with her on Friday and we discussed swimming the lake, and we decided to do it the next day.’’
Hage arrived at Council Rock shortly after Bonderoff in a time of five hours and 49 minutes. She was accompanied by boaters Fred Kerr and Anthony Delli-Coli.
``Swimming the lake was pretty much what I expected,’’ Bonderoff said. ``I was sure that I could complete it, I just wasn’t sure how long it would take me. it’s a difficult swim but I felt like I handled it pretty well.’’
Emily Kerr braked briefly in the motor boat for a shoulder injury near 5-mile point and then continued her swim and finished at Council Rock with Bonderoff and Hage. Her swim won’t be counted as an official completion of the lake.
All three swimmers were greeted by family and friends at Council Rock with signs, balloons and cheers for their efforts. Lake conditions were relatively calm, with some areas of wind gusts near the Southern tip of the lake, Bonderoff said.
Bonderoff and Hage Delli-Coli will have their names engraved on a plaque at the Clark Sports Center which documents all successful lake swims. Sarah Groff, now a professional triathlete, holds the fastest recorded time in about three and a half hours.
