On Mar 18, 1:11 am, Jim Land
wrote:
"jerry" wrote in news:1174151068.228643.306840
@n76g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

I am an amateur triathlete and I'm getting ready for the start of the
triathlon season and I had this problem last year that I'm trying to
solve.

The problem is that during an open-water triathlon swim I need to skip
a stroke every so often to lift my head out of the water and site the
next turn buoy. I usually find myself off course by a few yards and
need to make corrections. This costs me time from being off course
and from skipping a stroke. So, I had this idea to take apart an old
digital camera or picture phone and mount the camera part to the back
of my head and attach the LCD part in front of my goggles.

Cool idea, but.... realistically.... wearing this while you swim will
slow you down...

First of all the drag with the water flowing around it (instead of your
smooth head). Second, the mass will make it more difficult to swing your
head over to take a breath. Third, trying to make sense of that jiggly
image your display is showing you will break your concentration.

Better way: Train a fish to swim the course and just follow it. (Or
build an artificial fish with an internal GPS that you program with the
course.) Or a GPS mounted on your back that steers you by giving you
electrical shocks in the ribs if you get off course.

Alternatively, a monitor with a bird's-eye view of you and the course
markers (aloft on a big balloon or model airplane) would remove the
optics and electronics from your body. Just build a receiver that straps
on your back and gives you electrical shocks to the ribs when you're
getting off course.

Say, can't you just follow the competitor in front of you? Aren't you
all swimming exactly the same course?

Transporting a trained fish might be tricky. What if it doesn't come
back? My dog doesn't even come when she's called.

Also, we usually have no access to the lake or the course prior to the
start.

A spotter with a walky-talky was suggested but everyone in my wave
will be wearing the same color swim cap and be hard to distinguish.
Besides, I usually can't even get my wife to come to these things with
me, so finding a spotter would be a problem.

And although there usually is someone in front of me - and drafting in
the swim is legal - I've found that most people go off course as often
as I do.

Thanks for the ideas! Please keep them coming!

"jerry" wrote in news:1174227884.949335.233200
@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

And although there usually is someone in front of me - and drafting in
the swim is legal - I've found that most people go off course as often
as I do.

LOL! It doesn't pay to follow somebody who's lost!

Thanks for the ideas! Please keep them coming!

OK, a gyroscope mounted on your back. On the beach, you point yourself
in the right direction, switch on the gyro and wait for it to rev up to
full RPM. Then it will FORCE you to take the correct course, keeping you
pointed in exactly the right direction. This will get you to the first
marker. The rest... (anyone?)

Or how about this. The marker is hard to see because it's above water,
and your face is underwater. So you could dangle a waterproof strobe
light a few feet below the marker, something bright enough you can see at
a distance. (Of course, all your competitors will see it too, but then
you all have the same problem seeing the marker, right?)