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

[Richard Clifford]

NYCKayaker:

    The assertion in this post in incorrect. I have participated as a 
kayaker escorting swimmers in these events for 15+ years. I have done 
this at the US Nationals Open Water 25K swims in Florida repeatedly. 
And, I have done the escorting for the chair of the Open Water Committee 
of the US Masters swimming. And, the post mixes several

    It is not helpful when people jump on the list and make these bold, 
unsupported assertions. Support what you say. Otherwise mark what you 
say as assertion/opinion not fact. - Richard Clifford


mike wrote:
>  *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.