Pam Halsey and Brenda Gallagher just keep swimming, for the loons

Many afternoons this summer, Pam Halsey’s husband, Tony, got their little red, fiberglass boat ready, so she and friend Brenda Gallagher could go out on Squam Lake for a swim.

But not just any old dip.

The women had a mission to circle 28 of Squam’s 29 islands to raise awareness about protecting loons and their habitats, and preserving the quality of the lakes themselves. Their efforts were aimed at raising funds for the Loon Preservation Committee, which partners with Squam Lakes Association to offer programs with goals the two women support.

From 2015 to 2019, Halsey and Gallagher swam around roughly 250 islands on Lake Winnipesaukee with the same goal. They love the region’s natural treasures, so this summer, they got back at it on Squam, covering about 18 miles, moving at their average pace of about 45 minutes per mile, and racking up about 14 hours in the water.

They pondered deep thoughts, and some trivial ones, too. They noticed Squam was rockier along the shoreline than Winnipesaukee, and a whole lot quieter. They blogged about their escapades, and they don’t even know how much money they raised.

“We love doing it for the adventure,” said Halsey, of Center Harbor. “It’s so much fun going out on the boat. It’s fun right from the start.”

Partners in paddling

Gallagher, 70, of Meredith, and Halsey, 62, were summer people on Winnipesaukee growing up. Now, Gallagher lives on the Big Lake full time, and Halsey lives in a home overlooking Squam.

Gallagher’s aunt, Jane Irwin, was a founding member of the Loon Preservation Committee, and Gallagher grew up watching her check on the loons. Both women love the mournful-sounding calls of the elegant creatures.

“How they echo,” Halsey said. “It’s absolutely beautiful. My husband and I can hear the loons at night and when we kayak out on the lake.”

Halsey and Gallagher met in 2015. Halsey had been swimming to train for triathlons, and Gallagher just loved swimming; as a teen, she swam on Winnipesaukee on rainy days when there was nothing better to do.

They had their first swim around an island on Winni the year they met. Their goal to swim multiple islands to protect loons and water quality got them featured in local media, and on the Today Show in 2018.

They planned other events, such as a group swim around Winnipesaukee's Ragged Island several years in a row which included a talk on the island by Don Berry, president of Lakes Region Conservation Trust, who is retiring this year.

During both challenges, the women did not swim around islands connected to land; this year, that meant they skipped High Haith Island on Squam. When Halsey was growing up on an island on Winnipesaukee, the family philosophy was, “An island becomes an island when there’s no bridge.”

The 2025 routine

Once the pair set their goal to swim Squam, Gallagher divided the islands on a map into three categories: small, medium and large. Each time they were ready to swim, they would select a cluster of neighboring small islands, or one medium or large one.

At first, they did not have a boat to access the areas surrounded by Squam waters. For the first few swims, a friend dropped them off at their destinations, went waterskiing and then picked them back up when she was done.

“That started us off,” Halsey said.

They kayaked to Kimball Island to swim it, and to access Bowman Island, they used Gallagher’s canoe with an electric motor.

Then, the Halseys got their 1963 boat with a 25-horsepower motor, and the swimmers were golden, on Golden Pond. Sometimes, Tony accompanied them, and kayaked as they swam.

On the water

While swimming, each of the women wore a bright yellow bubble strapped around her waist so boaters could see them easily, and they’d have a way to rest. They packed snacks inside the bubbles. They also consumed electrolyte packets before and after each swim.

The pair wore goggles to protect their eyes and give them views into the water. Gallagher did the crawl exclusively; Halsey alternated between the breaststroke and the crawl to use different muscle groups.

They always swam clockwise so they could see the island when they turned their heads to the right to breathe. They kept each other in sight, but didn’t talk much. On one trip, around Potato Island, Gallagher ran out of things to think about, and asked Halsey what was in her mind.

“She was swimming around singing the song,” Gallagher said, laughing and reciting, “One potato, two potato, three potato, four; five potato, six potato, seven potato more.”

“I thought that was quite funny.”

Their shortest trip around an island this season was 0.12 miles; the longest, fittingly, was Long Island, at 2.6 miles.

They saw loons — once, one swam beside them — great blue herons, lots of aquatic plants, small fish, two sunken boats, one golf ball, and, on many days, a sky hazy with smoke from Canadian wildfires.

“My favorite was Long Island, and not because it was last,” Halsey said. “All the smoke from the Canadian fires had cleared, and when we stopped, it was incredible. The views were amazing. The sky was clear, and the mountains were beautiful.”

The women don’t know what’s next for 2026. They’ll think about it over the winter.

But they do know their support for the Loon Preservation Committee and its work won’t waver. To learn more, visit loon.org.