“There is no window in the Catalina Channel. You just pick a day and then hope the weather is nice that day.”

From what we have seen as we live   I did not have the heart to tell her that is NOT how people did things in the 20th century. Everyone on every marathon swim should have a window. To spend all this money and time training for an event and then pick one day for everything to happen is elevating risks to an unnecessary level. Catalina is largely tranquil 4 days a week; largely swimmable 1 day a week; and could be hellish the remaining day of the week. The odds are in the swimmer’s favor. But why face additional risks when you do not have to?

My point is that your swim was on a specific date at a specific time.

It just so happened that the conditions were not right at that time.

If I were you, I would re-think how to conduct your swim with an ability to choose your swim date that gives you the best odds of calm weather. This means that your crew will have to be extremely flexible and accommodating to the changes in the weather. This means that some people will not be able to go, and others will. It may mean that your costs increase a bit. This puts a lot more logistical and financial pressure on you…but it also significantly increases the probability of success.

Window, I say. Window.

Having a window is the best insurance for an open water swimmer to have in my opinion.

Just a few random thoughts from a guy who thinks constantly about the open water.
Copyright © 2013 by Open Water Source