Outrunning The Tide
December 12, 2016 12:08 PM   Subscribe

Each summer, the Passage du Gois (a submersible causeway in the Bay of Bourgneuf) is host to a foot race known as the Foulées du Gois. The professional portion of the race is notable in that it begins at the moment the tide crosses the road. The leaders often finish in knee-deep water, and those further back may have to swim to the finish line.
posted by tocts (9 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Tour de France had a stage here a few years back, pretty great stuff.
posted by fixedgear at 12:13 PM on December 12, 2016


From google maps looks like the distance along the causeway is 3.7 km (Or just over two and a quarter miles in American Freedom Units). Record finish is just over 12 minutes, probably slowed greatly by plodding through ankle deep water for the final leg of the race. I'm guessing a solid road runner could probably get it done in 15-16 minutes, but times probably balloon once the water gets to mid-calf. Makes you appreciate how quickly a tide can rise in a narrow causeway.
posted by midmarch snowman at 12:48 PM on December 12, 2016 [2 favorites]


I've always wondered, and now is my chance to ask: at what depth of water is swimming faster than wading? Has anyone studied the speed and energetic cost of wading at various depths?
posted by agentofselection at 1:34 PM on December 12, 2016 [3 favorites]


...the name “Gois” comes from the verb "goiser" which means to walk while wetting one’s shoes.

Glad somebody has a verb for that! I am adopting this into English.

I hate to gois. Goising is miserable. You can't make me go out there and gois today! I goised yesterday, and it sucked.

Me and the cat. We are not goisers.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:34 PM on December 12, 2016 [6 favorites]


...I'm a little unaccustomed to hearing "wetting one's [article of clothing]" in a non-urination context.
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:38 PM on December 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've always wondered, and now is my chance to ask: at what depth of water is swimming faster than wading? Has anyone studied the speed and energetic cost of wading at various depths?

As of September 2014, the record for the 50-meter crawl was 20.91 seconds, which is the equivalent of swimming 5.39 miles per hour.

Average folks swim at about 2 mph.

You're almost certainly better wading.
posted by percor at 1:40 PM on December 12, 2016


Okay, I googled, and apparently I missed an important intermediate step: dolphin-diving. According to this book, the answer is wade until mid-thigh (or groin if particularly strong and well-trained), dolphin dive until navel-deep, then swim. That's a very sprint-oriented application though, so I am still curious about endurance wading vs. swimming at varying depths.
posted by agentofselection at 1:46 PM on December 12, 2016 [6 favorites]


You're almost certainly better wading.

I can swim faster than I can wade in neck deep water. My self assessment is that wading is faster than swimming so long as my arms are above water to pull myself along. Swimming would be faster than wading if the water's above my armpits.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 4:37 PM on December 12, 2016


Nice find, agentofselection! Brings back fond memories of the beach patrol. The main event at lifeguard games was the "surf bash", waterline to neck deep and back. It was considered the essence of ocean rescue, and proper use of porpoising was key. And the key to good porpoising was grabbing the sand and pulling yourself forward.
posted by whuppy at 4:36 AM on December 13, 2016


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