I’m doing the Vineman 70.3. I have been told there are areas in the Russian River where it is so shallow that you can stand.
You are correct, it is rather shallow towards the edges for sure. More of an issue on the way up river, you want to be right down the middle on the way back to catch the current. Super low water this year too, but they dam it up so it should be fine. I’d suggest swimming it a bit the day before if you have a chance.
K
Here is a link with great preview video of the swim.
SimplyStu Triathlon Podcast
It may be lower than normal this year. Due to a very dry winter here, they have had to reduce the flow from upstream resevoirs that feed into the river and provide summer flow. My guess is it will be warmer, have lower current and water quality will be…well lets just say you won’t see your feet while standing in the water. I rode by there today and it is already pretty quiet and the dam is not even up as far as I could see.
I did it last year. I touched the bottom with my hand a few times, a sand bar ran down part of the middle. Not much of a current and a nice swim overall. The transition from swim to bike is one of the worst I have ever seen. It is in a gravel area and everything is samashed together. once you grab your bike it is then a ride up a 20 yard and about 17% grade little hill. People fall all over the place. I don’t know why they don’t put the transition on top of the hill and have you run up the hill after the swim. The rest of the bike/run is great. Have fun.
It shall be interesting so see if wet suits are legal this year. Am amazed how warm the lakes and rivers have gotten already.
Dave
When I did the half Vineman in 05, I remember feeling really warm inside my wet suit 20 minuets into the race!
On the video (link in post above above) the course looks like a straight shot. However, I recall not being able to see the far end of the course from the start line, due to a bend in the river. A little unusual.
It is a great race, though. I had a lot of fun last year (did full VM).
It does indeed bend around to the north (left as you are heading up river) just past the new bridge. Very easy to navigate the swim course and they always do a great job with buoy set up. Now let’s just pray for a real swim with no wetsuits!
I’m doing the Vineman 70.3. I have been told there are areas in the Russian River where it is so shallow that you can stand.
It’s narrow, warm, and shallow. I’ve done it twice and once no wetsuits were allowed. At one of the pre-race meetings the race director said, “if you have problems in the swim, don’t drown…just stand up!”. I’ve scraped my hand on the bottom. Seems like I remember there being low hanging tree branches on the right side on the way out that can get in the way too. Everyone sort of has to funnel into the middle. In other words, not a really great swim venue.
Now let’s just pray for a real swim with no wetsuits! <<
Yes!! But, in 8 Half VM races, 1 full VM and probably 4-5 Barb’s Race swims, only ONCE has it been a no-wetsuit swim. Though I’m sure a few of those years the temps were measured at midnight and as deep as possible. 
clm
I thought the swim course was fine. Fairly easy to sight (buoys on left up and back), but if you are a right-breather, you can still key off the shoreline for general sighting. Don’t remember hitting bottom while swimming unless I was nearer toward the shore. It’s actually really nice, too if you have water in your goggles, goggles get knocked off, etc, since you can just stand up in most places and put them back on. Hopefully the water issues some have hinted at won’t materialize, but I’m looking forward to 70.3 up there this year, wetsuit or no wetsuit.
Mike