Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The use of swim streamers in channel swims and marathon swims has been debated by a few. But, at the heart of the debate, we wonder, "What is really the practical difference between a channel swimmer who uses a swim streamer and a channel swimmer who swims between two kayakers or between a kayaker and a
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. A reader asked the following questions about a theoretical marathon swim or a potential channel swim: What if a boat dropped 10 buoys to mark a safe channel through rocks over a 2-mile section? Is the swim an assisted swim or an unassisted swim? What if in a channel, through a nasty bit of tidal mud
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Pace swimmers, escort swimmers, pacemaker, support swimmer are swimmers who swim alongside another swimmer, either in workout or during a solo swim. A pace swimmer creates an ambiance of support and camaraderie in the water while swimming. The solo swimmer can feel connected with their pace swimmer because
With so many new open water swimmers attempting different swims, crossing different channels, and going to new waterways around the world, the sport is growing exponentially. The sport is not only growing exponentially because of the absolute number of open water swimmers is increasing, but it is also increasing dramatically because of support teams,
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Open water swimming, especially in a non-competitive environment, is occasionally described by some as being meditative or a form of aquatic zen. Swimmers can zone out for long or short periods where their mind thinks of nothing concrete, one specific thing over and over again, or lots of different
Simon Holliday is a successful English Channel swimmer, but he is about to take upon a significantly more daunting task as a pace swimmer. Holliday will swim at the side of Dan Martin during the swim leg of his Global Triathlon. The humble endurance athlete will swim a few hours every day, side-by-side with Martin to keep him company and to maintain a
Sometimes a swim buddy truly lives up to the name.A pacemaker (or pace swimmer) is an individual who swims alongside or near a channel swimmer or marathon swimmer to protect, pace or accompany the swimmer. There are specific rules that apply to the number, time and time of duration for the pacemakers by the channel swimming organizations and governing
