CANCELLED - 3-Person RELAY TEAM - Swim Fort de Soto 2017

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Registration Schedule

This competition is limited to the first 25 entrants.
Currently there are 1 entrants.

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Sanctions
Florida LMSC for USMS Sanction
Florida Swimming for USA Swimming Official Approval #pending

Hosted by Swim Without Limits, Inc.

Race website: www.SwimWithoutLimits.com

Event Directors
David Miner 941-545-9709
Steve Butler 941-376-3524

About Fort De Soto Park
The largest park within the Pinellas County Park System, Fort De Soto park consists of 1,136 acres made up of five interconnected islands (keys). Fort De Soto was named America’s Top Beach for 2009 by Trip Advisor. In 2005, “Dr. Beach,” named Fort De Soto the nation’s #1 Beach. There are over  7-miles of waterfront, including almost three miles of beautiful white sandy beach. The park is about 20 minutes from downtown St. Petersburg. For more information on Fort De Soto Park, go to http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm.

About the Race

This is a 10K+ (6.5 mile) open water swim race around three sides of the beautiful park and island chain of Fort De Soto. Each solo swimmer will have a pilot (kayak escort) to provide safety, navigation, and nutrition to the swimmer. Swimmers can enter as a solo swimmer, 2-person relay, or 3-person relay. Relay teams must take turns swimming and paddling, meaning that each person swims a portion of the race and paddles the kayak a portion of the race. Relay swimmers cannot have a dedicated pilot!

The course starts at the Fort De Soto Boat Ramp and heads west through Bunces Pass and into the Gulf of Mexico. The course then turns south along the island passing beautiful white sand beaches to the pier and around the point of the island. The course then heads east along more white sand beaches finishing at Shelter #14 in Fort De Soto Park.

Entry fees
2-person relay: $225
3-person relay: $250

Race Hotel

The official race hotel is the Postcard Inn On The Beach. There are a block of 15 rooms available with a great room discount and no resort fee. When making a reservation, tell them you are with Swim Without Limits. You MUST CALL THEM or email them to book your room. Don't wait too long as once the rooms are gone, they're gone!

Postcard Inn: 6300 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach, FL 33706

Call now to make your reservation: 800.237.8918 or email reservations@postcardinn.com

To receive the discount: Tell them you're with Swim Without Limits

Rules and Details

• You must be able to complete the swim in UNDER 5 HOURS. This means if there is ZERO current, you should be able to swim 1 open water mile in about 42 minutes. If you’re not within the final 1/4-mile of the swim within 5 hours, you may be pulled by the motorboat pilots and shuttled to the finish line.
• All swimmers and pilots MUST attend the pre-race safety meeting, which will be held on race day morning just prior to the race starting.The race will follow the English Channel swimming rules. This means no swimsuits below the knees or shoulders. No suits that provide any type of buoyancy. No triathlon suits. No wetsuits. No other swimming aids.
• All swimmers and pilots must provide their own nutrition (water, electrolytes, calories) for the entire race and have a means for securing it to the kayak. There are no water stations out on the course.
• Relay teams: You can swap swimmers at any time during the race and as many times as they want during the race.
• Relay teams: The pilot exiting kayak to swim must maintain contact and control of kayak until swimmer makes the exchange by hand-to-hand touch. At this moment, the finishing swimmer becomes the pilot and the only team member permitted contact with the kayak.  The pilot may then use sea bottom if needed for assistance to enter kayak and proceed as team pilot.
• All pilots must have a whistle and wear an approved PFD while paddling.
• Each pilot must have a cell phone secured in a dry bag for use in case of an emergency.
• You cannot hang or rest on your pilot's boat even when feeding.No use of lower extremities to rest on or push off of sea bottom to gain an advantage.
• Swim caps and body marking will be provided which must be worn throughout the race.
• Persons allergic to latex should plan to wear a silicone cap beneath their race cap or bring their own brightly colored silicone cap.

PLEASE NOTE: If you can’t participate in the race or there are weather issues, there are no refunds, transfers, or deferrals for any reason. The cost of the event is fixed and the money has been spent come race day.

Check-In (race day morning)
Pre check-in will take place on Friday at the RumFish Grill (see website for details).

Race day morning check-in and body marking will take place under Shelter #14 immediately prior to the race.

Pre-race Meeting
Saturday morning, November 5,  there will be the pre-race meeting. The meeting will take place at under Shelter #14. ALL swimmers and pilots must attend this safety and information meeting. Please refer to course map prior to the meeting. If you haven’t met your pilot prior to this meeting, you’ll meet your pilot during the meeting where you can discuss your race plan.

Water Temperature
72-78 F degrees (average temperature over the past 10 years is 76 F)

Prior to the Race (READ THIS!)

It is advised that you complete at least a 2- to 3-hour training swim and practice feeding every 30-minutes prior to attempting this race!If you’re doing a relay and don’t have experience paddling a kayak, it is highly recommended that you spend time learning how to paddle a kayak safely.If you’re a solo swimmer, make sure you communicate with your pilot prior to race day so that you’re both on the same page about your race plans. Don’t wait until race day to communicate! If we’re providing a pilot for you, we’ll be sending both you and your pilot an email introducing each other. You’ll then have their email address for further communication.If you have any questions about your ability to swim this event, please contact the race directors

Safety

Water safety will be provided by the escort pilots on kayaks, powerboats, jet skis, a police boat, and an EMT that will be patrolling the course. Each powerboat will be flying a small orange flag and each jet ski rider will have an orange mark on the back of their life jackets for identification. Pilots will be instructed on how to seek assistance. An EMT will be available on the water and safety personnel will be instructed on how to assist a distressed swimmer and trained medical personnel will be available to assist in emergency situations. The MANDATORY pre-race meeting will review common communication signals for pilots (and swimmers) to use and recognize out on the course.

In case of inclement weather, unusually adverse surf conditions, or any other factors that may arise, an event committee composed of the event directors and safety personnel may modify the starting time or cancel the event.

Results
Results will be available online at www.SwimWithoutLimits.com.

Awards
Finishers medal for each swimmer who completes the swim.
Awards will be given to the overall top 5 male and top 5 female swimmers as well as the top 5 two-person relay teams and top 5 three-person relay teams.

The awards will be presented during the post race social/meal.

Volunteer (have a family member volunteer and be apart of the race)
We need volunteers to help out during the race. Please click here to volunteer. Thank you so much!

Race Venue Location/Directions

3500 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra Verde, FL 33715

Shelter 14 is where race check-in and all pre-race and post race activities will take place. The finish line is directly in front of Shelter 14. Swimmers should proceed directly to Shelter 14 race day morning.

Pilots should go directly to the boat ramp to offload their kayaks in a designated area. Volunteers will be there to help and provide security for the kayaks. Pilots should then drive to Shelter 14 and park their vehicle there. Pilots and swimmers will be transported to the boat ramp for the race start.

Note: If paying by credit card, your credit card statement will reflect a charge from "ClubAssistant.com Events."