How do you OWS safely/legally?

When I OWS at my local lake the lifeguards are fine with you swimming outside of the designated areas as long as you START your swim outside of the line...I just go off to the side. Its a lake that is extremely popular with triathletes and kayakers and canoeists.  I swim parallel to shore and wear a bright neon cap. Totally safe? Of course not. But I work unorthodox hours so I am able to swim when others are not and vice versa. 

If it's posted "No Swimming" then it's probably wise to follow the sign and not swim. 

As for safely, NEVER SWIM ALONE.  Best case is for someone in a kayak or canoe to tend to you.  Second best is some fellow swimmers.  Third is to have someone on shore who has a way to get out to you (think lifeguard, but as long as they're competent to watch and calmly deal with a situation, anybody would work).  Even if the roped off area is 100 yards long, that's about 4 times longer than a normal pool.  The lifeguards might allow you to swim just outside the markers to avoid the crowds (or you can consider it good tri-training). 

We don't have water moccasins.  I've heard they can be very aggressive, so how would you deal with one if you're in the water by yourself?  Boats, snapping turtles, fishing line, and branches I can deal with.  Cramps can happen at any time and can be pretty severe.  In a pool, you can usually grab a lane line or get to the edge in 5-10 yards.  In the middle of a lake, you have to deal with it there, and it can be very difficult to float well enough to work out a cramp when you start to panic (a wetsuit helps). 

My favorite place for an OWS is Ala Moana Beach Park. It is like a giant salt water pool 1000 meters long! The whole thing is protected by rocks and reef and it monitored by lifeguards. Plus, lap counting is sooooo easy! I did an IM length swim here once where I did one lap down-and-back, exited the water and ran around the lifeguard stand, then went back in and did another down-and-back. I did this to mimic IMFL just to see if I could. There is also a pole poking out of the water at 500 meters just in case you don't feel like doing the entire length.




Second would probably be Kailua Beach Park. I usually just swim outside the swimming area bouys which makes it about 700 meters. I could easily go longer but the currents are stronger here and there are sometimes a lot of kite surfers whipping around.



I'm sure there are more locations along the edge of this beautiful island but these are the two I've discovered and am comfortable with at the moment.

P.S. Don't hate me because I live in Hawaii.

I swim in the small lake where we have a cabin.  I do an out-and-back swim and stick close to shore where I can always stand if needed.

Swimming just outside of a buoy line is a good place to go usually.  But you will want to check with your local ordinances to see if that's against the law and what will happen if the lifeguard's in a bad mood that day.  Around here you can get a fine of several hundred bucks I think.  Practically everyone I know does it, but if you do it you need to be ready to pay the fine.

I like to swim when a lifeguard is present.  I then swim on the inside of the buoy line.  I don't think it's fair for the lifeguard to feel obligated to help me, but putting myself in a difficult to reach position. 

I've also swam in a lake that doesn't allow power boats and doesn't have a swimming area, and meet a group of friends.  We just swim wherever.  But I wouldn't do that alone.

The few times I've swam in the ocean, I've done it along shore (you can do it in shallow water) and asked someone to watch for me.  Although I can never get used to the salt water - yuck!

It has an electric troling motor on it with varible speed you dont have to run the Big motor to follow your people. It wouldn't be good if you had a 100 people around the boat but 3 or 4 swimmers out front of you or beside the boat will work out just fine Trust me.