PADDLING SAFETY: Safety paddler team view of Lilla Essingen Night Swim 2023 (Itiwit X500 kayak)

I (Patrik Vuorio) had the privilege of organizing and leading the safety paddler team during #LillaEssingen Night Swim on August 31st, 2023. This is what the event looked like from the perspective of the safety kayakers / SUP paddlers! My kayak in this event was the #ItiwitX500 Strenfit inflatable kayak.
The next event is coming up on August 19th, 2024.
Cover photo using footage courtesy of Otto Söderqvist.
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[@AirOnTheWater]

This year's swim event (2024) went well, but I didn't actually film during the event this year - we were pretty busy with the event itself (and it would have looked similar to the 2022 and 2023 events camera-wise). We were 9 safety paddlers during the 2024 event, two swimmers needed to be "towed" (hold on to the kayaks) for some extended stretches, some were directed in the right direction as they were swimming off track, some screams on the water were investigated (but turned out to be partying youngsters yelling on nearby cliffs, with no actual problem), and communications radios were used to keep effective track of the swimmers and functionaries. This year, we had quite effective "search sweeps" of the darker areas to make sure that no swimmers were had become separated from others in the dark. Last year, I personally found a swimmer with a malfunctioning light buoy in the dark, with cramps - she got to hold on to my kayak, and was later escorted by a safety SUP paddler to rejoin other swimmers.

[@THE-RIVER-RAT]

Nice flash back Patrik and great to see all the safety practise. Looking forward to seeing this years swim. Not long now

[@AirOnTheWater]

@@THE-RIVER-RAT Thanks George. This was a fun one though as a lead organizer, you're actually kept so busy that it isn't as "fun" as it is as one of the overall safety paddlers. I had that experience the first year though and it was awesome to experience this for the first time. Yes, not long now until the next one 🙂