Wayne Strach will attempt to swim the length of Okanagan Lake — all 135 km of it, in Canada

A 61-year-old Leduc man is aiming to set a world record for swimming.
Wayne Strach will attempt to swim the length of Okanagan Lake — all 135 km of it — in what would be a world record for longest unassisted open-water swim.
The current record is held by Chloe McCardel, who swam 126 km in the Bahamas.>

Saw this come up in my Google news feed. Don't know if Wayne participates on this board but good luck. I like the fact they recognize Chloe McCardel as the current record holder. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/leduc-man-attempts-to-break-open-water-swimming-record-1.3684316

gregoctortuga
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Comments

  • JaimieJaimie NYCMem​ber

    Oh that lake looks beautiful! Looks like they do a 2k swim each July too for those who don't want to do 135k:
    http://www.acrossthelakeswim.com/

    @emkhowley and @ssthomas looks like they have a lake monster too named Ogopogo, one for your lists?

    gregocemkhowley
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited July 2016

    Anyone out there know anything more about this attempt? Canadians among us?

    If this is a legit/realistic swim, I really hope there is a documentation plan...

    In any case, go Wayne!

  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited July 2016

    Wayne has an EC attempt crossing under his belt, and looks to be pursuing the Triple Crown. I imagine he's familiar with the traditional marathon swimming rules.

    A guy last year did 120km in that lake, as a stage swim.

    Without any intention from detracting from Wayne's accomplishment -- 50+ hours is 50+ hours! -- I raise a bit of an eyebrow at the "longest unassisted open-water swim" claim. Although that lake is 135km, the average width is just 2.5km. The watershed is considerable (8000 km2), and the water heads out to the Pacific via Portland, Oregon. Although, technically, I think all water heads out to an ocean somehow, I'm imagining there'd be assistive currents. I'm not sure how strong they'd be. I think it would be very different from Chloe's accomplishment. The lake lies between mountain ranges, and I don't think there'd be much fetch. Indeed, aside from a couple of hours of 7-8 knots, the wind this week looks like it averages about 3 knots.

    This re-ignites the "what constitutes a world record" question for me. I've definitely felt before that world records should be set-able anywhere, and that regionalism is a form of elitism, accessible only to those with the financial means to travel and pay for the related expenses. This really brings the discussion from the other point of view. I'm imagining it would be one of the easier 135km swims out there... and if some courses are substantially easier than others, then that's also a form of regionalism, because records might only be set-able by swimming there.

    The MSF rules don't say much about assistive currents. "Assisted" is defined by artificial assistance. Would a swimmer in a continually assistive current get similar/more/less assistance than drafting off the bow? The rules also set up, "Marathon swimmers embrace the challenge of crossing wild, open bodies of water". Does Lake Okanagan constitute a wild, open body of water?

    I think this could form the basis for an interesting discussion...

    malinakaSoloevmorlm
  • malinakamalinaka Seattle, WACharter Member
    edited July 2016

    This is not to be confused with the very specific Guinness Record Attempt for a non-stop, north-to-south swim on Lake Okanagon by Adam Ellenstein taking place 25 July 2016, This swim (which one assumes will be assisted given all the photos of him in a wetsuit) might not seem as exciting once Strach does his swim.

    As for rules, the Edmonton Journal fills us in:

    The rules for the record, set out by the World Open Water Swimming Association, say he can’t depend on any kind of flotation device including a wet suit, can’t be towed by anything including a feeding tube, can’t draft behind the support boat that will be travelling with him, and can never grab hold of the boat at all.

    In other words:
    MSF Rules, courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, CA

    JenAevmorlmdavid_barraloneswimmer

    I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.

  • SoloSolo B.C. CanadaSenior Member

    Apparently he is starting his swim August 8th, I will be in the the annual Rattlesnake Island swim on August 6th. Going to be a busy lake this summer!

  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    I swam the Rattlesnake Island swim in 2014. A thunderstorm blew in for the start, (which should've been delayed), with lightning hitting a nearby mountain at the 2 minute countdown. The whitecaps were 2-3 feet on the way out and a number of kayaks got swamped, needing rescue. My kayaker had his boat half full of water when we finished, so it can get rough out there. I'd like to do that swim again, under smoother conditions, but I won't be going back until they lose the unfortunate requirement for towing those infernal inflatable orange water wings. It's a beautiful lake, certainly not cold enough to need a wetsuit during the summer. We enjoyed Peachland, especially the quaint little history museum and some good restaurants.

