Swim Recon

MikeHMikeH Member
edited May 2013 in General Discussion
Do most swimmers in the community do recon on sites & pilots for big swims? I was chatting with a couple pilots recently for a major recognised swim (which shall remain nameless) and got pushback from potential pilots about coming by to meet, check out their boats, talk about the potential swim, etc. This has also happened in the past in Dover, and I was wondering...do most swimmers do this...or am I in the minority?

Comments

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2013
    Tough to say based on your description.

    Probably more swimmers would do recon on unique/unprecedented swims than on "major recognized" (i.e., well known) swims.

    Probably more swimmers would do recon when the swim is local, vs. one for which they must travel far.

    Also, what "pushback" did you get? The pilots explicitly refused to let you inspect the boat?
  • MikeHMikeH Member
    I just wanted to see the boat and shake the pilot's hand, actually. They didn't refuse, and I don't want to share what they said to avoid identifying them, but I was clearly not invited to come by. For me, if I'm going to train for 6-12 months for a long swim, then I'd like to come see the boat. I didn't on my first Dover pilot's boat and...when we showed up, he didn't have a functioning stove - so it was cold feeds that day. Lesson learned...

    Judging by the lack of response to this thread, though :), I guess it's not a big issue for most swimmers. Maybe I'm just obsessive :).
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited May 2013
    The more I visit Dover, the more I think you are right Mike. If someone doesn't want to allow you to do this, given how much you will be paying them, well, I think it would make one wary.

    loneswimmer.com

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