Limit English Channel Relays and Charge No Shows
caburke
Charter Member
When I swam the Channel in 2015, I had no problem booking a #1 spot with my pick of boats on a good tide just 12 months in advance. Today, that’s impossible. As I casually follow today’s swim attempts, it appears that relays now dominate the schedule and there seems to be a lot of unused spots. This limits the ability for an individual that’s willing to put in the time and effort to train from getting a spot in a reasonable amount of time.
At the risk of sounding like the old man reminiscing about the good old days or yelling at the kids to stay off his lawn, I ask…
Should the CSA and CSPF limit the number of relays each season to provide more spots for individual swims?
Should the CSA and CSPF charge a larger deposit or impose a no show fee to discourage dreamers from reserving a spot in the future, in hopes that they’ll do what’s necessary to even start the swim?
I say yes to both.
Comments
Sorry but I think the 2nd question is very offensive as I booked my spot 1.5 years ago on a "good" tide and started my attempt this year massively underprepared due to unable to do my pool training as a result of COVID-related closure in the last winter, and unable to defer my spot to 2022, and I didn't made across when my hope of getting a flat calm day (which I judged to be the only chance I would make across) didn't realise, when the wind was so strong that I was swimming in whitecaps and could see the pilot boat rolling side to side with keel out of water. It was even worse for e.g. Australians who were affected by border closure as well.
And, if the amount of deposit is increased, it may even encourage people who are even less prepared than me to take the risk in starting the swim (if unforeseen scenarios made them unable to train) - imagine a swimmer who only had a 10 km lake swim under his belt, signed up a July 2021 spot in February 2020 just before COVID shut the world and planned to travel long distance to train in open water in the whole year of 2020, which couldn't be done due to lockdown restrictions.
Also can you tell me which spots are unused? I'm also following this year's tracker as well and I have seen on the perfect days all 13 pilot boats went out, so I believe the spots are well utilised.
I am not going to book a spot in the future as now even 1.5 years is already too long for me to plan my training, and I've signed up to waiting lists hoping to get last-minute spots when I'm fully ready.
And for the 1st question, I think solos should take priority to relays. I think this is the way some pilots operate as well.
I'm now actively looking for availability in 2022 and 2023 to determine my best course of action, as I hope to do a 2-person relay and also probably a solo depending on my situation (e.g. the closer I live to Dover / Folkestone, the more willing for me to swim the Channel).
I do the bookings for a Channel pilot. Most of our bookings are solos, although the relay crossing has become ridiculously popular since the Sink or Swim series. I now have a set of relay guidelines for prospective teams to follow, which I send out when they pay their first deposit. Our usual relays are put together by reputable organisations like Aspire. We also take part in the Oxford/Cambridge derby.
Regarding the waiting times, I booked 3 years ahead to get my no 1 slot in 2014, so I don't see that it's any different now.
I have increased the non-refundable deposit and I know other pilots on other routes who have also done the same because of people just dropping out and taking a small financial hit. I'm in the middle of an email correspondence with a swimmer who has, quite simply, changed their mind and wants that deposit back. That's not happening. I make it very clear when I take a booking that there are terms and conditions and I tell the swimmer to read them very carefully and make sure they know what is involved and what they're taking on.
I do this as a volunteer and since I took it over from the previous admin, who did an amazing job, I'm wondering how she managed to be so patient for so many years. What should be a simple job, becomes far more complex when people forget they've signed a contract or don't read the Ts and Cs...... or they don't train for it because life has got in the way, and then ask for the same slot a year later, (that's a very common one!) It means people are not taking the challenge seriously. I don't mean cancellation/postponement owing to injury, bereavement or illness. I would never be anything but sympathetic to a swimmer in those circumstances and I will always do my best to fit them in.
On the issue of "no shows", our swimmers pay in advance, so if they don't show up, it's a lot to lose! Obviously, if they're blown out, the pilot fits them in either later in the season or in the next season, but if they can't make the following season work, they'd be refunded or swim in a later year. That's their choice.
While I daydream about a solo, I'm still in the place where a relay is likely more realistic. (And closing in on 71, I'm no Pat Gallant-Charette, although I'm gradually extending my range.)
