5.1 Gear overview, tips and suggestions

The following is an approach that can be used to organize and pack up the gear needed for the swim. There are of lots of different ways to do this of course, but it should give the crew and swimmer a general sense of what might be needed:

Gear to support the swimmer = a "feed kit" that contains the feeds, medications, swim plan, a "swim kit" that contains spare goggles and cap and admin supplies such as elastics, scissors, masking tape, whiteboard and markers, etc, and a cooler, scooper net. These kits remain on the boat, however if the swim will also use a kayak and paddler to support the swimmer, then they too will need a way to be holding feeds and medications and delivering them to the swimmer.

Gear the crew need for themselves = clothing, food and beverages, personal medications, sleeping bag, pillow, etc.

Swimmer "before bag" and "after bag" = things the swimmer needs in the hour before the swim starts and then after the swim is over

See the Swimmer and Support Crew Packing List template if you need a starting point for making your own packing list. Download a copy and adjust it to your needs...

Each of these items is explained further in this section below, but before diving into details here are tips and suggestions the crew and swimmer might want to consider in their planning:

Know that even the best-laid plans will likely not play out exactly as you imagined; the swimmer may think they will consume just a little of something only to later discover it's the only thing their stomach can handle, they might feel colder sooner than expected and start warm feeds way longer than what you've brought hot water in thermoses for, or they are doing great but swimming at a slower place and the swim will take longer (and need more feeds) than expected, etc. The swimmer's feed plan may also tank completely and they stop being able to take in their feeds, so having alternative feed options as a back-up is important to plan out as well. So think ahead to ALL THE THINGS that could shift as the swim unfolds on the water, don't be afraid to go down rabbit holes on "what if...", and write your solutions to issues down so you don't forget.

Figure out the best balance between bringing "more than enough" and "way too much". You likely won't have much room on the boat for gear, but you do want to have enough of everything to manage any changes to the swim plan if needed. Crew and swimmer should talk together and brainstorm about this issue, the swimmer can provide guidance on what could shift for them and what that might look like if it does, the crew can do the same and everyone can come up with creative ideas. Make sure you also include extras of anything that could fail, such as an adventure light on the back of a pair of goggles, or glow sticks for the feed bottle. If you're using the packing list template provided as part of this crew guide (or any packing list), indicate both the "planned" quantity for an item as well as the "extra" for that item that you intend to bring, this will really help you quickly check and re-check your calculations before you even get on the boat. You can't go back for more once the swim starts.

Pack your crew and swimmer gear so that it stays dry if it were to rain out, wet soggy gear is not easy to work with! Use large garbage bags to cover things, and waterproof drybags or ziplock freezer bags as inserts inside of bigger bags, etc.

Pack your gear into bags or bins so that things are easy to dig through and find. If you pack things too full and tightly, it can get frustrating to locate what you need, especially at night. If you're a very visual person, you can use different colour elastic bands, bags or inserts within your gear bags or bins if it helps you better see the separation of things.

Be patient with yourself and others, it may take until you're on the boat and the swim gets underway for crew to figure out the best layout for things and to get into a rhythm for feeding and monitoring the swimmer. It helps if you can look at the boat or find pictures of it ahead of time to see the layout and size. Be patient, work together, keep it light and team-focused.

Label everything! So you can find things and to be sure to get your own stuff back after the swim. Masking tape and a marker will do the trick.

5.2 Feed kit, swim kit and other gear

The idea behind having a "feed kit" and a "swim kit" is to separate things needed for the all-important and frequent task of managing feed stops from all the other gear that isn't really necessary for that task (such as extra googles and caps, scissors, masking tape, markers, etc). Below is a list of how the two kits can be organized, and if the crew decides to take this approach, they can shift things around based on what makes the most sense for the swim. If not all feed kit items fit in the bin, use the swim kit to pack up and then re-arrange things once on the boat, simple enough. The goal is to find things easily once the swim gets underway.

The crew can use plastic bins, soft-sided bags or backpacks or even a small suitcase for the kits. Plastic bins work well because they are easy to open and rummage through, and they keep everything dry if it rains unexpectedly. Soft-sided bags or backpacks might be better in situations where space is extremely limited, such as in tighter quarters or for relay swims where there's multiple swimmers hanging around on the deck and each have their own bags as well. Anything that works well for the crew and people on the boat, works well for the swim.

