Check everything
- Boat, paddle, buoyancy aid, spraydeck
- Your own kayak straps, packed inside your kayak
- Dry bag
Leave a change of clothes in the car
You finish close to where you parked, so dry clothes in the boot is the easy win.
Pack your own food and drink
Snacks, sandwiches, and whatever you like to drink. It is a long morning on the water.
Parking opens · Custume Barracks
Free pre-booked parking, but only if you submitted your car reg by 17 August. Not sent it yet? WhatsApp it to Alex on 086 272 1245.
–7.15
Registration · Athlone Army Barracks
Same place you park. You collect:
- 2 sticky numbers, for the front left and right of your kayak
- Your t-shirt and some goodies
- A dry bag for your swimmer's phone
- A VHF radio, already set to Channel 8
–7.45
Change and load
Change at your car. Kayak onto the trailer or a van roof using your own straps. All kayaking gear into the vans, it will be waiting for you at the start.
Walk to the rowing club
Across the road from the barracks, once your gear is loaded. Wear your gear on the bus. No buoyancy aid, helmet or spraydeck needed on board, space is tight.
Group photo
On the riverbank beside the rowing club.
Buses depart, sharp
From Athlone Boat Club. Sit with your swimmer. Roughly 30 minutes to Judy's Harbour.
Arrive Judy's Harbour, Rindoon
Portaloos and drinking water on site. Use the toilets. A break out on the water is close to impossible, so go easy on the coffee.
–8.45
Kayak safety briefing · mandatory
Attend this one and the swimmers' briefing at 9.00am.
–9.15
Gear prep
Collect your swimmer's nutrition pack and their phone in the dry bag. Agree your side, your feed intervals and your feed signal now, not on the water.
Swimmers' briefing
Kayakers on the water
Launch before the start, then join your swimmer as they swim out to you. Numbers are called in reverse order, so you will hear yours coming.
The rolling start begins
One start, not waves. Swimmers enter the water roughly 20 seconds apart. Relaxed, safe, no congestion.
The last swimmer is away
Every swimmer is in the water inside twelve minutes.
Cut-off 1 · Buoy K, 6.5km
If your swimmer has not reached Buoy K within 3 hours they leave the water and you paddle on to the finish.
Cut-off 2 · Buoy S, 10.5km
Same rule. Not there in 5 hours, they come out and you paddle on.
–4.15
Expected finish · Athlone Castle
Photo under the 13.5k arch with your swimmer. Then snack pack, sandwiches, buns, fruit, tea, coffee and water in the big green army tent.
Overall limit · 7 hours
Anyone still on the course at 7 hours is stopped and returned by boat to Athlone Marina.
Get warm, get fed, dance if you want to
DJ Ray Reilly on tunes and MC duties.
After party · The Snug Bar, Fry Place
Til late. You have earned it.
The two rules that matter
And one more
After Buoy C, you and your swimmer stay within 20 metres of every yellow buoy. Buoys are 500m apart and lettered A to T.
Your line, buoy by buoy
The start · Judy's Harbour to Buoy C
2.5km from the harbour to Buoy C. Two small yellow buoys sit at roughly 600m and 1.3km to guide you, and the Command Vessel is moored near C. Lead your swimmer straight at it.
Down Lough Ree · C to T
Leaving the lake · S to T
The motorway bridge gates
At every narrow gate, you go first
Move ahead of your swimmer and lead them through. Boats on the course will hold. If one does not, raise your hands and direct it to move or hold position.
Swimmers have absolute priority. You are in charge of keeping yours out of danger.
The white railway bridge
The finish · Athlone Castle
HELP
HELP"
at Buoy [nearest letter]
For anything that is not an emergency, call "Swim Control" on Channel 8. Phone is the backup if VHF fails.
Your callsign
Kayak + your swimmer's number
The same number is on your radio and on both sides of your kayak. If your swimmer is number 21, you are Kayak 21, every time you speak.
If your swimmer is in trouble
Roll onto their back, hold the tow float, raise a hand.
Get alongside. Talk to them. Ask simple questions.
Channel 8, your callsign, nearest buoy letter.
RNLI, rescue boat or on-site divers. Ambulances are stationed along the course. A doctor is on the Command Control Boat.
Watch for hypothermia
Exhaustion or feeling very tired
Confusion
Memory loss
Slurred speech
Asking simple questions every so often is the easiest way to check. Watch for exhaustion too.
If a swimmer retires
Tell the Swim Coordinator. A safety team extracts them from the water. You paddle on to the finish.
Everyone you might need
Poor visibility
Prioritise situational awareness. If you are unsure of your position, stop and consult Swim Control. They will assess your situation.
Given to you at registration
✓ Two sticky numbers, front left and right of your kayak
✓ Your t-shirt, in the size you gave at sign-up
✓ Some goodies
✓ A dry bag for your swimmer's phone
✓ A VHF radio, already set to Channel 8
If you signed up after 25 July we may not have your exact t-shirt size. We tried.
Bring it yourself · tap to tick
Ticks are saved on this device for the session. Print the deck card if you want a version that does not need a battery.
Dressing for the day
Hot and sunny: dress light and sunscreen every exposed bit. You will be out for hours with water reflecting up at you.
Cold, or if the water temperature drops: a cag and an extra layer is worth it.
Helmets are not mandatory, but wear a cap or a hat.
On the bus
Space is limited. Wear your gear, and leave the buoyancy aid, helmet and spraydeck in the van with everything else. It all travels to the start for you.
Agree these three things before you launch
Their preference, not yours.
Set the interval now.
Something you can both see in chop.
Your two jobs, in order
1. Keep them on course
Even slightly choppy water makes it very hard for a swimmer to see where they are going. This is the job.
2. Feed and hydrate them on their schedule
The one you agreed on the bank.
On the water
Your swimmer stays parallel to your kayak the whole way, including through the narrow sections.
They swim at an all-day pace. It will feel slow to you. Keep checking your own positioning.
Watch the water for changing conditions or incoming weather, and keep your swimmer posted.
Constant communication is the difference between a good day and a miserable one for them.
Rules your swimmer must follow
Bright orange swim hat, worn and visible the whole way
Tow float, mandatory
No fins, paddles, boards or pull buoys
No going on land at any point during the swim
And for everyone
Respect the environment and the people who live along this water. No litter, anywhere.
Respect and help your fellow kayakers and swimmers.
Listen to the marshals and safety teams. They are there for everyone.
Spectators
Welcome at the start at Judy's Harbour, along the banks of the Shannon, and at the finish by Athlone Castle.