Over 300 swimmers and 46 kayakers made their way to Onset to raise over $200,000 in the name of environmental protection.

The swimmers and kayakers participated in the 32nd annual Buzzards Bay Coalition swim held Saturday, June 28. The 1.3 mile swim took participants from Shell Point Beach, around Wickets Island and ended on Onset Beach for the first time in the event’s history.

The swim serves as a big fundraiser for the coalition and it normally takes place in New Bedford but the rain on the forecast presented a potential sewage overflow into New Bedford’s outer harbor.

“The swim has been great and the change of venue worked out really well,” said Buzzards Bay Coalition Communications Director Scott Lajoie.

Swimmers and kayakers came from all across the country and a wide range of age groups competed with the youngest swimmer being 12-years-old and the oldest being 85-years-old.

As swimmers finished up the race, they were greeted with hoots and hollers from bystanders, a steel drum band, hot pancakes and many said doing the swim in Onset offered a nice change of pace.

“It’s a much more fun swim than the normal location because you’ve got to find buoys and the routes not just from point to point,” said Will Krause of Boston. “There were shallow zones and there was seaweed and ocean in your face so it’s a real swim.”

Keri-Nicole Dillman came from Medford for the swim and she said the conditions in Onset Bay made the race fun in its own way.

“It was very green and there’s boats around whereas in [New Bedford] you kind of feel rough and tough so in that way it’s different but in a lot of ways it’s the same,” Dillman said.

Joining Dillman from Medford was Alex Hackman who participated in the swim to support the coalition’s mission of protecting Buzzards Bay and the surrounding area.

“We just love everyone who works here and they're doing so much for the environment,” Hackman said. “We just 100% support this group and we want to be here to show it.”

Hackman added he enjoyed the swim in Onset but the pollution issues with New Bedford’s sewer system need to be resolved.

“[The Buzzards Bay Coalition] should be able to host this in their home city,” he said. “They’re working their hardest but we need more people to clean the city.”

Five Warehamites participated in the swim and their times are as follows:

David Patnaude completed the swim in 53:59, Peter Gold posted a time of 54:35, Dhara Sananikone-Evans recorded a time of 41:34, Melissa Dyer finished the swim in 41:53 and Samantha Smith recorded a time of 47:04.

The coalition will continue to fundraise for the next two weeks and according to Lajoie, fundraising efforts have reached $220,000, nearly hitting the coalition’s goal of $250,000.