This pole has changed my life. Our crew designed it because I can’t for the life of me track the boat and stay right on its course hour after hour.

My mind drifts….and then I drift far away from the boat. Have got to stay right on course if I want to make this 103 miles. So this pole gets lowered horizontally out from the bow. Then a white sailcloth streamer trails out as we start moving, about 18 feet from the starboard side, about 5 feet underwater. I swim right on top of that streamer, almost like following a pool lane line below. At night they switch out the white cloth for a bright red streamer of LED lights. For the first time in my marathon swimming career, I am swimming exactly parallel to the boat, not hundreds of yards out to sea. Genius!!!

 

 

 

[Above: Via ESPN. This may have been one of the three images that appeared in the original post.]

 

Photos by Christi Barli

 

 

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