    Solo

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • msathletemsathlete Victoria, British Colubia, CanadaMember

    @JenA you raise a very interesting point.

    "Marathon swimmers embrace the challenge of crossing wild, open bodies of water"

    Although this may be true I think when we do so we are looking for optimal conditions in a somewhat protected environment, at least that is my understanding. I have not heard of anyone heading out against the strongest possible current our without taking into consideration the potential of the impacts of wind and tides - i.e. we try to limit the "wild" and make our goals achievable.

    This in no way takes away from any of the incredible achievements of so many people. I have often wondered thought, what is the difference when swimming a wild, open body of water under optimal conditions vs swimming in a smaller body of water or narrow passage?

    I have personally found that some of the conditions I experience in Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island as challenging as those I have experienced in the Straight of Georgia crossings. When the wind whips up on a lake and travels through the valley across the water you find yourself in 6, 7 and 8 foot waves. I have had to exit the water on some of my training runs.

    In my most recent swim in Cousin's Inlet and Fisher Channel in the Great Bear Rain Forest - what to some in this forum may not be considered "wild" - I experienced several different weather systems along the way. When I have paddled the length of Okanagan Lake I have seen the same thing. It may be calm in one spot but the winds can whip up in others creating huge waves.

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited October 2016

    @JenA said: The MSF rules don't say much about assistive currents. "Assisted" is defined by artificial assistance.

    MSF Rules don't say much about assistive currents because it's not really an issue of "rules," but rather an issue of meaningfully comparing various achievements and categorizing record claims.

    This re-ignites the "what constitutes a world record" question for me.

    It seems to me, at the very least:

    • ocean swims might be a distinct category from lake swims (added later: not to say that one is harder than the other)
    • Point A to Point B swims are distinct from doing a bunch of laps in a pond
    • current-assisted swims are distinct from stillwater swims
    • nonstandard equipment-assisted swims are distinct from standard-equipment swims

    Chloe's swim is a meaningful record because it's clear what has been accomplished: point-to-point, ocean, non-current-assisted, standard equipment (and documented by a well-known and credible observer).

    tortugaJenArlmIronMikeJaimiegregocloneswimmer
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    edited October 2016

    It seems to me, at the very least:

    ocean swims might be a distinct category from lake swims (added later: not to say that one is harder than the other)
    Point A to Point B swims are distinct from doing a bunch of laps in a pond
    current-assisted swims are distinct from stillwater swims
    nonstandard equipment-assisted swims are distinct from standard-equipment swims

    I'm not sure I agree 100% on your first point, @evmo...

    I agree that lake swims and ocean swims are different, but I think they each come with a set of advantages and disadvantages that make them equal out in the end.
    -Oceans offer you flotation, but they come with lots of critters and lots of chaffing. Easier swimming, but harder incidentals.
    -Lakes take away your buoyancy, but there are fewer nasty critters and you don't chafe quite as much. Harder swimming, but easier incidentals.
    -You can find current neutral locations for both and are still subjected to the same wind/air/nature challenges in either location. Both can be choppy and windy. Both can be calm and flat. Just depends on your day.

    I think that as long as we're talking current neutral, Point A-Point B swims that don't involve anything beyond your standard equipment (with a credible, well-known observer) then you're able to fairly reasonably compare two different swims of a similar distance in oceans or freshwater.

    To @JenA's point about regionalism: Chloe has an advantage of being able to train in oceans. Someone like myself has no ocean access, so my training is done in lakes. To put me in an ocean would be a major disadvantage. To put Chloe in a lake would cause her a major disadvantage, especially if you add 5,000 feet or so. (not to discredit her- she's an amazing swimmer and I'm sure would rock a lake swim, too) But, to say that oceans and lakes aren't comparable ignites a little bit of regionalism when we don't all have access to oceans and lakes. Also, those pesky ocean swims are so much more expensive and dependent upon other people!

    evmoJenADeemaJaimie
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited October 2016

    @ssthomas said: But, to say that oceans and lakes aren't comparable ignites a little bit of regionalism when we don't all have access to oceans and lakes.

    When I said "ocean swims are distinct from lake swims" -- I didn't mean at all that one was harder or superior to the other. Not sure if you perceived that I was saying that, but I definitely didn't mean to :) Indeed, freshwater swims like Tahoe (with its 6200 feet of elevation) are probably harder, on a per-distance basis than almost any ocean swim.

