NYCkayaker Swim Support

[bonnie13 at earthlink.net]

brrrr...

I was at the north end of the tri with the barge at the end, trying to keep people from bashing into one of the mooring balls that was frequently submerged by the force of the current. Nowhere near the mess that was happening at the barge at the finish line. That was another MKC person whose kayak went under (stronger paddler than I am, btw, I don't know how I would have done there) - and I think she bailed out as her kayak went under, what happened was one of the swimmers that was clinging to her popped her sprayskirts & with all the swimmers on her boat, the cockpit flooded, the kayak went down & she had to let it go. Lucky nobody got killed but it was a bad situation. 

I think the organizers then started talking to Paul & Ralph & some of the other kayakers & the next year the whole course was rearranged according to what was recommended & a thousand percent safer. 


-----Original Message-----
>From: john mcgarvey <john at licboathouse.org>
>Sent: Jul 2, 2008 8:28 AM
>To: MainYo at aol.com
>Cc: "nyckayaker post things...." <nyckayaker at rockandwater.net>, I C E 1~Mary Mc 1~Mary Mc <mary at yehsure.com>
>Subject: Re: NYCkayaker Swim Support
>
>I think it's good that we go into the history of Morty and NYC Swim  
>every year and share our experience and safety concerns for folks  
>newer to the community.  Plus, it's fun to remember the camaraderie  
>and amazing kayaking, rescue skillz of some of the badasses on this  
>list.  We should collate these emails into a FAQ of sorts.
>
>OK, just a couple of things.
>
>When we attempted to land with our authorized pod at Governors Island,  
>the (fantastic) dock that Downtown Boathouse had set up was being  
>monopolized by NYCSwim, who did not inform their swimmers, crew etc.  
>about the Figment Festival.  By NYCSwim using that dock, does it  
>present any insurance issues to the DTBH?
>
>Ted, there are a lot of other swims to do, enabling Morty I think  
>prolongs the transition of him being removed and a safe NYCSwim  
>coordinator being in place.
>
>Erik, I'm pretty sure that was Bonnie and a dozen or so more elderly  
>swimmers that were swept under the barge during a triatholon (what, 10  
>years ago?).  Bonnie should tell that one.  I think Ralph was the  
>coordinator, but that was awhile back.  I could not believe there were  
>no fatalities, all those swimmers piling on Bonnie and her kayak and  
>then woosh, under the barge.  You of course know my position on  
>NYCSwim, harassment has no effect, boycotting might work.
>
>Bonnie, I remember that rainy swim!  Mary swimming it, so of course I  
>was there, all by myself with about 100 swimmers for a long time until  
>you showed up, yay!  I thought for sure we would lose a swimmer or two  
>that time.  I was telling the swimmers, that anyone who kept within a  
>200' radius of Mary I could rescue, otherwise they were on there own.   
>That's an unpleasant feeling.
>
>Ask Mary when she gets back from singing in Spain, to show ya'll her  
>barnacle scars from swimming into a pylon on one of these races.  That  
>was during a NYCSwim race pre-bocycott, but we were spending too much  
>timing fighting with the boaters and not focusing on the swimmers.   
>She's a trooper though, many swims under her belt after that one.
>
>On a lighter note, I'm taking the liberty Adelene of sharing your fun  
>shots of Harry's art and it's interactive participation.  There is  
>also a pic of the wonderful and underutilized dock at Governors  
>Island.  We should coordinate and host more trips there from our  
>LICBoathouse, love to have you Hudson River folks launch with us!
>
>http://flickr.com/photos/addle/sets/72157605919489728/
>
>~j
>
>John McGarvey
>917-572-0206
>http://thegreatestsilence.org/
>http://licboathouse.org/
>http://www.actionartsleague.org/
>http://thewaterpod.org/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>On Jul 1, 2008, at 10:42 PM, MainYo at aol.com wrote:
>
>> At last, a positive note!  Thanks Erik.
>> I'm happy to announce my intention to enjoy a long day on the water   
>> with
>> dozens of swimmers and scores of paddlers this Saturday.  I   
>> participated in
>> three of MIF's longer swims last year and am back for more of  the  
>> camaraderie
>> and fun.
>> I haven't found the perfect entity or person and don't expect to.    
>> MIF, like
>> our boathouses, families, government, whatever, is composed of  
