8 a.m. sharp! Saturday, August 1
Meet at the south end of the Long Bridge in the water for a safety meeting, and you will receive your T-shirt. (Porta-potty available)
You can put your boat in at City Beach or Memorial Field and kayak over – takes about 30 minutes depending on wind – or park by Northern Energy at the south end (do not block the business trucks' entrance to their storage yard!) and you can put your boat in there.
First and foremost, I need your assurance to the Long Bridge Swim that you will make a commitment to help where help is needed. From the very beginning (1995), safety has been the most important part of this event and we/you have been very successful in this regard! But, as we have become larger each year, it has become essential to develop a more detailed Master Safety Plan for the smooth operation and safety of all participants, both swimmers and rescue volunteers. I appreciate you all as volunteers, but want you to know that I also view each of you as professionals, the first rung on the ladder of safety. We are under the jurisdiction of the Bonner County Sheriff's Department, Marine Division. Their word is law!! We are also working with and coordinating with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Sagle, Sandpoint, and Westside fire departments and Bonner General Hospital. We must all be working from the same game plan!
We realize that some of you have a "favorite swimmer" in this event and your desire may be to follow that particular swimmer along the course. This has never been allowed but in the past some kayakers have done this and it has caused large unprotected gaps in swimmer coverage. This is absolutely NOT AN OPTION. You cannot follow your favorite swimmer and you must be willing to go where you are needed. If you still desire to follow a particular swimmer, then you should not be a safety kayaker, and you need to be up on the pedestrian Long Bridge walking along at your favorite swimmer's pace.
When the gun goes off, you will spread yourself out with a group of swimmers and proceed with about 10 to 15 of them. As they progress, they will spread out, and your group will change. Remember, it is the swimmers at the back that will need you most! We will be asking some of you to hang back with the last group.
We would like a few kayaks positioned inside very close to the bridge to keep swimmers from swimming underneath the bridge, where they can't be seen by safety spotters on the bridge, and we do not allow any swimmer to hold onto the bridge pilings for support for the same reason.
Give the swimmers room – do not crowd them, but be close enough to offer help if needed. While some swimmers will feel competitive and will swim without taking any rests, many swimmers are doing this just for fun and it is perfectly OK for them to take a break to catch their breath or float on their back to rest. If you feel safe, you may allow them to hold on to your watercraft briefly. If, however, they seem confused or exhausted, tow them out of the stream of swimmers towards a powerboat or jet ski that can take them into Dog Beach.
Be aware of how your group of swimmers is doing. Look for signs that a swimmer may be in trouble. If you have a swimmer who needs more assistance, you must wave your orange flag and he/she will be transported to the nearest boat for evaluation. The orange flag is for emergency use only. Spotters on the bridge with radios will assist you.
All swimmers must have their specific event-numbered swim cap on for the entire time they are in the lake. Anyone who has lost his/her numbered cap will be immediately removed from the water, as well as any swimmer who abuses a volunteer. Use the orange emergency flag in this event.
If a swimmer needs help, reassure them as you paddle to them, give them a throwable or have them hold on gently to your boat as you take them out away from the other swimmers to a jet ski. For emergencies, hold up your orange flag and a jet ski will come to you.
When you reach the end at Dog Beach, use the porta-potty if necessary, and then go back to the end (the slowest swimmers) to relieve those boaters. Everyone needs to circle back around to the end of the swimmers. Swimmers will finish anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 and a half hours. These last swimmers may be very cold, tired, thirsty and hungry! So, toward the back, it may be a 1:1 ration of swimmer to kayaker.
Please leave your orange flags in the buckets at the north or south end of the swim! We need them for next year.
Have fun!!! The swimmers love you! You get a cool T-shirt! Get all your friends to help with this!! And if you are the last safety kayaker in – find me (Jayne Davis) on shore. I will have a prize for you!!