    Your delineation of the various differences between freshwater & saltwater (which I completely agree with), are exactly my point. They are different -- that's why I'd separate the records for each.

    JenArlmgregoc
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited July 2016

    @evmo said: current-assisted swims shouldn't be compared to stillwater swims

    ... Or current-neutral or current-hindering swims such as the EC, for that
    matter, no?

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    @evmo: I didn't think that you were implying that ocean swims were harder/superior than lake swims, but I have heard others who do make that assumption, and I get a little feisty about it. :-)

    I suppose I think that every body of water is different- everywhere you swim has different pros/cons to it. If you're splitting oceans and lakes into different categories, then do you have to continue to split different lakes and different oceans into different categories as well? A Lake Tahoe swim at 6000 feet is different than if I went to my grandparents lake at sea level in Oklahoma. A swim in the Bahamas is different than a swim in Cuba. Same distance, but different challenges, even in similar bodies of water.

    I think you have to either split them all (and where's the fun in that?) or allow some grouping. Maybe I need to move over to the other thread that's discussing what constitutes a world record in swimming... But, I'd consider grouping swims into current neutral and current assisted (and current hindering?) categories, rather than into ocean, lake and river categories.

    Just thinking out loud here... I think all we're discussing is how to most effectively/accurately group swims into similar categories so we can determine where a record falls.

    Maybe we should be counting swims that take the longest- if you can stay awake while swimming for 80 hours, without touching ground, you win? :-) Or maybe, do away with records all together? This is about personal achievement and adventure, isn't it?

    evmomjstaplesJenAFlowSwimmerssuziedods
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited July 2016

    I agree - at a certain point the splitting of categories becomes absurd, and I agree that the current-assistance distinction is more important than the fresh/salt distinction.

    @ssthomas said: Or maybe, do away with records all together? This is about personal achievement and adventure, isn't it?

    I relate to this sentiment. My sense is that record-chasing occasionally/often conflicts with the "spirit of marathon swimming" (the personal achievement and adventure, as you say) and at a certain point, you feel like throwing up your hands and saying "We don't acknowledge records."

    But in the absence of any framework or categorization, we leave the record-chasers to make whatever claims they feel like - unquestioned and unexamined - through DNOWS press releases or poorly informed "lifestyle" writers... and I think it just leads to confusion & misrepresentations.

    So in the spirit of seeking community consensus, it'd be great to hear more opinions from anyone who has them!

    ssthomasJenA
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited July 2016

    I think what should/might/could constitute a world record is a really challenging topic.

    Just brainstorming (not necessarily advocating):

    • a points system could be created (say 1-4, across different categories) and a swim could be record worthy if it exceeded a threshold of points. Or perhaps simply achieving a swim above a certain number of points could be the record itself. You could earn points for distance, elevation, peak knots of non-assistive current, failure rates, average wind/knots/wave height of the geography over the swim able period of the year, number of times the swim has been attempted (navigation should get easier and probability of success should increase the more times a route is attempted), distance off shore (an A to B swim along the coastline where one need not leave 3m of water is different from navigating between land masses in the open ocean)... There could be a tonne of different parameters....

    • Or, there could be some sort of panel and consensus.

    At the moment, the only real benchmark in my mind is: was it more epic than Chloe's swim? :-)

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    edited July 2016

    CBC says Adam Ellenstein finished his crossing, but it's seriously lacking in details.

    Not that he's claiming it as unassisted (not that I've seen so far), but the video here clearly shows him getting support to stand-up prior to leaving the water and he's wearing a wetsuit and one of those over the ear neoprene caps. Again, I haven't read anywhere (yet) that he is claiming it to be anything other than a "non-stop swim of the length of lake Okanagan."

    And the first thing he did when asked about the swim was thank his crew, so he's alright in my book!

    JenASolosuziedodsJaimie

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • EricEric Member

    DNOWS: Adam Ellenstein Claims World Record For Wetsuit Swim

    Ellenstein issued a press release that stated, "A Guinness World Records Adjudicator must still evaluate evidence – including videos, photos, independent witness statements and GPS tracking information – to verify and confirm [my] Guinness World Records title."

    But Ellenstein's team also inaccurately and misleadingly reported, "According to Openwaterpedia, his swim of nearly 41 hours is among the top 30, by time in the water, in the history of open water swimming."

