I believe the 8 Bridges uses kayaks as escorts. Dave, please correct me if I am wrong.
Correct. Kayakers support the swimmers, boats support the kayaks. For the final stage which travels through the NY Harbor each swimmer has a boat+kayak escort. Additionally, there are a few safety boats handling operations and communications with commercial traffic and the coast guard
I guess we have a different view of the role of the escort watercraft. Beyond the steering, care and feeding of the swimmer, the escort boat is there to increase the visibility of the swimmer AND to warn off approaching watercraft. As a swimmer in the water I much prefer my escort boat captain getting on the loud speaker or horn to warn off approaching jet skis (which happened a few times in the MIMS) rather than a “safety” boat racing up and down the course trying to do a similar thing. If you have an extremely active waterway and need safety boats to block pleasure boats then you should have enough safety boats to do so without needing to race off at top speed on an interceptor run.
Well, I prefer to intercept potential threats long before they are in range of the escort boat's hailer, and whether you know it or not, as a swimmer, so do you... and certainly, so do the underwriters.
This illustrates the crux of the issue, that USMS is implying that its sanctioned events will be safer than non-sanctioned events due to some new requirements. I disagree, and swimmers will see fewer sanctioned events this season for 2 reasons.
1. The new USMS requirements simply cannot be applied to certain venues.
2. The increased fees cannot be supported by many events.
Loosen the bow tie.... Breathe. It's gonna be alright.
Actually the bow tie by nature of the knot is relatively loose compared to the single or double windsor which is akin to a noose around your neck.
BTW I've entered the LV 10k and am looking forward to swimming small circles on an uneventful desert beach interspersed with 4 beach runs which is nice 'cuz my running is a lot like (in quality) my breaststroke; plus there is the added bonus of increased chance of slicing my foot on a broken beer bottle.:)
BTW I've entered the LV 10k and am looking forward to swimming small circles on an uneventful desert beach interspersed with 4 beach runs which is nice 'cuz my running is a lot like (in quality) my breaststroke; plus there is the added bonus of increased chance of slicing my foot on a broken beer bottle.:)Look on the bright side, with all that insurance behind the event, you'll be close to some world class personal injury lawyers (I assume) in Vegas so you can get yourself set for life and then devote more time to your training (once the sutures heal).
Of course, this tidbit of information in terms of your beach-running-ability has just revealed my new drafting strategy for the Gatorman ...
There's no running, boats or beer bottles here (www.saddlebrookeswimclub.org/.../) or here (www.mesamasters.com/EventShow.jsp. See you at the pool.
Certainly, if anybody has the right to lawyer-up, it is the gentleman from Maui Channel Swim. While I would prefer the captain to be made penniless and attend the swimmer's natal cleft with a fresh wet nap 24/7 into eternity, that likely did not happen. On the flip-side an "attempt" to make one person "whole" with money has affected hundreds and possibly thousands of people. I kinda wish we would just put rubber bumpers on the entire world, discontinue Yaz and any other possibly life-saving/improving medications, and discontinue all life-saving/improving medical devices/treatments; possibly then an entire segment of the population could be forced to work for a living rather than suck off the hard work of others...
Certainly, if anybody has the right to lawyer-up, it is the gentleman from Maui Channel Swim. While I would prefer the captain to be made penniless and attend the swimmer's natal cleft with a fresh wet nap 24/7 into eternity, that likely did not happen. On the flip-side an "attempt" to make one person "whole" with money has affected hundreds and possibly thousands of people. I kinda wish we would just put rubber bumpers on the entire world, discontinue Yaz and any other possibly life-saving/improving medications, and discontinue all life-saving/improving medical devices/treatments; possibly then an entire segment of the population could be forced to work for a living rather than suck off the hard work of others...
Loosen the bow tie.... Breathe. It's gonna be alright.
Chris, Thank you for the information.
Blue, Thank you.
Wait a minute, I see what you did there: given the title of this thread and since neither swimmieAvsFan nor I are lawyers...
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.
Wait a minute, I see what you did there: given the title of this thread and since neither swimmieAvsFan nor I are lawyers...
Well, she did go to college station, pa and you did go to the university of florida lizzards. But, I wasn't going to say anything about the replies, other than "Thank you"
