A
Arpy
G'Day Gang
Well with an absolute feeling of disappointment I have to report that we didnt quite make the other side. However the reason was more to do with some poor logistical decisions as opposed to ability. We unfortuunately had to make the decision to stop at the 15km mark due to our boat using far more fuel in the atrocious / rough / windy conditions and looking like we might run out of fuel.
I was nominated the first swimmer that needs to get out at least a km before the boats can come in to collect you. Unfortunately we were allocated a starting position in the last wave which goes off the beach at 7:45 am - a full 2 hours after the soloists get going. This generally means that you cop the worst of the swell and sea breeze as it comes in usually around lunchtime.
Unfortunately the previous day had been very windy as was the actual day and chop and swell were quite high making swimming a little more challenging that your average romp in the pool. Towards the end you would fall out the back of the wave/swell and then the next moment you would have a wave break over the top of you and push you a metre under. Getting a nice rhythm was somewhat problematic to say the least
When we had just passed the 10km mark having caught quite a number of teams in previous waves our engine died - the skipper proclaiming that that was 85 litres of juice gone and we had 45 litres left.
Not what we wanted to hear.
We started to power the boat way ahead of the swimmer and then let it drift until the swimmer changeout was to occur in the hope of conserving fuel. Not the greatest of ideas when that meant losing sight of the swimmer and paddler and also meant changing out swimmers in our little inflateable boat over a significant distance - increasing the chance of hypothermia.
Anyway to cut a long story short we were all swimming well, despite the conditions, and were all confident that we would eventually get there. The skipper had to make the call - which given the circumstances was the right one and our effort was called off. At one point on my last swim (which was the last for the group) we had made the swim change and I began swimming whilst the paddlers also changed out. THe conditions were so bad and our paddlers so tired that they were basically unable to changeover. In the meantime I had begun swimming ....but whilst i was swimming and holding my line they wer frantically trying to change out paddlers but the wind and swell had pushed them far north of me. In swell of ~ 3m finding my little maroon capped head proved .......interesting. When they hadnt come upon me after a minute I stopped freestyling and basically started looking around. I periodically could see two other boats that we had been keeping pace with so decided my best course of action would be to stay in approximately the same relative position in relation to them hoping my mate in the inflateable would have the knowledge to do somethiing similar. Luckily he is a capable bloke in the boat and did as I expected and he came across me.
I finished that leg of the swim and the decision was then made that without enough fuel in the main boat to enable it to stay near the swimmer conditions were just too dangerous for us to proceed.
For the last 20 mins though the Channel Nine helicopter had been hovering just south of us and we wondered what it was doing. Later we found out it was trackiing the hammerhead shark that was paralleling the southernmost swimmers so would have been just south of us I'm reliably informed that warfarin imparts a distinct salty flavour to human flesh so no doubt I was off the menu!!!
Hitting the beach at Rottnest and seeing some of the other teams finish gave me an empty feeling that I cant descibe. Even more so from having to pull out knowing that it was more from a logistical standpoint as opposed to us physically not being able to complete the job.
Still, as I said to all our team members - we should be proud of what we did achieve not be ashamed for what we didnt. 15km in conditions that were described as one of the worst since it began is still an achievement that I am proud of...and since we didnt officially complete the race we have a bucketload of incentive to do it again next year and ensure we get from coast to coast.
cheers
Russell
PS: Im currently out bush up on the mine but will have a few photos later and Ill post them when I get them.
Well with an absolute feeling of disappointment I have to report that we didnt quite make the other side. However the reason was more to do with some poor logistical decisions as opposed to ability. We unfortuunately had to make the decision to stop at the 15km mark due to our boat using far more fuel in the atrocious / rough / windy conditions and looking like we might run out of fuel.
I was nominated the first swimmer that needs to get out at least a km before the boats can come in to collect you. Unfortunately we were allocated a starting position in the last wave which goes off the beach at 7:45 am - a full 2 hours after the soloists get going. This generally means that you cop the worst of the swell and sea breeze as it comes in usually around lunchtime.
Unfortunately the previous day had been very windy as was the actual day and chop and swell were quite high making swimming a little more challenging that your average romp in the pool. Towards the end you would fall out the back of the wave/swell and then the next moment you would have a wave break over the top of you and push you a metre under. Getting a nice rhythm was somewhat problematic to say the least
When we had just passed the 10km mark having caught quite a number of teams in previous waves our engine died - the skipper proclaiming that that was 85 litres of juice gone and we had 45 litres left.
Not what we wanted to hear.
We started to power the boat way ahead of the swimmer and then let it drift until the swimmer changeout was to occur in the hope of conserving fuel. Not the greatest of ideas when that meant losing sight of the swimmer and paddler and also meant changing out swimmers in our little inflateable boat over a significant distance - increasing the chance of hypothermia.
Anyway to cut a long story short we were all swimming well, despite the conditions, and were all confident that we would eventually get there. The skipper had to make the call - which given the circumstances was the right one and our effort was called off. At one point on my last swim (which was the last for the group) we had made the swim change and I began swimming whilst the paddlers also changed out. THe conditions were so bad and our paddlers so tired that they were basically unable to changeover. In the meantime I had begun swimming ....but whilst i was swimming and holding my line they wer frantically trying to change out paddlers but the wind and swell had pushed them far north of me. In swell of ~ 3m finding my little maroon capped head proved .......interesting. When they hadnt come upon me after a minute I stopped freestyling and basically started looking around. I periodically could see two other boats that we had been keeping pace with so decided my best course of action would be to stay in approximately the same relative position in relation to them hoping my mate in the inflateable would have the knowledge to do somethiing similar. Luckily he is a capable bloke in the boat and did as I expected and he came across me.
I finished that leg of the swim and the decision was then made that without enough fuel in the main boat to enable it to stay near the swimmer conditions were just too dangerous for us to proceed.
For the last 20 mins though the Channel Nine helicopter had been hovering just south of us and we wondered what it was doing. Later we found out it was trackiing the hammerhead shark that was paralleling the southernmost swimmers so would have been just south of us
I'm reliably informed that warfarin imparts a distinct salty flavour to human flesh so no doubt I was off the menu!!!Hitting the beach at Rottnest and seeing some of the other teams finish gave me an empty feeling that I cant descibe. Even more so from having to pull out knowing that it was more from a logistical standpoint as opposed to us physically not being able to complete the job.
Still, as I said to all our team members - we should be proud of what we did achieve not be ashamed for what we didnt. 15km in conditions that were described as one of the worst since it began is still an achievement that I am proud of...and since we didnt officially complete the race we have a bucketload of incentive to do it again next year and ensure we get from coast to coast.
cheers
Russell
PS: Im currently out bush up on the mine but will have a few photos later and Ill post them when I get them.
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