Kayaker giving food
Justin
Baltimore, MDMember
Quick question, what is the best way for my kayaker to give me food? Im doing rope around my drinks so they can be tossed to me, but what about food? I am using bars and gummies, should I put them in a plastic bag and have my kayaker throw me it, should I swim up next to the kayak (obviously not touching it) and have him hand me my food? Any suggestions? Thanks.
Comments
Hi Justin, I assume you are talking an event not training. If so what ever you choose to use practice in training first. We tend to use a bucket (either sand or larger ) with ropes around the bucket to allow us to pull back into the kayak or boat. One benefit of the bucket is it allows you to put your rubbish back in after you have taken the food. Secondly we tend to put the lollies or bars into a plastic cup inside the bucket to allow faster consumption without having to worry about dealing with packets and wet fingers. In my opinion It is important that if you take this approach that at no time if the kayak or boat is moving forward do you try and hold on the bucket to help you propel yourself forward. Good luck !
I used something like this in the EC for Shotbloks. It's quick and easy to open and keeps the water out.
http://www.pelican.com/us/en/product/watertight-protector-hard-cases/micro-case/standard/1020/
Hey Justin! Are you swimming in Key West this weekend?
As for the feeding I couldn't find bottles in bulk that came with the lanyard/white piece on bottle pictured here without spending $40+ (planning on bringing a lot of bottles) so I went to dollar tree and found 24oz bottles that were surprisingly sturdy. I plan to add a zip tie with a keyring to each bottle so my kayaker can hand/toss the bottle with a carabiner and simply reel it in. Good luck!
I use a retractable dog leash for my bottles which keeps it easy and less messy for the boater than strings. Feedings are just handed to me or dropped in my mouth, depending on conditions.
I went hand-to-hand for all of my feeds. Sometimes the "hand" was a PVC stick with a cup holder zip-tied to it. I got both drink and food this way. Below is my EC video (two parts) that shows the technique I used. A few of the last few feeds were M&Ms handed to me in a dry cup. (Audio is messed up for about the first 30 seconds.)
Try to keep it simple. Overthinking this will end up costing you time. Your job is to swim. Your crew's job is to help you out. Them launching you a bottle that you have to track down is a complete waste of your time and energy. When I was in position to feed I would have my left hand out of the water and my trainer would stick the cup right in it.
Thanks for the help. Had a great race today and the feeding went solid. Barely ate or drank but when I did it was quick and easy.