    "Openwaterpedia does keep track of many of the longest swims in open water swimming history in our 24-hour Club (see here)," said Munatones. "But wetsuit swims are in a completely different category than non-wetsuit swims and cannot - and should not - be compared."

    suziedodsJenAmalinakaIronMike
  • lakespraylakespray Senior Member

    He has a good PR team, another article http://globalnews.ca/news/2839937/alberta-man-looks-to-set-new-open-water-swimming-record-in-b-c/

    There’s also strict rules in place if he wants to set a record through the World Open Water Swim Association.
    Stach can’t have contact with a boat, he can't wear a wetsuit or get help from a current or draft from his support boat. There will also have to be official recorders taking pictures and video, while they track his journey.

    And he's doing it the right way :-)

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    Curious: I just did a quick Google Earth measure of the lake and am only coming up with just over 66 miles (106 km) if you count the shortest distance points. I see Wikipedia says the lake is 135 km- I'm wondering where they're getting that distance from?

    evmoJenA
  • malinakamalinaka Seattle, WACharter Member

    You go downstream over six dams and through two more lakes? I concur with Sarah's measurement.

    ssthomasJenA

    I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.

  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited August 2016

    Well observed, @ssthomas! You win all the marbles. :)

    I get 124K if he goes into the bit near Beachcomber Bay/Okanagan Landing. Maybe he's planning to ping-pong off the land to get the distance in? I aimed for minimum distance when I measured...

  • gregocgregoc Charter Member

    @ssthomas finally hit on the right sentiment.

    Every swim is different. The same course on separate days can be completely different. Just ask anyone on this forum who has swum the EC multiple times.

    ssthomas said:
    Or maybe, do away with records all together? This is about personal achievement and adventure, isn't it?

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member

    Most of these "record attempts" are clearly directed toward the non marathon swimming multitudes.

    If unsuccessful, it will still be referred to as a world record attempt no matter the duration of the swim

    suziedodsbruck

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • I find it VERY odd, that they abandoned in this fashion. HOW did HE lose the boat AND the boat lose him? ONE light? NO lights on the boat? no air horn? One set of eyes on the swimmer at all times.
    All very odd imho.

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    That is SUPER odd. It didn't look like that wide of a lake on Google, and not many obstructions. Did he not have a kayaker for the night? And as Suzie said- why couldn't he see lights on the boat? Seems like they were unprepared to me...

  • bruckbruck San FranciscoMember

    Was there anything in this guy's swim background to indicate he was capable of swimming 135 kms? Am I missing something?

    There were actual articles written about him in mainstream Canadian news outlets, and the DNOWS. Is it the media or DNOWS's job to write articles about every kook who declares a "world record attempt"?

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member

    Is it the media or DNOWS's job to write articles about every kook who declares a "world record attempt"?

    DNOWS Mission Statement right there.

    rosemaryminttimsroot

    loneswimmer.com

  • He's done the EC.. but that is a very different beast from a lake swim. To have an "escape plan " is good, but the whole idea about the lights and back stroke???

    ssthomas
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    I'd sure as heck hope my boat would have a spot light on it so they could aim it at me if they start to lose me, or aim it out so I could find the boat. And no kayakers at night if the boat wasn't able to stay close? Sounds like a janky safety plan to me....

    When I swam my lake swims in Tahoe in Memphre, I never once lost sight of the boats that were escorting me. Seems so odd they could have lost each other so quickly. There's GOTTA be more to the story than just "it was dark and we couldn't see him when he was swimming backstroke."

    JenAsuziedods
  • msathletemsathlete Victoria, British Colubia, CanadaMember

    I was very sad to learn that Wayne had to abandon his swim attempt. Wayne put a great deal of effort into training and preparing for the swim. I applaud him for all of his efforts.

    The open water swim community is fairly small in British Columbia. The marathon swim community even smaller. We struggle to find the support crews needed for swims of this nature and flying experts in is often out of our budgets. It is a rather unfortunate situation.

    I have not met Wayne as he lives well over 1,000 km from me. I do hope he makes the attempt again at some point in the future and plan to reach out to him to provide support should he want it.

    suziedodsJaimietortuga
  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member

    IMHO, the odd part of this story is the beginning.
    Declaring an attempt to swim 135K on such a thin resume.

    Unfortunately, the rest of it all makes perfect sense.

    emkhowley

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member

    ....and this season isn't over.
    That's all I'm saying.

    suziedodstimsroot

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • bruckbruck San FranciscoMember
    edited August 2016

    suziedods said: He's done the EC.. but that is a very different beast from a lake swim

    The EC is 33.8 km, and it took him 17 hrs 15 min. So less than 2 kms per hour.

