Ocean race swims?

Nope.  Swim in the ocean weekly between April - Sept. 

If you swim in the ocean, you are swimming with sharks.  If people were on their menu, there would be massive shark attacks all over the world.  There aren't.  You should be worried about riding on the road or driving to the beach to swim, as you're more likely to get killed there

I spend (or spent, maybe just weekly now for a while since I've been ill) an inordinate amount of time in the ocean. I see sharks frequently. It always makes me so happy. When I go out a lot and I don't see sharks, that's what would make me cry. It means that this great vast common water we all share and its creatures are in dire straits. Unfortunately, they are.

Anyhow, x2 on the jellies. I have seen many jellies and been well munched by many, too. Nasty buggers. Ranges from merely annoying/itchy to feeling like I just got bullwhipped and having them burn for days, and turn into weeping then crusty wounds. Yum!

However, just because your fears aren't well-founded doesn't mean they're not real or bothersome. Generally the cure for that is experience: get out in the water and enjoy it. Phuket is lovely and there are many nice places to swim, where there will be many people swimming (and surfing). Maybe sign up for some surf lessons? It'll be a lot easier if you go out with people at first. If you need recommendations I know a bunch of folks over there.

x2 on swimming with others, both for safety and to get your comfort-level up.

Try to focus on other things while you are swimming - siting, counting strokes, form, etc., rather than on what is underneath you. If you play in the ocean, your chances of encountering sea life are just as great as swimming in deeper water, or maybe greater. Where I live, shark bites often happen in the breakers where smaller sharks are feeding on tiny fish and probably just bump into a human who happens to be standing there.

Yeah, take a surf class! And have fun in Thailand!

I worry a lot more about my fellow human beings. Also figure that any self-respecting shark would get the heck out of the way of a bunch of crazed triathletes bashing each others' brains out, and that if any did venture in, my scrawny body wouldn't look very nutritious anyway compared to the more buff ones. That being said, yep, I did freak out once when I was followed by a very friendly sea turtle in Hawaii and thought it was a shark! 

But seriously....when swimming in unfamiliar waters, ask the locals. The risk varies a lot from place to place. And you should be doing OWS with a buddy and/or lifeguard anyway, sharks or no sharks.

Yep, that way you dont have to be able to out swim the shark, just the other people

Haha, exactly this is what I tell anyone who is nervous about the alligators in our local lake where the triathlon sprint series is held. That is one day you are guaranteed not to see any alligators, because they are in serious lock-down mode with all those people thrashing around in their lake!

Though shark attack do occur around the world, they are rare by comparison to plane and auto crashes.  Check the area where you will be swimming to see what kind of sharks reside there.  If there are no Hammerheads, Tiger and Great Whites (the more aggressive), then good.  Other good practices for swimming in the ocean would include; swimming with a partner and swim parallel to the beach. 

I have swam in oceans all around the world - many of which sharks have been visible, for example Tahiti and along the Great Barrier Reefs in Australia.  They black or white tipped reef sharks there are no threat whereas swimming in cold, murky waters such as San Francisco or Sydney harbor are filled with Great Whites.

I too am not crazy about sharks so I check the internet for this kind of information and swim with a buddy, preferably in groups.

Have a fun trip.

Sharks are indigenous to the ocean, cars are indigenous to the road.  Personally, I worry more about cars while biking than I do about sharks while swimming.

I did IMFL last month and know of two people who saw (and swam over) sharks during the race.  I'm told they were nurse sharks, maybe 4 footers.

But check out this 18 footer off the NC coast just last week!  I have two races out there.

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/10440249/

I swam in the ocean some when I was in Monte Carlo this summer. The water is so clear there it makes you at least feel like you would see it coming (even though I'm sure you wouldnt). But for example we go to Huntington Beach quite often and that water is dark and very sketchy looking to me. Pretty sure the water in Phuket is fairly clear, so maybe a month of swimming there will help me get over my fears.

If an ocean race to you swim parallel with the beach or way out in the water? It wouldnt be as scary to me if I knew I only had a short distance to swim to get to safety. (Even though I've read that majority of attacks happen in under 5' of water.

NO MORE SHARK WEEK ON TV FOR ME!!!

Parallel.

Depends on the race and distance, actually. There are all kinds of courses.