Website is up for 2008 at www.naplesislandswim.com.
"Suggest" a paddler for the 3 miler, which basically follows around an island inside a sheltered marina.... Any idea why? Not for siting, clearly, but for boat traffic? The 1 miler goes through almost as much population, no paddler recommended there.
Obviously, I haven't done this before so any insight as to why a paddler is suggested and whether it's a good idea is appreciated.
I did the Naples Island swim between five and ten years ago and it was a blast. The houses on Naples Island back right up to the water, and along the entire course there were people sitting out in their yards with their Sunday papers drinking their coffee and cheering on swimmers as they passed. It was like running a 10K through a residential neighborhood.
When I did it, they permitted personal escorts even though they were totally unnecessary. All the escorts did was get in the way, sometimes deliberately to try to protect their escort-ee from being passed (which I as the passer found to be very unsportsmanlike, although I bet the swimmer had no idea her paddler was providing that "help"). I would like to think this problem is why the web site now says that personal kayaks are not permitted. It looks to me as if they would like you to bring a paddler not as a personal escort but as a way to make sure they have enough to staff the whole course.
Do it!
