I had hoped to someday participate in one of your swims. But if your only two options for safety watercraft are some guy in a Boston Whaler who refuses to show he is insured or a teenager going 50 on a jet ski; then I’ll take a pass. And stick with my swims in secluded puddles with trained water-front lifeguards in kayaks and Fire & Rescue on jet skis with rescue boards.
In my 30+ years of being an open water swimmer and race director, I’ve never seen an instance where a one of my safety or escort boats needed to be traveling anywhere near 34 MPH. In my opinion, anyone going that fast on an active race course is reckless and dangerous. That’s input from a race director.
When you are in the middle of MIMS in the Hudson River and a cruise ship decides to pull out of its dock...it is pretty helpful to have a boat with some speed and maneuverability to intervene. Also, given the recent incidents if heart attacks (or other critical health issues) I'd like to know a boat could get me to safety or medical attention as quickly as possible. Chaos (DB) is someone I would...without question, trust with my safety and my life in any open water event. It is truly disappointing that USMS didn't seek more comprehensive input from the numerous and very experienced open water swimmers and race directors at its disposal. The money is one thing and insurance is obtainable thru a variety of options. But each race director should be entitled to determine what criteria are necessary for the safety of their particular event. USMS took that option away from the race director by attempting to dictate rules that work for some open water events but, frankly, not for the most dangerous. When I jumped off a boat in Boston Harbor into 57 degree water a few years ago without a wetsuit...if something had gone wrong (like a heart attack or hypothermia) I would have wanted the concern for my safety to take absolute precedence. Prop guards would not have helped me. Having a boat captain with 1 million in insurance wouldn't have helped me. I trusted that between the race director and my boat captain and me and my crew that we were in the best position to decide. I have NEVER been concerned with losing a limb as a result of a boat prop and I have swum many hundreds of miles along side a boat both in events and in training.
I had hoped to someday participate in one of your swims. But if your only two options for safety watercraft are some guy in a Boston Whaler who refuses to show he is insured or a teenager going 50 on a jet ski; then I’ll take a pass. And stick with my swims in secluded puddles with trained water-front lifeguards in kayaks and Fire & Rescue on jet skis with rescue boards.
In my 30+ years of being an open water swimmer and race director, I’ve never seen an instance where a one of my safety or escort boats needed to be traveling anywhere near 34 MPH. In my opinion, anyone going that fast on an active race course is reckless and dangerous. That’s input from a race director.
When you are in the middle of MIMS in the Hudson River and a cruise ship decides to pull out of its dock...it is pretty helpful to have a boat with some speed and maneuverability to intervene. Also, given the recent incidents if heart attacks (or other critical health issues) I'd like to know a boat could get me to safety or medical attention as quickly as possible. Chaos (DB) is someone I would...without question, trust with my safety and my life in any open water event. It is truly disappointing that USMS didn't seek more comprehensive input from the numerous and very experienced open water swimmers and race directors at its disposal. The money is one thing and insurance is obtainable thru a variety of options. But each race director should be entitled to determine what criteria are necessary for the safety of their particular event. USMS took that option away from the race director by attempting to dictate rules that work for some open water events but, frankly, not for the most dangerous. When I jumped off a boat in Boston Harbor into 57 degree water a few years ago without a wetsuit...if something had gone wrong (like a heart attack or hypothermia) I would have wanted the concern for my safety to take absolute precedence. Prop guards would not have helped me. Having a boat captain with 1 million in insurance wouldn't have helped me. I trusted that between the race director and my boat captain and me and my crew that we were in the best position to decide. I have NEVER been concerned with losing a limb as a result of a boat prop and I have swum many hundreds of miles along side a boat both in events and in training.
