Monday 6/3/24 Email
The great thing about this event is that we have been swimming, in one form or another, for about 35 years, meaning that there are a lot of veterans, willing to pass along information. We are fortunate that our friend, Al Gruber, is a wealth of information and has created a report with some insight on his tactics for swimming the 4.4 mile swim.
You can find that report by clicking the button on the top of this email, or by looking on the menu at www.BaySwim.com
Before I lose you to Al's wisdom, I want to answer the question that keeps coming (over and over and over again). YES, there are aide station boats, that will be anchored at Mile 2 and 3. These will have water and Gatorade at them. There may be some limited gels/snacks, but if you can carry your own (tuck them in the cuff of your wetsuit, if you are wearing one) you should bring your own goodies.
Now the question is, should you rely on these boats? NO!!! In speaking with many veterans of the swim, sometimes they never even see the boats. They are smaller vessels, that are anchored near the mile buoys, but if the current, or your current swim line, doesn't take you near them, you might not even see them! (I did hear one veteran at a Crossing Currents seminar talk about taking a nice sip of the bay water if she got thirsty.....) The suggestion is be prepared to do the swim with no assistance, save for what you bring with you, but if you are fortunate enough to get to the boats, they are there to help.
If you have any other questions, we are going to do an ASK THE RACE DIRECTOR talk on Facebook on Wednesday, June 5th, at 7pm (EST) We will be there to answer any questions for the 1 Mile and 4.4 Mile swimmers, not covered in the Swimmer Guide
THE FACEBOOK LIVE EVENT CAN BE FOUND AT https://www.facebook.com/greatchesapeakebayswim/live_videos/
I hope that you have a relaxing week and that you are as excited for Sunday as we are!! See you Sunday!!
Jason and the BaySwim Team
