Race Day Planning & Swimmer Information

Read/download the 2025 PORT TO PUB EVENT HANDBOOK

Watch the 2025 PORT TO PUB EVENT BRIEFING VIDEO

Hold a pre-race meeting
Meet with your swimmer/s, skipper, and support crew members prior to event day to go over the schedule, wave times, start line comms, logistics, safety, food plan, post-swim plan, and more. The pre-race meeting helps to align expectations.

Prep your crew accordingly
Assign specific roles to each person on the support crew, and make sure they understand what each role entails. In addition to the skipper and paddler/s, roles include a spotter to assist the skipper in conducting changeovers and a second crew member to maintain visual contact with the swimmer and other swimmers in close proximity of the support boat. Other responsibilities include feeding and hydrating swimmers, throwing the rope for changeovers, ensuring sunscreen is reapplied, etc.

Plot your course
Familiarise yourself with the course information. Many skippers choose to plot their course prior to event day.

Stand out
Make your vessel distinguishable to help your swimmer identify you (note that balloons are NOT allowed).

Prepare for seasickness
Bring seasickness provisions on the support boat for treatment of both swimmers and crew.

Remember it’s a long day out
Remember that skippers and support crew are on the water for the same amount of time as their swimmer/s. Make sure that everyone plans their nutrition, clothing, and sun protection accordingly. Pack extra warm clothing and towels.

Have fun!
Race day is chock full of emotion, and rightfully so. Many of you have worked hard to get to the start line. Treat each other with kindness and respect. Be proud of yourselves for getting this far and enjoy your day out!

Recommendation:

If possible, we recommend incorporating a few swims with your teammates, paddler/s, and skipper into your training routine. The benefits of doing these training swims include:

• Getting to know your swimmer/s style, stroke, and speed so you can more easily identify them and better understand when something might be needed (e.g., food, rest, or medical attention).
• Practising hand signals so that everyone knows what they mean and so that they are consistent and natural on race day.
• Practising swimmer changeovers to determine what works best, including how to get in and out of the boat, getting tow floats on/off, and whether to use a rope to assist in pulling swimmer/s into the boat.
• Practising paddler changeovers on/off the support boat and wet exits from paddle craft to ensure paddler/s can get back onto their crafts unassisted.

Meeting up
Confirm your swimmer wave start time and calculate approximately how long it will take them, depending on their swim speed, to reach the 1500 metre marker; swimmers cannot proceed past this marker until they have joined their support boat.

Note: Calculating swimmer speed is particularly important for 25km ultramarathon swimmers as they must complete the 5km loop before meeting their support boats.

Identification
Discuss how your paddler will find your start line swimmer and (then) support boat, including approximate meeting points (north or south) in the channel. Discuss how the support boat will keep track of paddler/s and swimmer/s during the event.

Changeovers
Decide on the rotation of your swimmers, including how long each swimmer will be in the water for one rotation and how you will pass on swimmer tow floats (if applicable).

Nutrition
Prepare a list of foods and fluids needed for event day; swimmers should practice their nutrition in advance; support team should be aware of what swimmer/s need and when throughout the swim.

Cut-off times
Make sure swimmers, skippers, and support crew are aware of race cut-off times (available on the Course Information page).

Health and safety
It is essential that the skipper, paddler, and support crew maintain awareness of the health and condition of swimmer/s and watch for signs and symptoms of illness and deterioration, including hypothermia and swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE).

Swimmer responsibilities
Swimmers are encouraged and recommended to swim a minimum of one minute before changeover to avoid risks associated with changeovers in congested areas.

Swimmers must clearly tag the next swimmer by slapping hands above the water.

Swimmers using tow floats must have the float securely attached before beginning to swim; swimmers should attach the tow float to their body on the boat or in the water before the previous swimmer tags them.

If swimmers are sharing a tow float, the first swimmer should tag the second swimmer before exchanging the tow float in the water.