    67.5 hours at the same pace, to get 135 km. Riiiiight.

  • msathletemsathlete Victoria, British Colubia, CanadaMember

    Completely agree @Niek. We try to train as many as possible at Lake Cowichan during daylight. We leave the night time work to the more experienced boaters and paddlers. I have been lucky with my swims as I am a member of both the swim and paddle communities.

    I do not know anything of Wayne's crew or their experience. My gut tells me there were no kayakers which is something I personally don't recommend. Others may be comfy with this though. I am fairly certain they don't use kayakers in the EC, even at night. It may not have been something Wayne had thought about. Only he and those who helped him plan really know.

    All the rest of us can do is speculate.

    suziedods
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited August 2016

    @ssthomas said: There's GOTTA be more to the story than just "it was dark and we couldn't see him when he was swimming backstroke."

    Perhaps he has a hearing-related disability? I can't imagine how, from the moment the separation was realized, they weren't calling out for each other. Or wouln't he have been looking around, so that his light was visible? Even if he didn't spend time looking around, wouldn't his light have been visible as he swam toward shore?

    ssthomas
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited August 2016

    Here are some questions answered, anyway:

    http://mastersswimmingcanada.com/index.php/2016/08/05/the-incredible-swim-story-of-wayne-strach/

    How to get 135 km?
    "For my upcoming swim, I plan to swim the entire length of Lake Okanagan from near Vernon to Penticton, then to Naramata, then across the lake, and return to Penticton to make up a 135 km track."

    I guess because it is a loop course, that's why he's able to state it's current neutral. That's cool. I respect that.

    Swimming background?
    "I started swimming competitively with a swim club in Stettler, Alberta as a thirteen year old in 1968, and by 1972 I qualified for nationals (Olympic Trials). I then retired way too early from competitive swimming in that year. Later I started doing open water swims in lakes, rivers, oceans, and even the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic. My longest swim was 456 km on the Peace River back in 1990, taking 14 days to complete. I have been training with the Edmonton Masters Swim Club for the last two years and swam one year for the Qualicum Beach Swim Club on Vancouver Island in 1996. On Aug 21st last year I completed an English Channel swim, becoming the oldest Canadian to have done so. Most of my training for the English Channel Swim and much of the training for my Okanagan Lake swim was done at the Leduc Recreation Centre in Leduc, Alberta, where I live."

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    It occurred to me last night what happened! There is a Lake Monster in this lake- I really think she (he?) got in there and confused things for Wayne! Memphre and Nessie have done worse things!

    suziedodsmalinakaemkhowleyevmogregoc
  • malinakamalinaka Seattle, WACharter Member
    edited August 2016

    Ogopogo and the likes are exactly why I stay out of lakes. You remember what The Paddler did to Elaine and me that one time...

    ssthomasgregoc

    I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.

  • emkhowleyemkhowley Boston, MACharter Member

    _> ssthomas said:

    It occurred to me last night what happened! There is a Lake Monster in this lake- I really think she (he?) got in there and confused things for Wayne! Memphre and Nessie have done worse things!_

    OMG, YES! How could we have missed it?? This is definitely the work of Ogopogo!
    800px-Plesiosaur8

    ssthomasJaimie

    Stop me if you've heard this one...
    A grasshopper walks into a bar...
    https://elainekhowley.com/

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited August 2016

    @JenA said:
    How to get 135 km?
    "For my upcoming swim, I plan to swim the entire length of Lake Okanagan from near Vernon to Penticton, then to Naramata, then across the lake, and return to Penticton to make up a 135 km track."

    I guess because it is a loop course, that's why he's able to state it's current neutral. That's cool. I respect that.

    A couple of issues there. First, the course he describes is approx. 127km, not 135km, using the shortest path.

    Second, Naramata (the town he planned to loop back to) is down at the southern end of the lake, near Penticton (the finish). So it's not really a "loop course," more like a one-way with a tiny triangle backtrack at the end. And definitely doesn't prove current neutrality.

    Screen Shot 2016-08-11 at 10.17.53 AM

    Question, though: Is this route a legitimate challenge to Chloe's record, which was a one-way Point A-Point B swim? Can you challenge a 124km distance record in a lake that is only 105km in its longest dimension?

