Subject: RE: Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon : Official ThreadAccording to the tide chart low tide at Masonborough Intlet will be at 6:22 am. There is a period of anywhere from an hour to three hours at high and low tide called the "slack" tide. This is when the current stops, and then reverses direction. During slack tide you can expect little to no current, or a swirly current as the tide reverses. (it's also when the crabs like to come out!) And the further in you are, the longer the incoming tide (aka "the push") will take to get to you. Another way to think about it is that with the point to point course, you will be swimming "away" from the push and into the "slack" (best case scenario) or "swirl" (worst case scenario). All tide info is an estimate, so nothing is is guaranteed, but based on the tide chart and a swim start of 7:30 my guess is that swim times will be closer to the slow swims of 2010 than the lightening fast times of 2011. In 2010 I made a late season decision to sign up for B2B counting on a push and easy swim. I was undertrained for the swim conditions (no push and very swirly) and came out of the water trashed for the bike. In 2011, trained for a typical 2.4 and came out grinning ear to ear because of the push. I would plan on a typical swim time and conditions, and be jubilant if you come out faster. |