The clean, chilly waters of New Bedford Harbor played host to 248 swimmers early Saturday morning for the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s 22nd annual Buzzards Bay Swim, a celebration of clean water in the community.

As of Saturday morning, swimmers had raised approximately $100,000 to support the nonprofit Coalition’s work to protect clean water, conserve land and educate youth and adults across the Buzzards Bay region, from Westport to Woods Hole.

The swimmers started at The Edge Seafood Lounge beach in New Bedford and swam 1.2 miles across the harbor to the Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation in Fairhaven.

Wareham resident Pam Silver did the swim for the first time Saturday. She said she swims a mile or two a week at the Gleason Family YMCA but this was one of her first times ever swimming in open water.

“I was a little overwhelmed initially,” she said. “The water was a little cool.”

Silver said it took about a half mile for her to get in a groove.

“Then I started enjoying myself and toward the end I thought ‘I think I can do this’,”she said.

“I didn’t have my sea legs and sea arms yet,” she added.

After the Swim, participants, volunteers and supporters enjoyed a finish line beach party with a pancake breakfast, massage therapists, live music from El Caribe and a live radio broadcast with Michael Rock of FUN 107. The event concluded with an awards ceremony.

“This is probably one of the best swims in the area because the current helps push you to shore,” said swimmer Mel Dyer of Wareham, who participated in her fourth Swim. “Everyone truly believes in the Coalition’s mission, and it’s just fun!”

The Buzzards Bay Swim is one of two signature outdoor events hosted by the Coalition. The other is the Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride, a one-day bicycle ride covering 75 miles from Westport to Woods Hole, with a shorter 35-mile route beginning in Rochester. The ninth annual Watershed Ride will take place Sunday, October 4. Details and registration are available atwww.savebuzzardsbay.org/ride.