Beginner's Guide To Open Water Swimming
Photo Courtesy of Helen Cogan Photography
So you want to hit the open waters but you aren’t sure where to start…Don’t worry we have put together a few tips to help you get your feet wet. The open water can be daunting when you are coming from the safety of a nice controlled environment like the pool. In the open waters you experience conditions that can change in an instant! You have to deal with waves, currents, cold water, salt water, marine life and many other variables that you may not have encountered before and this can be scary.
Chances are the picture that you painted in your head is way worse than the reality. Although there are some risks the open water can be as safe as a pool but tends to be far more fun and rewarding with a huge bonus being that you can connect with nature! Let’s dive into our tips to help you get comfortable in the open water!
Start Slow
Your first few times open water swimming are both really exciting but also pretty scary. For some people it is hard to get used to not being able to see the bottom or what is under you. To help you get comfortable and manage anxiety, it is best to start slow your first few sessions. Head into the water with no goals other than to have fun and enjoy the experience. If it is safe to do so, go into waist to chest deep water and swim parallel to shore. Even if you can’t see the bottom, you will feel better knowing that you can stand up at any point during your swim. This will help with any anxiety you have about not seeing the bottom and the more often you go the quicker you will become comfortable. After a few sessions of just having fun and enjoying the open water you will be ready to start going after some time or distance goals!
Sighting
Sighting is a critical skill that you will need out in the open water. In the pool you have the luxury of a black line to help you swim straight. This isn’t the case in the open water! Sighting is a skill that you will use to help you see where you are going and make swim direction changes to ensure you are on course!
There is no right way to sight but it is important to do it fairly often. In order to sight you should pick your eyes or eyes and nose out of the water for a few strokes to see where you are going. You can go off course in a matter of a few strokes so we recommend that you sight every 4-6 stroke cycles. This is a skill that you can practice in the pool too! The more you do it, the better you will get at it.
Have A Solid Base
Swimming in the open water can be much more difficult due to conditions like wind and currents. As a result swimming 400 yards in the pool might take you 6 minutes but swimming 400 yards in the ocean could take you two to three times longer and possibly longer. It is for this reason that we recommend that before hitting the open water you have a solid swimming base under your belt. This doesn’t mean you need to be able to swim non-stop forever or that you need to be a professional swimmer. This just means that you are comfortable swimming several hundred yards and that you know how to rest when there are no walls or pool bottom to rest on.
You can get comfortable doing this in the pool by doing longer swims and instead of resting on the wall or standing up, you slow down your stroke or you flip on to your back and kick easily while catching your breath.
Be Able To Breathe To Both Sides
Being able to breathe to both sides is a very important skill to have but it won’t keep you from the open water. We highly recommend that you work on this skill throughout your swimming career as it will make your open water swimming much more enjoyable. There are many times that conditions might making breathing to one of the sides harder than the other side. The waves might be crashing on one side so you may need to breathe to the opposite side to breathe. If you can only breathe to the side the waves are hitting you, it will be a very unpleasant swim. Like we said before, breathing to both sides isn’t essential but it will certainly make your open water swims much more enjoyable and will allow you to swim comfortably in many different situations.
Equipment
There are many different options here depending on your open water swimming goals and the conditions. We aren’t going to tell you what you should or should not use but there is some equipment that will make your first open water experience a bit easier. At a minimum we recommend a swim suit, a swim cap and goggles. If you are thinking about doing a triathlon or just hate being cold, then you will want to look into purchasing a wetsuit. A wetsuit is nice because it will give you some additional buoyancy which may make you feel a bit more comfortable in the open water.
We also highly recommend you use a safety buoy. There are a few benefits to using one of these. The main one is that it will make you much more visible to water crafts and anyone spotting you on land. These swim safety buoys are not designed to be used as a flotation aide but in an emergency situation you can use it for support very briefly to help you regain your composure and get back to swimming.
For a list of additional pieces of equipment and how they benefit you in the open water then check out this article!
Safety
Safety is always our top priority. Open water swimming does have risks but with some planning you can make it safer. Prior to your swim, you should have some information about your swim spot. You should have an idea of what the swell and current are like, where can you enter and exit, is there a lot of boat traffic, is there a life guard and what is the marine life like among other some other information.
Our top safety tip is to never ever swim alone no matter how good of a swimmer you are. Conditions can change in an instant and it is important to have someone either in the water who can help you or on land spotting you who can call for help. At a minimum you should have a spotter keeping an eye on you, especially if it is your first open water session! If there is a lifeguard on duty where you are swimming, then let them know that you are going to go out for a swim. The lifeguard will feel know to keep an eye on you which will keep you a bit safer. Leave your ego on shore because it could get you into real trouble out in the water.
Along with having a spotter, an escort water craft or a group of swim buddies we recommend having a swim safety buoy described above to make spotting you easier. For your first several sessions, we also highly recommend you start in water that is waist to chest deep and swim parallel to shore. This way you can make a swift exit in an emergency if you need to. Don’t give into peer pressure! If your friends are planning to swim 500 yards off shore and you aren’t comfortable with it then don’t go. Know your limits and do what you feel comfortable doing. Better to be safe than dead because you wanted to look cool in front of your friends!
One more safety tip is to have a basic plan if there is an emergency or if you need to cut the swim short. At a minimum you should know all the places you can exit the water quickly and who to call if something goes wrong.When there is emergency, you might not be thinking straight so having this plan will help immensely.
Now you are ready to start your open water journey. If you still need more guidance or want some more information, then please contact us. Our coaches are here to help you gain a love for the open water and we are excited to be part of your success!