----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Wrage" <keith.wrage_at_charter.net> > I'm asking this in all seriousness.... > > I seen calls for support kayakers to help with various swims - triathalons > and the sort - like this one. Are there skills needed by the kayaker in > this situation? I've not seen instructions or specifics about assisting > swimmers from a kayak in any books. I assume that if they get in trouble > they hang on? tow to shore? or ? Greg Welker had a very good article on some of this in Sea Kayaker in the early 1990s. And I have organized kayakers for swims on the Hudson for the last half dozen years for a total of some 25-30 swims. Each swim is different in how the kayakers are organized. In some situations the kayakers have a zone defense, i.e. position in one spot they cover. In others they go along with the pack of swimmers stretched out sometime over a mile or two and keeping an eye on numerous swimmers. In other situations, the kayakers go one on one with the swimmers. Whatever the format, the basic duties are to: --Help keep the swimmers on course. Many of them can't see that well through their goggles and do swim astray. Calling to them may not work since their caps cover their ears. So, the kayaker has to act somewhat like a cattle driver. Come along side the swimmer and yell, tap them very gently on the back with the flat side of your paddle; or if they are headed into the danger of say a jagged pier, cut them off with your kayak so that they hit the boat somewhere alongside the bow compartment. In the swims around here, one big problem is that they are moving with a fast current and need to turn into finish lines between piers. We need to turn the swimmers in early enough so that they don't overshoot and then have to fight their way back against the current. But each situation differs. --Encourage them by letting them know how far they have come. With the one on one situations, the kayaker may also be involved in the feeding and handing over drinks. --If a swimmer runs into trouble such as a bad cramp they can't shake off, then you do provide a platform for them. If they hang on to your boat they are out of the race. You then paddle them a short distance to a support motorboat. The best way is to have them hang on to the very bow of your boat and have them wrap their legs around your boat. This way they don't cause much drag and you can paddle them with not too much difficulty. Anyway, those are the basics. Check with the kayak organizer of the race for any particular needs and local conditions. BTW, that swim across the Potomac is an extremely challenging one for swimmer and kayaker alike. It is, in effect, quite open water at the mouth of the river. Conditions there, from what I hear, can be formidable. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 12 2003 - 12:41:52 PST
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