    Can you challenge a 124km point-to-point record by swimming back and forth across a 1km pond 125 times?

    malinakaemkhowleyJenAdavid_barra
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited August 2016

    evmo said: So it's not really a "loop course," more like a one-way with a tiny triangle backtrack at the end. And definitely doesn't prove current neutrality.

    Ah! Sorry -- my mistake. I (optimistically?) misread it as Penticton to Penticton. Thanks for the correction (and the analysis!), @evmo!

    suziedods
  • JaimieJaimie NYCMem​ber

    +1 Ogopogo

    rosemarymintSolo
  • timsroottimsroot Spring, TXCharter Member

    ssthomas said:
    I'd sure as heck hope my boat would have a spot light on it so they could aim it at me if they start to lose me, or aim it out so I could find the boat. And no kayakers at night if the boat wasn't able to stay close? Sounds like a janky safety plan to me....

    When I swam my lake swims in Tahoe in Memphre, I never once lost sight of the boats that were escorting me. Seems so odd they could have lost each other so quickly. There's GOTTA be more to the story than just "it was dark and we couldn't see him when he was swimming backstroke."

    I don't understand this, either. I am more demanding when i'm swimming. i have asked my paddlers to adjust feeding schedules if it feels like I need to. if there's no traffic around, I'm not very picky about where my kayaker is, but if I start hearing more boat traffic around me, i will ask them to move to one side or the other. When I was doing my Pontchartrain attempt, there was a jet ski among the flotilla that I ended up having as support. The jet ski was a 2 stroke motor, and it was immediately upwind of me. I asked that it move somewhere else so that I wouldn't have the fumes blowing toward me.

    I have been in mass participation swims with a lot of kayaks around where my paddler had trouble staying as close to me as I would have preferred (he was paddling a tandem, and didn't weigh down the front of his boat, so he was fighting the wind to stay anywhere close to me), but there were other craft around and other swimmers, so I wasn't overly worked up about that.

    But, I cannot fathom how someone 1) wouldn't notice and 2) would allow their escort craft to drift away like that. Did the boat not have running lights? Was the swimmer not wearing any lights at all?

    This just doesn't make sense from me.

    suziedodsevmoslknight
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber
    edited August 2016

    so, anyone know Wayne? All this speculation... the truth is out there..

  • JenAJenA Charter Member

    @timsroot said: But, I cannot fathom how someone 1) wouldn't notice and 2) would allow their escort craft to drift away like that. Did the boat not have running lights? Was the swimmer not wearing any lights at all?

    The article I posted yesterday offers some explanations.

  • timsroottimsroot Spring, TXCharter Member
    edited August 2016

    JenA said:

    @timsroot said: But, I cannot fathom how someone 1) wouldn't notice and 2) would allow their escort craft to drift away like that. Did the boat not have running lights? Was the swimmer not wearing any lights at all?

    The article I posted yesterday offers some explanations.

    Hadn't had a chance to read it until now, but I'm still a bit confused. I get the guy floating on his back. I understand him having lights only visible while he's swimming on his stomach. But was the visibility that low that they couldn't see him when he was on his back? How far away was his boat, especially since he had just stopped for a feed? As @Niek said, did the boat not have a spotlight to look for him? Was the crew undersized that they didn't notice him drifting away (from the frame of reference of the boat, at least) until he was out of sight? Was the crew not paying attention?

    Being at work, I have my investigation mode going, admittedly. My initial impression is that someone on the crew did something wrong, or wasn't paying attention, or something.

    Thank goodness it was a narrow lake, and he could bail himself out, since it appears that his crew dropped the ball.

    suziedodsJenA
  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member

    Inadequate training.
    Amateur crew.
    Insufficient safety planning.

    This might write off as a convenient excuse to end a "world record attempt" early, but the bigger picture IMO, is that it reflects poorly on the sport.
    A sport that, I might add, celebrates valiant efforts almost as much as successful swims.

    Nice logo though.

    Perhaps it has always been this way, but it feels like this year the pie in the sky swims are quite abundant.

    evmosuziedodsJenAloneswimmerIronMike

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • timsroottimsroot Spring, TXCharter Member

    david_barra said:
    Inadequate training.
    Amateur crew.
    Insufficient safety planning.

    Agreed, it sure sounds like that.

    In all honesty, I'd love to hear the crew and hear their take on what happened. Putting my work safety hat back on, since Wayne thankfully is okay, near misses like this are the best opportunities to learn about what went wrong.

    This story is really scary, though

    suziedods
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