Swimmers in duos and teams can have more than one tow float to avoid the need to transfer the float in the water between team members during changeovers.

For safety, swimmers should remove the tow float before boarding the support boat to prevent entanglement in the propellers or motor.

Skipper responsibilities
During changeover, skippers of boats with single engines must put their boat into neutral and only engage them when instructed by the spotter.

Skippers of boats with double outboards must turn the engine completely off before taking the swimmer on board.

Boats should not circle towards other swimmers’ paths during pickups. Boats should not go astern at all; however, skippers can use reverse thrust to stop the forward way of their boat to avoid swimmer, paddler, or vessel collision. This must be done in a controlled manner with the skipper checking that it is all clear directly behind the boat before acting.

Extreme caution should be used when picking up swimmers and paddlers. Solo swimmers have right of way and interference should be avoided at all costs.

Spotter responsibilities
Spotters provide assistance as needed to ensure safe changeovers, including the safety of other swimmers and support craft.

The swimmer wearing the timing strap must pass through the finishing arch and over the timing mat to record the finish time. Other duo and team members may pass through the finishing arch, but this is not compulsory.

Swimmers may have their photograph taken by the official event photographer.

At 5:00pm, race officials will reconcile all entries to identify those who have not finished/crossed over the finish mat. These entrants will be called on marine radio VHF channel 71.

Qualified medical personnel in the medical tent will be available to check the conditions of swimmers post-event.

All swimmers have the option to have a paddler accompany them, use an official Port to Pub swimmer tow float, or do a combination of both.

Obtaining a swimmer tow float
Tow floats can be purchased through the registration form or in-person at the briefing events. Tow floats must be obtained through Port to Pub as they must be uniform and, therefore, easily identifiable to race officials and other event participants on the water (i.e. tow floats from other events or purchased outside of Port to Pub are not allowed to be used).

Tow float description
Port to Pub swimmer tow floats are bright yellow in colour and easily visible to boats on the course. The swimmer name, competitor number, and an emergency contact number must be displayed on the tow float in permanent marker pen.

Tow float attachment
Swimmer tow floats are to be attached by the cord to the waist of the swimmer and trailed behind. Swimmers using a tow float must have the tow float attached to them at all times when not escorted by a paddler.

Tow floats are safety devices
Swimmer tow floats are to be used as a safety device and must never be used as a flotation device.

Changeovers with tow floats
Duos and teams can have more than one tow float to avoid the need to transfer the float in the water between team members during changeovers. For safety, swimmers should remove the tow float before boarding their support boat to prevent entanglement in the propellers or motor.

Logistics for ultramarathon and solo swimmers
Ultramarathon and solo swimmers using a tow float in place of a paddler can feed from the support boat.

The Port to Pub app is a useful tool that provides real-time tracking of swimmers on Port to Pub event day. All support boats are required to have a mobile phone on them with the app activated during the event.

Downloading and activating the app
Skippers should download the app and input their swimmer/duo/ team information ahead of event day. To do this, select ‘Options’ from the list at the bottom of the app, then add the swimmer/duo/ team information (i.e. race number, event, and name) as requested.

On event day, turn on the ‘Share Your Location’ feature from the ‘Options’ page. The app is now able to track the location of the phone and, by extension, the support boat and swimmer/s with it.

Withdrawing from the event and/or reporting your location
You can use the Port to Pub app to notify Port to Pub Swim Base of a withdrawal from the event and/or to report your location. These features ease radio congestion and help Event Officials and Marine Rescue find you quickly in the case of an emergency.

Tracking swimmer/s
The Port to Pub app can also be used to follow the progress of swimmers. To do this, select ‘Options’ from the list at the bottom of the app and go to ‘Highlight your friends on the map.’ At this point, you can enter the race numbers of any swimmers you want to track. This is a great option for supporters that want to follow your progress on event day!