>> human  beings,
>> by definition, imperfect.  You generally get out what you put  in.   
>> If I did
>> not accept this, perhaps I'd spend my summer in Disneyland,  where the
>> illusion of perfection is nearly complete.
>> To those who feel the need to criticize and boycott, thanks for  
>> your  concern.
>> We're going to miss you Saturday.
>>
>> Ted Gruber
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 7/1/2008 9:57:56 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>> erikbaard at gmail.com writes:
>>
>> I've  found that my experiences with MIMS have gotten better over  
>> the past
>> decade  (?) since I started. I used to paddle away grumbling that I  
>> would
>> never do  them again, but I must confess that my chief complaints  
>> stemmed
>> from eye  comfort -- hooray for lazik surgery!
>>
>> I've certainly had my moments of  frustration with MIF, as I have  
>> with many
>> organizations, which are  periodically disorganizations. The LIC  
>> Community
>> Boathouse has a policy of  allowing volunteers, as individuals, to  
>> help as
>> escorts (personally I do  only the longer swims and the Brooklyn  
>> Bridge swim
>> because it's otherwise  too much logistical work for too little  
>> payoff). We
>> don't send an official  group out. MIF has been supportive of our  
>> work,
>> working with NJ Paddler to  provide us with a trailer, for example.
>>
>> That doesn't suspend my safety  considerations for a moment. I hope  
>> kayaker
>> input and control will grow.  I've been on swims that encountered  
>> stormy
>> weather, and that's a risk. The  pressure to ensure that the show  
>> goes on is
>> enormous because swimmers fly  in from around the world. Is it  
>> possible to
>> have rain dates in quick  succession (Sat/Sun)? But I haven't seen  
>> dramatic
>> dangers. The worst story  I've heard was from years ago, of swimmers  
>> being
>> pulled by currents into a  barge. Was that a MIF swim?
>>
>> My intuitive calculation is that MIF swims,  and other swims, are  
>> still very
>> positive contributors to our harbor/estuary  revival. They get  
>> thousands of
>> people into waters that are normally  forbidden. They attract huge  
>> media
>> attention to water quality and access  issues. MIF is a vanguard  
>> group in
>> renewing the harbor. Some of the  signature swims, like MIMS, are  
>> peerless at
>> this time.
>>
>> I would  rather kayakers harassed the hell out of the organizers  
>> than  paddled
>> away.
>>
>> Erik
>>
>> Erik Baard
>>
>> Nature Calendar: Your  Urban Wilderness Community
>> http://www.naturecalendar.com
>>
>> LIC  Community  Boathouse
>> http://www.licboathouse.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue,  Jul 1, 2008 at 9:28 PM, <bonnie13 at earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi -  I was going to stay out of this as I think people have been  
>>> expressing
>>> their concerns & frustrations pretty well & it's the same set as  
>>> we've
>> been
>>> seeing here for years.
>>>
>>> But Paul mentioned my  name, I was at that dinner, it did happen  
>>> the way he
>>> described it  -
>>>
>>> Beyond that, though, I did have a very specific swim where  things  
>>> got
>>> weird, so I'll talk about that one.
>>>
>>> I'd  volunteered to be the kayak coordinator for I think it was the  
>>> Park to
>>> Park Swim. We were all meeting at the downtown boathouse. It was a  
>>> very
>> ugly
>>> day weatherwise; I paddled down with huge black clouds over   
>>> Jersey. Got
>>> there to find that no one at the DTBH wanted to get on the  water
>>> (understandably). Called Morty to let him know no kayaks. He was   
>>> fine with
>>> that. First storm blew through, quite a good one, we waited  it out  
>>> inside.
>>> Still big black clouds over Jersey after that one blew  through but I
>> decided
>>> to try to nip back up to Pier 63 before the next  one. Some of the
>> motorboats
>>> had been staged down there, though, and  when I saw one of them  
>>> heading
>> north
>>> for 79th st. I decided to just  hitch a ride up to see what was  
>>> going on at
>>> the starting line -  feeling sure it was going to be a no-go but  
>>> still
>>> feeling like as the  kayak coordinator I had a responsibility to at  
>>> least
>>> turn up to see  what was going on.
>>>
>>> I think John McGarvey was the only other  kayaker there. It was a  
>>> small
>>> group of swimmers as these things go,  but there were a couple dozen
