Tips for first time open water swimming

First of all, if you have a look through this forum you'll find a huge amount of useful information.

Have you got a wetsuit/are you planning to do your race in a wetsuit? This will give you almost as much buoyancy as a life vest, while actually allowing you to swim properly. Some of my tips/techniques that may help:

- if it'll make you feel better, stay relatively close to shore/swim along the shore rather than away from it, so you can easily get back onto land if needed

- try to relax and not put pressure on yourself for the first swim, just get in the water and swim around

- something that I think made a difference for me was spending some time just floating in your wetsuit to try and get comfortable with being in open water and unable to touch the ground - it's good to be able to remind yourself in the middle of a swim that if it gets too tough, you can float quite easily if you need a rest

- have a buddy with you

Hi Malcolm

I'll hunt around for more info on this forum. I thought of wetsuit and I know it will give me the buoyancy. To be honest the life vest will probably function more as a security blanket, at least for the first time. I was definitely thinking of swimming along the shore. I'll slowly work my way up to swimming out into the sea. I just want to get a feel for the water first and get used to not seeing the bottom.

I'll definitely have a buddy with me. Maybe even hire the local life guard or fisherman to just keep an eye on me.....

Many thanks Malcolm. I'll let you know how it goes when I do it....

Reza

I have friends that do ows wearing a lifeguard rescue tube. It allows them to take breaks and feel safe without impairing their stroke like a life vest would.

http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/23125.htm

Hey Reza,

Malcolm gave you a lot of good tips there, and your plan sounds good. Try to get in open water a few times before your tri: the first time or two just to relax, paddle around, get used to it, the next couple of times to actually practice open-water swimming.

One thing to think about is that most swims around here are not wetsuit legal, and for good reason. You'd roast in one.

Reza,

The first tip i can give you is to not over think the OWS.  Its just water, and remember that you can always roll over onto your back and float/back stroke if you are tired. This will be your best friend.  your first time in open water should NOT be alone.  Make sure you at least have someone watching you if not swimming along with you with a floatation device.

as others have said, a wet suit will make you very buoyant and will really help a lot. 

Swimming in water where you can't see the bottom is no different than the pool. Its still just water,  I've swam in the ocean when you couldnt even see land and Ill tell you there is no difference. Its still water.

Good luck

Training - I've swum with a lot of first timers, and most have the same experience: once they do it, they go from anxiety that can approach terror to thinking that's it's no big deal. I always advise not putting pressure on oneself, and starting with modest goals. At my open water club, I'll suggest swimming to the closest buoy to see how it goes, but most new swimmers end up settling in, and swimming the entire route with us. I do note that in the ocean, getting beyond the surf is a big psychological hurdle that, once cleared, makes most people relax. You forget about how deep the water is, etc.

Racing - The best advice I ever took in my first tri last year was to skip the washing machine by counting to 10 after the wave started. I was literally the last person to start the last wave - it was a great tactic. (It made dealing with a mini-crisis of not expecting to be blinded when we turned straight into the morning sun much easier to deal with). And my tag line was from my mantra for my first few races: problems on the swim are nearly always psychological; all you have to do is keep swimming, and everything will be fine.

After a little experience, the washing machine and open water aren't that bad, and you might even learn to have fun in it.

And btw, every new swimmer at my open water club knows they are in the water at the very place where one of the few shark fatalities happened, and they all seem to come back for more.

I think I'm just going to play in the water for my first few outing. I think you're right Triaya. No wetsuit but I'm still going to wear one for my first open water outing. Then I'll stop wearing it when I get comfy...

Reza

Thanks for the note Grnfsh.

The more I think about it, the more anxious I get. I have never bene comfortable with water so this one will definitely be life changing. I think I just need to experience it and just see what it's like. There's a lot of unknown for me so knowing it is part of overcoming it.

I hear you on not being alone. I will definitely have someone qualified to watch over me.

Thanks for the good wishes. I will let you know when I do it.

Reza

Pacific John. Thanks for the tips. Anxiety to terror to no big deal is exactly what I think will happen. My goals are modest for the first time. Just swim along the shore and as close to the shore as possible.  I wished there were groups here that does it. I've been looking around but can't find any.

Race: Definitely will take your advice. I'm going to let everybody go and swim at my own pace. In the few running events I've entered I always get caught up in the euphoria of the starting line. I don't want this to happen during swimming. Mind you, I think it'll be interesting to see what the washing machine is like.

Shark? Who mentioned shark? Did somebody mention shark?

Reza

As a newbie to open water swimming, I found it was helpful to attend an OWS clinic with 20 other people.  Between being in the presence of a large group of newbie OW swimmers, and participating in the OW instruction  I forgot about my fears.  I think the one thing I was least prepared for was the 52 degree water.  After about 35 minutes in the water I started shivering.  Going into the swim, I didn't have a fear of being cold so when i got cold I didn't freak out - it was a new experience; I just felt I needed to keep swimming to warm up.   In my experience, I found there were so many new conditions to experience that it took my mind off of old fears.

If you are comfortable in the water you don't need a wetsuit or a life vest.  If you 'need' a flotation device, you aren't ready to swim.

Wetsuits should be used ONLY for their slight speed benefit, not as a confidence booster.

You boost your confidence artificially you are just asking to get yourself in over your head, so to speak.

Can you swim the distance in question comfortably?  Twice the distance?  OWS swim is no place to rely on equipment, you need to know YOU can handle it.

And warmth...you left that part out. 

So you're swimming in the ocean.  That makes it easy.  Wait until a day when it is calm.  Swim in 4-5 ft. water down the shoreline.  You can see the bottom in case you get panicky.    There is no need to swim out far.

Taking it easy seems to be the general advice by all. I think I won't swim that far out. 

Thanks for the support..

Reza