APP FEATURES

Dashboard
Information on swimmer/s position, including distance from start and finish

Map
Display of the course with swimmer positions; swimmers are colour-coded by race category

Options
For users to enter and configure their details, including switching ON and OFF sharing location and actions for skippers (e.g., withdrawing from event and reporting location if required by Port to Pub Swim Base)

Note: The Port to Pub app is intended to augment (and not replace) the official communication channels that have been set up for the event.

Please follow these procedures, including marine radio protocols, as instructed at the event briefing and in this handbook. Remember to check out via the ‘Options’ page at the conclusion of the event.

The Port to Pub app is available to download from the App Store and works on both Android and IOS devices.

Tandem swimmers are 25km ultramarathon and 19.7km solo swimmers that are registered to swim with the same skipper and support boat.

Paddlers & Tow Floats
Tandem swimmers must each have their own paddler or tandem swimmers must share one paddler and both wear swimmer tow floats.

Stay together
Tandem swimmers must stay within the length of the support boat apart from each other or will be disqualified.

Nutrition
Tandem swimmers should coordinate a nutrition schedule ahead of event day; this includes deciding how frequently and how long to take to eat and drink.

Health & Safety
If medical assistance is required for one tandem swimmer, the second tandem swimmer will need to tread water until both swimmers are ready to proceed. Depending on the circumstances, tandem swimmers should be aware that if one swimmer needs to withdraw it may be necessary for the second swimmer to also withdraw (e.g., in the case that one swimmer needs to be transported to another location for medical assistance).

Stickers
Your support boat needs to display boat stickers for both swimmers.

Capacity
Ensure that you have enough space onboard for up to four people in the water (two swimmers and two paddlers), two paddle craft, and other support crew.

Health & Safety
Make an advanced plan for how to respond if one tandem swimmer (or both swimmers) becomes unwell or requires medical attention.

Before race day
Use long training swims to practice your race day nutrition plan; this includes your pre-race nutrition the day/night before. Consider carbohydrate loading to make sure your body is full of energy ahead of race day.

Week leading up to race day
Stay well hydrated in the week lead up to the swim. Take necessary medications (e.g., seasickness, antihistamines, and pain/inflammation relief) with breakfast.

On the morning of race day
Do what you have been doing for training – this is not the time to try something different. Enjoy a nutritious breakfast with plenty of time (1-2 hours) before the swim start.

DURING THE EVENT

Good foods and drinks to have include:

• Fruits (e.g., bananas, grapes, watermelon, rockmelon, pineapple, dates)
• Protein balls & bars
• Energy bars, shots & chews (e.g., Gu, SOS, Powerbar, Cliffbar)
• Small white sandwich slices with honey/jam/Vegemite/Nutella
• Banana bread
• Lollies
• Sports drinks with electrolytes and carbohydrates (e.g., Tailwind, Bindi, Maurten, Coconut water, Powerade)
• Tailwind Nutrition
• Cold brew coffee or warmed up coffee/tea/ginger tea
• Coke or other sugary drinks

Tips for Duo & Team swimmers:

• Have your feeds organised in Eskys
• Pack a selection of warm and cold foods/drinks (two-minute noodles or a warm tea can help you feel better if you’re feeling cold); have a system to keep things warm or cold on the boat
• Pack extra of everything to have options in case something is not working
• Have a plan and stick to it; don’t wait until you are hungry/thirsty or low on energy
• Keep hydrated at every rest; hydrate with warm fluids if you are prone to getting cold; pack energy drinks

Additional tips for ultramarathon & solo swimmers:

• Have a clear nutrition plan for your crew to be able to deliver; label everything so that it is easy to find and identify
• Identify foods that you enjoy that are easy to consume while in the water (e.g., yogurt, rice pudding, porridge); things like fruit can be mushed up into squeezy bags
• Keep hot items in a thermos and have them transferred to squeezy bottles for easy consumption