>> anyways,
>>> and I really didn't know how  the two of us were going to keep all  
>>> of them
>> on
>>> course & out from  the pilings & piers. For those who haven't done  
>>> one of
>> the
>>> races,  the way the kayaks usually work for the shorter races is the
>> paddlers
>>> split into 2 groups & form a cordon along the outside of the  
>>> course   &
>>> another along the pierhead line, just to herd swimmers who are   
>>> going off
>>> course back onto the course - the bulk of the swimmers go  fine but  
>>> there
>> are
>>> always some who want to go to Jersey & some who  want to go  
>>> spelunking under
>>> the docks. 2 kayaks don't constitute a  cordon. The powerboats form  
>>> a line
>>> outside the outer line of kayaks,  but they can't turn a wayward  
>>> swimmer
>> back
>>> on course like a kayak can.  Plus there were more huge black clouds  
>>> piling
>> up
>>> over Jersey. I didn't  like it at all. Morty didn't ask for opinions,
>> though,
>>> he was  j!
>>> ust going to start it, but then the weather alert signal  started  
>>> on the
>>> VHF. At that point the powerboat skippers made their  own call &  
>>> left.
>>>
>>> At that point Morty called the race. I  was so relieved.
>>>
>>> I complained afterwards but more to the  point, I think it was  
>>> around that
>>> time that I cut down my swim support  to the MIMS (that one, you  
>>> always know
>>> that the swimmer to kayak to  motorboat ratio is going to be one to  
>>> one to
>>> one, no unpleasant  surprises at the starting line).
>>>
>>> The swimmers were great, I  swam one or two myself & I miss doing  
>>> it (I
>>> really really should  join CIBBOWS), but that one just sort of  
>>> spooked me.
>>>
>>> There was  another race I did that turned awful, one of the  
>>> swimmers had a
>>> heart  attack, but that time everything worked exactly the way it way
>>> supposed to and although it remains one of my worst boating  
>>> memories, I  do
>>> think that there wasn't anything any of us who attended to him   
>>> could have
>>> done to change the outcome.
>>>
>>> Just a reminder  though that sometimes in these races, someone's  
>>> life could
>>> potentially  end up in your hands, even though you're not really  
>>> supposed to
>>> be  there as a lifeguard. I think everybody who does the swims is  
>>> aware of
>>> that, and I think that's part of why feelings about how the  
>>> kayakers  are
>>> treated run so high.
>>>
>>> That's all I've got to  say.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: TomBrooklyn  <tombrook11232 at yahoo.com>
>>>> Sent: Jun 30, 2008 11:58  PM
>>>> To: nyckayaker at rockandwater.net
>>>> Subject: Re:  NYCkayaker Anyone doing this Sunday's Governors  
>>>> Island Swim
>>>  Support
>>>>
>>>>>> From: Paul  PAZ764 at aol.com
>>>
>>> **********************************************************************
>>> The NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and  
>>> is  a
>>> public service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson  River
>>> Watertrail Association. Learn more about HRWA at  www.hrwa.org
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe or change delivery  options:
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>>
>>
>>
>> --  
>> Erik  Baard
>>
>> www.licboathouse.org
>> www.naturecalendar.com
>> **********************************************************************
>> The  NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and  
>> is a
>> public  service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson  
>> River Watertrail
>> Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe or  change delivery  options:
>> http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>> **********************************************************************
>> The NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and  
>> is a public service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson  
>> River Watertrail Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe or change delivery options:
>> http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker
>>
>>
>
>**********************************************************************
>The NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and is a public service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>
>To unsubscribe or change delivery options:
>http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker