Race with many swimming passages

[pvb]

Hello,

This coming summer I will be participating in a race that crosses 21 islands. The idea is to swim between the islands (up to 1 mile crossings) and then run across the islands in teams of two people. The water temperature will be around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

My thought is to bring an inflatable boogie board and use fins for the crossings. I also think that I would need to wear some sort of wetsuit. The reason for the boogie board is that this would get my back pack out of the water.

Quick conversion from running to swimming and vice versa are of course essential since there are so many transitions. I had thought of perhaps using fins that could be worn on top of running shoes?

Please give me any input on good choices of gear (fins, booge board, wet suit, hand paddles, back pack etc.).

Peter

 

[Jon]

I don't know how much time you would end up saving in the transitions by swimming with your running shoes on, but Force Fins would work pretty well for this purpose.

Jon

 

[mortenkv]

Hej Peter,
Do you have a link for that race?
Sounds quite cool...

Morten

 

[DivingDane]

anyone of the triathlon suits would be ideal as they are very efficient and warm (good for the cold water) and allow excellent freedom of movement plus lots of bouyancy (easier swimming) ORCA APEX2 or the 3.8 maybe?

as for a board i wouldnt worry about it, i';d just get a waterproof backpack (with a roll top seal) that way it would float infront of you anyway and you wont have to carry the extra weight of the board.

as for finsif youn want to keep your shoes on maybe the imersion open heel freediving fins... not completely sure but they would allow for a pretty quick transition form water land and back.

DD

 

[octopus]

If you do decide to go without board and with backpack, then something like this would make more sense than hand-paddles:
Cressi Neoprene Gloves. Swimming Training, Scubastore.com, buy, offers, scuba

If you do find waterproof backpack, please let us know where.
I have been trying to find one for ages.

 

[pvb]

Here is a link for the race: till - En rejl utmaning

I have never tried the triathlon suits. Would they be realistic to wear for the entire day (including about 25 miles of off trail running and 10 miles of biking)?

I actually have a pair of Force Fins and think they would work pretty well with running shoes. I just haven't tried it yet. Considering there are over 40 transitions any time saved here quickly becomes quite significant.

If anyone has a link for a light waterproof pack let me know.

Peter

 

[trux]

If anyone has a link for a light waterproof pack let me know.

Well, if you enter "waterproof backpack", "waterproof dry backpack", or "watertight backpack" into Google, you get hundreds of links. Many of the backpacks are just waterproof against splashing or rain, so you may need to browse through it little bit to find something better.

waterproof backpack - Google Product Search
waterproof dry backpack - Google Product Search
watertight backpack - Google Product Search

This company is specialized in waterproof bags, and they seem tohave a nice choice (I have no expereinece with them or the products they offer):

100% Waterproof backpack,bags,dry bag,duffel bag,laptop bag,waist pack,dive bag,beach bag,waterproof earphone,mp3,mp4,ipod,iphone,camera,mobile phone,psp,gps bag,swimming bag series product

 

[hunlee]

Wow, sounds like great fun!
Unfortunately it's already full, otherwise I woulda loved to do it, Morten, we could've made a great team!! Maybe next year!!??
I think you really should minimze what you carry as the runs are the longest 38km's, while the max swim is 1400m... so you wanna be fast in and out, yes, but also light on the run... so smallish light fins i'd say, lifesaving fins could also work, and no boogie board!

Hmmm... what a great concept! Good luck, let us know how it goes!
Hanli (who might be in stockholm in september, will come cheer!!)