Ok, so the more they email me, the more I get nervous about the water temp. Last year it was 69 which stung to get in, but it made for a nice swimming temp. By the end, though, my fingers and toes felt a little numb, but that could have been tired (??).
But this year, it could be up to 10 degrees colder?! What to do when the coolest water I can find here in Cincinnati is 80?
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I guess my answer would be that I'm not sure. I have a feeling the view from a boat is quite different than a swimmer's view from the water and being in the water is the only experience I have. However, it seems to me the bulk of the safety personnel are positioned between the first and second buoys (i.e., on the second leg). If someone turned midway in the first leg it's possible they might not even notice this person and even if they did the person might be too far away to identify who the person was. If there were race personnel positioned near the first round buoy where someone allegedly turned then, yes, for sure that person would stick out like a sore thumb, but I don't recall how close to that spot anyone was positioned.
I posted earlier that I thought all the safety personnel were positioned on the outside of the course. I probably shouldn't have said that because I don't know this for sure. I always breathe to the right and since the course is swum CCW I'm always looking toward the outside of the course.
edit: found a race photo on bigshoulder.org that shows a pretty good view of the course: www.bigshoulders.org/.../dsc03163.html
You can see on the right side the round, mid-leg buoy and further on the triangular buoy marking the turn between the first and second leg. I see a couple boats positioned along the first leg and I think the lifeguards in these boats would definitely see if someone cut the course. What I don't know is whether the lifeguards are purely there for safety or are also marshalling the course.
I'm not sure whether or not someone rounding the 1st round mark would "stick out like a sore thumb" either. As indicated, the vast majority of safety boats were situated on the outside of the course. In retrospect, it may be a good idea to stagger the safety boats on either side of the course in the future and to designate a race official to each boat. I don't know whether or not guards instructed to marshall the course in this years race... I doubt it since their primary objective is to watch out for swimmers safety.
I guess my answer would be that I'm not sure. I have a feeling the view from a boat is quite different than a swimmer's view from the water and being in the water is the only experience I have. However, it seems to me the bulk of the safety personnel are positioned between the first and second buoys (i.e., on the second leg). If someone turned midway in the first leg it's possible they might not even notice this person and even if they did the person might be too far away to identify who the person was. If there were race personnel positioned near the first round buoy where someone allegedly turned then, yes, for sure that person would stick out like a sore thumb, but I don't recall how close to that spot anyone was positioned.
I posted earlier that I thought all the safety personnel were positioned on the outside of the course. I probably shouldn't have said that because I don't know this for sure. I always breathe to the right and since the course is swum CCW I'm always looking toward the outside of the course.
edit: found a race photo on bigshoulder.org that shows a pretty good view of the course: www.bigshoulders.org/.../dsc03163.html
You can see on the right side the round, mid-leg buoy and further on the triangular buoy marking the turn between the first and second leg. I see a couple boats positioned along the first leg and I think the lifeguards in these boats would definitely see if someone cut the course. What I don't know is whether the lifeguards are purely there for safety or are also marshalling the course.
I'm not sure whether or not someone rounding the 1st round mark would "stick out like a sore thumb" either. As indicated, the vast majority of safety boats were situated on the outside of the course. In retrospect, it may be a good idea to stagger the safety boats on either side of the course in the future and to designate a race official to each boat. I don't know whether or not guards instructed to marshall the course in this years race... I doubt it since their primary objective is to watch out for swimmers safety.
