DeLuca to swim across Moosehead> Scarborough man seeks to raise funds for Maine Breast Cancer Coalition

At 6 p.m. on July 31, Dan DeLuca of Scarborough will dip into the northern tip of Moosehead Lake in Greenville. He won’t emerge from the water until the afternoon hours of Aug. 1, when he will have swum the 32-mile distance across the lake.

If DeLuca completes his mission, he may be the first person to have officially swum across the lake. But DeLuca isn’t after bragging rights or records. He’s out to raise money for the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition.

DeLuca said the fundraiser brings together two causes that are near and dear to his heart: long distance swimming, and his mother.

“This swim is my own brainchild. I’m a long distance swimmer, and my mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. It seemed like a natural fit,” he said.

The 34-year-old is no stranger to using his athletic talents to raise money for breast cancer. He has participated in several “Against the Tide” swims in Massachusetts, which raise money for the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition.

His mother, Dina DeLuca, lives in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

DeLuca said he chose Moosehead for his solo swim because it is the largest lake in Maine and the largest lake totally enclosed by New England land. He decided to have the swim officially sanctioned by United States Masters Swimming to lend credibility to his effort.

“I wanted to be sure if I finished [the swim] that it would be on the books, and [sanctioning] it gives it credibility for people donating,” he said.

DeLuca has been training for the event since last August. He logs 10-20 miles per week in the water, and weight trains on days when he’s not in the pool.

DeLuca’s longest swim to date is the 1994 Manhattan Island Marathon, a 28-mile race around the island. He has also competed in a 10-mile race in Boston.

DeLuca said he had “no more than the usual involvement in sports,” while he was growing up in Quincy, Mass. He got his start in long-distance swimming after graduating from Boston University when friends at his workplace, the Perkins School for the Blind, introduced him to the sport when he began working there in 1989.

DeLuca is currently the principal of the Baxter School for the Deaf on Mackworth Island in Portland. He moved to Maine in 1994.

A registered Maine Guide will captain the support boat that will accompany DeLuca across Moosehead. A medical doctor will also be on hand.

DeLuca said his chief concern is spreading word about his swim so people will give to the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition. He also hopes that the event will grow and more swimmers will dive into the lake with him next year.

He pointed to the success of the Against the Tide swim, which began about a decade ago with 30 swimmers, and now attracts several hundred entrants.

“I wanted to test the feasiblity of the swim myself, and if it’s successful hopefully next year we can make it an [annual] event,” DeLuca said.

Donors may contribute a flat fee or obtain pledge sheets by writing to: Moosehead Lake Marathon Swim, MBCC, 175 Falvey St., Bangor, ME 04401, or calling 947-9074.