9man changes

[painteur]

I just wanted to bring up  a point for discussion before the first race.
I never liked the whole rigamarole when you got out of the kanu and the effort it takes to get into the escort boat, everybody spread out wasting energy and the escort boat tiptoeing around.
Last year when I did Molokai with Lokahi they had a rule about that. The people in the water stayed close together then the escort boat got close and the change coach threw a life saver. We all grabbed it and instead of us wasting energy we got towed close and all we had to do was get on the boat. No questions about motor in neutral? everybody together and accounted for, and change coach got a little workout. I don't know if this was just done by this club I paddled with but it made more sense and had nothing to do with being lazy, you win by paddling not swimming.
Obviously Molokai can be huge and you can drift out of site much easier then in our conditions.
Even in our much milder conditions I rather leave my effort in the boat and get the change done more safely as a bonus. I think all escorts have to have life savers anyway.

Your thoughts??

[andrew c]

What about looking at it as a chance to warm down a little bit?  That's what I found during our last 9-man practice.  Some nice easy freestyle or breastroke was a great way to shake our your arms a little bit and allow your heart rate to come down gradually.  Don't try to break any world swimming records-leave that to the Phelps and Thorpes of the world.

I actually found the whole process of jumping back into the water and trying to swim around quickly to maneuver myself into the right place to get back on the boat to be far more tiring...

That said, however, I wouldn't be adverse to a little "tube skiing" even if it's hanging onto a life vest and being pulled in.  Might be fun. 

[Ed Visser]

"tube skiing" sounds like fun. Three guys on a tube will be a tough pull for the coach on the boat, might need a winch for some of our guys.

[scorrell]

Why don't we just pluck you out with a helicopter.

[Earl]

Believe me after 4-5 hours of Paddling you can't even pull yourself -Up in the canoe, how much more up above the Escort Boat? All your muscle and Joints are locked-up, you will wish somebody can pull you (OKOLE) up. What christian is trying to say is that, in as much as we can we need to save every ounce of your POWER and ENERGY to move the boat. Believe me,other people are already rinse off, cold beer in there hands and you're still paddling trying to finish or at least get home. there well be no food for you!

[andrew c]

Ouch.  OK, I'm starting to get a little worried about Catalina.

In that case let's go with the earlier suggestion about getting picked up in a helicopter!!  Make it a Marine helicopter with a couple of frogmen who drop into the water, grab onto you and winch you up where you're greeted with a steaming hot latte.  Now that would be very cool. 

'nuff procrastinatin'

[painteur]

Thanks Earl,
I didn't want to say it but I'd like to hear Andrew C "Novice" talk about warming down in the 4th hour. I never heard about warming down in the middle of a race, but what do I know.
No, seriously and no disrespect but it's the small things that make the difference. I am very competitive and will wring out the least bit of an advantage so that at the end of a race I can walk away and say that I tried  everything I know and will never have to look back with that nagging feeling that I could have done better.
Aloha