Each summer, Tralee Bay Swimming Club and Tralee Triathlon club cooperate to provide a unique and crucial service for our open water swimmers - the Buoys which mark out our swimming course.
They are put out at the start of the season in May, and are in place up to the end of the season in October.
The buoys consist of 10 individual flagged buoys, 2 Yellow and 8 red set approximately 100m apart to form a rough oval shape of 1000m. It is important to remember the convention: Swim the course in an anti-clockwise fashion, with the buoys to your LEFT at all times. The larger yellow buoys indicate your turning points.
Never swim alone. Always ensure someone on shore knows of your plan, how long you intend to swim and your approximate finishing time.
Please be mindful of the tides: before you swim ensure that you know the time of high/low tide, if its rising or falling and whether its a neap or spring tide. The volume of water leaving the bay 3 hours after a spring high tide is considerable, and can make swimming the outer part of the course particularly difficult. You should aim to swim on a rising tide, avoiding springs until you become confident.
Only swim in relatively calm conditions. Heavy chop or swell, coupled with strong winds makes for a dangerous combination, especially over longer distances. Note that the outer buoys will be subject to bigger seas than those closer to shore. Additionally, the shoal extending from the diving boards out towards the lighthouse provides a breakwater at lower tides, but can quickly disappear at higher tides leading to much choppier conditions in a short space of time.
Our partners at Fenit Without have designed this unique tee-shirt to celebrate our love of the "Buoys".
Kommentare