Program Description
Event Details
Using his remarkable personal experiences in some of the world's most challenging open water races, world-class swimmer Bob Fernald shares his strategy of achieving success and overcoming adversity. Whether your "sharks" are literal or figurative, Bob's humorous and approachable talk will help you keep swimming — and keep you from becoming a sitting duck. Bob Fernald is a local open water marathon swimmer, who is among a select few swimmers in the world to hold the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. The Triple Crown is one of the toughest ocean swimming challenges and includes The English Channel, The Manhattan Island Circumnavigation Swim, and the Catalina Channel. A Portsmouth, NH native, Bob has a professional background in building successful customer experience businesses across several industries. With very little swim background, his swimming is adult-onset. Overcoming fear, and adversity along the way, Bob has joined the world’s elite with many noted accolades in open water swimming history.
He will also share ocean safety tips for swimmers and beach goers alike, called the "9 W's of Open Water Swimming." He will share his knowledge on how to assess ocean conditions to more safely swim and enjoy the ocean.
About Bob Fernald:
Bob is a resident of New Hampshire and a distinguished open-water ultramarathon swimmer, coach, and event coordinator. He offers coaching services to individuals in the Portsmouth, NH, Seacoast area, working with swimmers aged 6 to 72, and covering distances from short open-water swims to ultramarathon-level events. In his own words, “I help individuals discover the joy of freestyle open-water swimming, enabling them to cultivate their newfound passion.”
Annually, Bob conducts Open-Water Safety Clinics for various organizations, including the NH State, Rye, NH, and York, Maine Lifeguard operations, the Town of Rye Parents Teachers Association, and North Hampton School’s ‘People Active in Learning’ program, as well as specialized clinics for open-water and triathlon athletes. He generously shares his expertise with local youth swimming teams as a guest coach, focusing on inspiring the next generation of open-water swimmers.
Bob has been instrumental in establishing regional swims such as the Nubble Light Challenge, Kingston Open Water Swim, Save our Shores Swim, and the NH Coastline Garbage Swim. He also created the Gulf of Maine ‘Hat Trick’ Marathon Swim Challenge, which includes the Boston Light, White Island, and Boon Island swims. Additionally, he coordinates Gulf of Maine marathon swims for both individual participants and relay teams. Over the years, his involvement in open-water swimming has raised nearly $200,000 for local charities, including The Michael Phelps Foundation, National Awareness for Mental Illness, YMCA, and the Blue Ocean Society.
As a member of US Masters Swimming, Bob has served as an open-water safety official and rules official for USMS events. He is a certified marathon swim observer and has supported numerous ultramarathon swimmers. His contributions to the sport have been recognized with the New England USMS Frank Wuest Award, and he is a proud member of the New England USMS Hall of Fame.
In 2016, Bob achieved the prestigious Triple Crown of Open-Water Swimming, a feat accomplished by fewer than 350 swimmers to date. This accolade includes completing the English Channel, swimming around Manhattan Island, and traversing the Catalina Channel, with his combined debut swim times ranking him as the 10th fastest in history for that year.
Bob has served on the board of directors for Save the Indoor Portsmouth Pool, Great Bay Masters Swimming, The Nubble Light Challenge, and the Gulf of Maine Open Water Swim Association nonprofits over the past 15 years.
Professionally, Bob is the principal of Fernald Consulting Services. His work experience includes holding senior leadership roles in operations, product development, and business development across various sectors, including semiconductor capital equipment, emergency communications, unified business communications, telecommunications, hospitality, and safety technology.