Feed kit:

Feed systems:
- Feed line with clips on either end
- Feed bottles for fuel mix, plain water, tea
- Container for alternative feeds, treats
- Ziplock bags for alternative feeds, treats
- Containers for medications
- Long-handled scooper net
- Nighttime - waterproof lights for feed bottle

Feed products and medications:
- Thermoses for warm fluid feeds
- Plain water
- Carbohydrate powder
- Electrolyte powder
- Any alternative feeds, drinks, treats
- Painkillers and personal meds

Other stuff:
- Hand towel
- Water boiler, isobutane
- Hand whizzer or whisk ball
- Thermometer, if doing warm feeds
- Cooler and ice bags
- Extra painkillers and personal meds
- Crew/observer log, clipboard, pen (if crew required to document)
- Nighttime - headlamp, non-white low lumens
- Nighttime - red attention light to signal swimmer to stop

If feeds and medications are being delivered to the swimmer off a kayak, the escort paddler will also need some way for feeds to be given to them and stored on the kayak. A soft-sided bag(s) would be best, as there's not much room on the kayak.

Preparing and delivering feeds and medication to the swimmer is covered in detail in Section 7 and Section 8.

More on the gear needed for nighttime swimming in the dark is also addressed in Section 10.

Swim kit:

Extra swimmer goggles, caps, earplugs
Whiteboard, thick tip erasable markers, eraser, spray
Waterproof notepad, pens
Masking tape, markers, scissors, elastics, foldback clips, bottle clips
Airhorn
All printed materials: swim plan, map
Nighttime – extra goggles with waterproof light + new battery
Nighttime – extra waterproof lights for feed bottle
Nighttime – extra waterproof lights + new batteries (just in case!)

Long-handled scooper net:

Bringing along a scooper net isn’t always necessary, it really depends on how the swimmer feeds and whether anything might be left behind in the water. Check with the boat pilot, they may have one on board the boat already. If you do bring one, make sure it's extendable enough to actually reach the water and swimmer (otherwise it's probably useless).

Small cooler with ice:

A hard-sided cooler or soft-sided cooler that folds easily can be used, check with the boat pilot as they may have something on board the boat already you can use. Fill it with ice packs and/or large ziplock bags filled with ice to use as ice packs (and so that the water from the ice doesn't melt everywhere inside the cooler). This works well enough to keep crew supplies cold and keep ice long enough to cool the swimmer’s feeds if needed, but of course over time the ice will eventually melt.

5.3 Swimmer "before bag" and "after bag"

Swimmer "before bag":

Contains things the swimmer needs in the hour leading up to the start of the swim. The crew and swimmer don't want to be scrambling around looking for the basics the swimmer needs before they can even get into the water. Any designated bag or space would do - a small lunch bag, shopping bag, side pocket of a backpack, etc.

Swimmer "after bag":

Contains things the swimmer needs for immediately after they get out of the water.

5.4 Gear the crew needs for themselves

Contains everything each crew member needs for themselves for the duration of the swim and after as you head back to the hotel. Ask questions (see Questions to the Swimmer, Boat Pilot, Swim Organization) and try find out information about the boat and conditions from other swimmers or crew who have done the swim in the same window in the past, or reach out to those that have just recently completed it in the windows preceding yours.

Here's a few things I learned from others before setting off for our Lake Memphremagog swim. It can get pretty cold and humid at night, so I put my clothing in a dry bag inside of my backpack to keep off the dew and prevent everything from getting damp. Cell coverage is good but US/Canada roaming will drain cell phone power quickly, so I brought 2 fully charged power banks. The bathroom situation was a camping toilet (a bucket with lid) with pretty much zero privacy, so in daylight I wore my long swim parka as cover when I needed a pee. We could also climb down the ladder and hang off the boat into the water to go to the bathroom, so I packed bathing suit bottoms to make that easier to do. The ride back to the start can take hours, I brought extra water and snacks. There was a small grill on the boat, we brought burger patties and buns for everyone.

If this is your first time crewing, make no assumptions about what to bring for your own well-being - if something pops into your head, chances are there's a reason. I don't have issues being on a slow-moving boat, but it occurred to me that getting motion sickness could mean ending the swim if I couldn't function and had to be brought back to shore. Sure enough, I had nausea and an upset stomach shortly after the swim began. But I had packed meds for both, just in case. Within an hour of taking them I was fine.

NEXT SECTION

BACK TO CREW GUIDE MAIN PAGE

SWIM COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS - PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

Add your own ideas, photos and videos! Send me an email at wildbigswim@gmail.com