Swim waves posted!

Ouch, looks like I'm going around 7:45.  That really stinks.  That's a lot of time to kill after the transition area closes.

Also, take this for what it's worth, and I'm not going to do any additional research on my own to verify it because I'm lazy.  Someone posted this a few months ago on the NYC Tri facebook page:

2009-07-26  1:04 AM EDT   4.62 feet  High Tide
2009-07-26  5:46 AM EDT   Sunrise
2009-07-26  7:08 AM EDT  -0.21 feet  Low Tide
2009-07-26 11:15 AM EDT   Moonrise
2009-07-26  1:41 PM EDT   4.62 feet  High Tide
2009-07-26  7:36 PM EDT   0.32 feet  Low Tide

GWB Tides

Wow, thanks!  Where did you get this info?  I've just spent the last 1/2 hr at work (ssh!) trying to find this info online...

Wait--I'm not sure how to read that.  Does "low tide" mean that at 7:08a it will be the end of the current?

You should read page 2 and 3 of the "Official Nautica" thread. People did a very good job explaining the tides and what to expect this year vs. last year. Given the later low tide this year you should still have a good strong current regardless of start time. 

FROM THE NAUTICA THREAD:

“They always plan the race so that largest pct. of athletes will have the strongest downstream current, which is why the race date moves so much from year to year. The currents change every 4 hours or so, so no matter what, the people in the later waves will have to cope with ebb or slack tides. They change the wave times around a little every year so that the same AG’s aren’t coping with the slack tide every year. They haven’t determined the AG order for this year yet.

What happened last year was that the tides shifted about an hour earlier than expected, so the tide started changing well before the end of the waves. To compensate, they started sending the waves out at 1-min intervals, rather than 3-min intervals, but the last few waves still had a tough time. Average swim times in the early waves were 10-20 minutes, while the later waves were 30 minutes to an hour. The shorter intervals were the reason why it supposedly got very crowded on the bike course towards the end of the race.”

 

Actually, no the tides and current are predictable to the second. Last years race was started too late. If you look at the prediction for this year, it is going to be incredibly fast no matter what wave you are in.

This year it will be at 2+ Knots during most of the time between 6-9 am. In 2008, the current was at its peak before 6:00 and slowed considerably up until slack at 8:54. Compare that to 2007, when it was picking up late. If you compare wave times in 2008 the earlier waves did better, in 2007 the later ones did. THIS year looks very fast.

 

2009 prediction:

George Washington Bridge (Hudson River), New York Current
40.8500° N, 73.9500° W

2009-07-26  06:53 AM EDT  -2.57 knots  Max Ebb
2009-07-26  10:28 AM EDT   0.00 knots  Slack, Flood Begins
 

Here's 2008:
2008-07-20  07:53 AM EDT   Moonset
2008-07-20  08:54 AM EDT   0.00 knots  Slack, Flood Begins

And 2007:

2007-07-22  05:42 AM EDT   Sunrise
2007-07-22  05:50 AM EDT  -0.00 knots  Slack, Ebb Begins
2007-07-22  09:36 AM EDT  -1.62 knots  Max Ebb

Seems like that Cheetos bag will get it done in under 25 minutes this year!!

“They always plan the race so that largest pct. of athletes will have the strongest downstream current, which is why the race date moves so much from year to year. The currents change every 4 hours or so, so no matter what, the people in the later waves will have to cope with ebb or slack tides. They change the wave times around a little every year so that the same AG’s aren’t coping with the slack tide every year. They haven’t determined the AG order for this year yet.

What happened last year was that the tides shifted about an hour earlier than expected, so the tide started changing well before the end of the waves. To compensate, they started sending the waves out at 1-min intervals, rather than 3-min intervals, but the last few waves still had a tough time. Average swim times in the early waves were 10-20 minutes, while the later waves were 30 minutes to an hour. The shorter intervals were the reason why it supposedly got very crowded on the bike course towards the end of the race.”

 

Actually, no the tides and current are predictable to the second. Last years race was started too late. If you look at the prediction for this year, it is going to be incredibly fast no matter what wave you are in.

This year it will be at 2+ Knots during most of the time between 6-9 am. In 2008, the current was at its peak before 6:00 and slowed considerably up until slack at 8:54. Compare that to 2007, when it was picking up late. If you compare wave times in 2008 the earlier waves did better, in 2007 the later ones did. THIS year looks very fast.

2009 prediction:

George Washington Bridge (Hudson River), New York Current
40.8500° N, 73.9500° W

2009-07-26  06:53 AM EDT  -2.57 knots  Max Ebb
2009-07-26  10:28 AM EDT   0.00 knots  Slack, Flood Begins
 

Here's 2008:
2008-07-20  07:53 AM EDT   Moonset
2008-07-20  08:54 AM EDT   0.00 knots  Slack, Flood Begins

And 2007:

2007-07-22  05:42 AM EDT   Sunrise
2007-07-22  05:50 AM EDT  -0.00 knots  Slack, Ebb Begins
2007-07-22  09:36 AM EDT  -1.62 knots  Max Ebb

Seems like that Cheetos bag will get it done in under 25 minutes this year!!

One of my friends found this:
George Washington Bridge (Hudson River), New York Current
40.8500° N, 73.9500° W

2009-07-26  00:27 EDT   1.94 knots  Max Flood
2009-07-26  03:30 EDT  -0.00 knots  Slack, Ebb Begins
2009-07-26  05:46 EDT   Sunrise
2009-07-26  06:53 EDT  -2.57 knots  Max Ebb
2009-07-26  10:28 EDT   0.00 knots  Slack, Flood Begins
2009-07-26  11:14 EDT   Moonrise
2009-07-26  13:01 EDT   1.96 knots  Max Flood
2009-07-26  16:05 EDT  -0.00 knots  Slack, Ebb Begins
2009-07-26  19:22 EDT  -2.33 knots  Max Ebb
2009-07-26  20:17 EDT   Sunset
2009-07-26  22:39 EDT   Moonset
2009-07-26  22:59 EDT   0.00 knots  Slack, Flood Begins

I would assume Max Ebb is when the current flows strongest outwards, southbound towards Raritan Bay--in which case a 6:53a max ebb would mean a somewhat decent current around 7h30a...  Not that I'm counting on it!  All this info is pretty over the map though... I thought the currents were predictable to the minute?

E.

Jrsuss, looks like our posts crossed paths.  I forgot that this info was up elsewhere--thanks for reminding us!  Physically, I'm not counting on the tide to get me to the finish line, but psychologically it'll be good to know if there is a current to anticipate (and avoid any potential problems)... 

Thanks again for posting.  E.

Here is a link to play with the tides: This is better then the first one that I posted and consistent with what is in the Nautica thread. Go to the bottom and change the dates to see. You can change years as well to see what it was like in the past.
http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?site=George+Washington+Bridge+(Hudson+River)%2C+New+York+Current