NYCkayaker Anyone doing this Sunday's Governors Island Swim support?

[mike]

 I am always surprised they allow the guiding by kayak in these races. It
would be a violation in any sanctioned open water-swimming event. A huge
component of the challenge of open water swimming is the ability to navigate
and swim in straight line, In a pool it Is quite easy to follow the lines in
the open water it is a different stroke technique to navigate. 
I would think the kayak escort would have to stay behind the swimmer for a
proper race.
I guess the rules are much different in these swim from the 1-mile open
water swim races and triathlons
It sounds like an unfair advantage if some equally ranked swimmers got a mix
of very good and mediocre kayak guidance. 
As far as you people being dissed, you should also request to see the books
of the events to make sure that you are being equally treated. 
>>-----Original Message-----
. The skills of the kayakers to guide their swimmer in
>>the
>>water can be key to the swimmers time it takes to get to the finish line.
>>Plus we have to often communicate with police, race officials and power
>>boaters on our GPS. I have found that it is really a team effort between
>>the
>>kayaker and the swimmer. If I make a mistake in a Hudson River crossing
>>and
>>tell my swimmer to move to the left instead of the right I could cause him
>>to lose time.
>>