That said, I respect that solo swimmers should have first dibs, given the time and financial commitment such swims require.
Yes, I'd love to get on a relay team next year-- CS&PF paperwork and assessment swim completed--since 2021 proved unworkable due to the added expense and time a quarantine would involve. If that works out, great. If not, I can't blame anyone--my mistake for not thinking through the quarantine. And as I am learning, there are plenty of marathon swim opportunities here in the US.
I look forward to some wonderful swim experiences next year. If that includes an EC relay, super. If not, it may be that I'll need to consider a solo in a few years and be the oldest to do one.
I'm still not at that stage, but every new swim gets me excited. I learn something new every time I set out on a swim.
I think relays have a valid place in our sport, @dpm50 Many, many solo EC swimmers only decide they want to swim it solo after being out there on a relay and getting a rough idea of what's involved. I booked my solo after doing a relay and another friend on that same relay also went on to swim solo.
The problem my pilot has seen with a few relays this year is lack of preparation...swimmers thinking, "How hard can it be to do and hour and then have 3/4/5 hours to rest?"
Maybe they've done a qualifier and thought it enough....maybe they have no experience of rough water or night swimming. Maybe they haven't prepared for swimming flat out for an hour.
Sea sickness on the boat can also be a showstopper.
Relays definitely have their place and a good, well prepared team can be a joy to watch for an observer.....but I've observed quite a few horror stories over the past few years. Preparation is the key....and it's an excellent stepping stone to longer swims......as well as great fun with the right team members.
Can you explain how hard it is to swim the Channel as a 4 to 6-person relay by swimmers who regularly swim in the open sea for 3-5 km a time?
Unfortunately finding suitable relay members are so difficult. I have interest to do a relay with Hongkongers who have emigrated to the UK in this mass emigration wave starting 2020 and I have asked in various Hongkonger immigrant community groups with thousands of members for interest, but only a handful of people have responded me, and some of them don't even have open water swimming experience at all. So now I have only got one credible teammate and I really hope I can find more teammates to do it rather than doing a 2-person relay.
Michael, it's obvious from observing some relays over the past 8 years that some swimmers don't regularly swim in the sea for 3-5km at a time.
A 2 person relay is a tough endeavour. For a CSA swim, you're one hour in, one hour out, the worst of all worlds. CS&PF allow 2 hours on, 2 hours off, but that's still no easy task. It's the constant getting in and out which makes it hard, especially if the air is cold.
@KatieBun Thank you, it's great having your reply since you have first hand knowledge of the booking process and have been through it as a swimmer. Can you tell me, if I were to book today, how many years out would it be for me to get a #1 slot? And, of the people that put down the initial, small deposit, how many end up starting the swim? If the percentage is high, than my premise is wrong.
@caburke I can't speak for any other pilot, but it's still 3 years for mine, for those at the top of the list. There are only ever going to be 7-8 #1 neap slots each season, so the 8th or 9th person won't get one. That said, plenty of swimmers cross successfully with a #3 or 4 slot. It's just not a risk which works well for many overseas swimmers. No. 1 or 2 is a chance worth taking, with expensive travel and accommodation, but probably not 3 or 4, the way the weather has been in recent years.
I've only been doing this for 2 years, so I don't really have enough info for your final question. Covid has also skewed those figures, with many unable to travel or train, so the percentage of postponements is abnormally high.
Generally, though, over 90% of those who pay the intial booking fee go on to swim, even if they change their slot to a relay.
Why are there so few tides? Aren't there 2 neaps and 2 springs per month? Or do you keep some tides deliberately empty to cater for weathered-out swimmers?
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It was a pity that my pilot didn't let me to postpone to 2022 from this year. Did you have many 2022 slots to cater for all the postponements though?
Pilots take different numbers of bookings. It's entirely their choice. Mine has cut back on how many swimmers he books each year. Nothing sinister about it. He keeps the springs free. If the weather's naff, he can extend the neap bookings into the early part of the spring. For clarity, I've added the word "neap" to my post.
Every pilot has their own way of operating, Michael. I can't speak for anybody else.
Thank you @KatieBun I was led to believe that many of the people that paid booking fees never started their swims. I stand corrected.
I can only speak for one pilot since 2019, so I can't possibly say you're wrong.