B.L.D.S.A. Canoe Swimmer Escort Advice

Equipment

Canoeists must wear adequate clothing, including a light coloured coat, life jacket or buoyancy aid and be competent swimmers.

Each canoe should have a minimum of 30 lbs buoyancy in each end, bow and stern toggles, safety lines or painters - taut, spray deck with easy release strap, exposure bag (extra large plastic bag will suffice), thermos flask, food, repair kit, bailing can, compass and whistle.

A canoe accompanying a swimmer should fly the flag Alpha. This flag is internationally recognized as indicating a diver down or a swimmer in the water. Should the swimmer leave the water the flag should be taken down immediately. It is appreciated that it is difficult for a canoe to fly such a flag but two methods which have been successful are: (a) use a whip aerial mounted on the rear of the canoe, (b) push the pole on which the flag is mounted down between the back of the canoeist's life jacket and his/her normal clothing.

Information you require

Has the course been fully explained to you - the landmarks to aim for, the strength, direction etc., of the tide, shallows, wrecks, barbed wire etc., and any special procedure for 'Swim Abandoned'. If you are not happy about anything, ask the race organizer. If the course is a major one which you are not familiar, have you checked the landmarks on the map which should have been supplied to you and noted any appropriate compass bearings.

 

Positioning

If you are guiding a front crawl swimmer you should keep a position opposite his/her head on the side to which he/she breathes, so that he can see you as he breathes, and not more than 10 feet away. Remember that his/her normal visibility is about 3 inches above water level and that all he/she will see during most of the swim will be you. So smile at him/her occasionally and never look worried or he/she may think you are lost.

A breaststroke swimmer will normally prefer you to be slightly to the side and a little in front of them.

Keeping your swimmer on course

If your swimmer persists in wandering off course you are entitled to attract his/her attention to this fact by whatever means are appropriate, visual signals, or audible - a single whistle 'blast', or as a last resort, position your canoe so that he/she has to edge away to avoid hitting it. Don't hesitate to indicate to your swimmer that he/she is trying to nudge you off course. Hold up your hand to him/her and indicate 'push' him/her away. Often swimmers like to keep very close company to their escort and fail to leave sufficient comfortable space for you to paddle and manoeuvre in a cross wind. Again, if he/she persists, shout at him/her and tell him/her to keep further away. On the other hand the swimmer may think that he/she knows the course better than you and incline away from you, but 7 metres should be the maximum distance separating you.

If your swimmer is racing neck and neck with another competitor ne/she may well be reluctant to part company and it may be as well to let him/her continue unless there is any danger or much diversion from the true course.

In a cross wind you may find you are continually being blown into the swimmer and think that it is them that are swinging towards you. The remedy is to change the side on which you are escorting the swimmer. Make sure that you make them aware of what you are going to do first though!

Getting HELP if you or your swimmer get into difficulty

If at any time you are in difficulty or anticipating difficulty, the power boat will come to any canoeist who raises his paddle vertically and holds it there. It is appreciated that this position cannot be held for any length of time, but it should be repeated until assistance arrives whilst blowing your whistle. Repeated short blasts on the whistle should attract the attention of other canoeists or boat crew in the vicinity if you require assistance.

If you capsize whilst assisting a swimmer who is in difficulty never leave your canoe to go to the swimmer, always take the canoe to the swimmer.

© DL / BLDSA 2008