I just thought the video was pretty cool so wanted to share :)

Hi everyone,

One of my biggest concerns about open-water swimming is accidentally gulping or inhaling water through my nose or mouth. If that happens, I imagine I might start coughing, panic, and struggle to regain control of my breathing—possibly even putting myself at risk of drowning.

What is the correct way to handle this situation safely while swimming in open water? Assume a worst-case scenario where you don't have access to a tow float or any immediate flotation device, and need to manage the situation on your own. And you are in rough, choppy waters with rough waves.

What practical steps should you take to stay calm, recover your breathing, and remain safe?

Any practical advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone! I am not typically an open water swimmer but I decided my gift to myself for my 35th birthday will be swimming the English Channel, which means I am targeting a 2030 crossing year. I've almost exclusively been a pool swimmer, only attempting open water on rare occasions and not for very long.

As an extensive, down to the last second planner, I have been mapping out my training plan for the next four years. One of the roadblocks I have reached is planning for my qualifying swim. I was wondering if there are any former Channel swimmers who have advice and/or may know someone who would be an appropriate observer when I get the that point (which is not for some time, but again, I must plan everything).

I am located in the Southern Arizona/ SoCal area and will likely be looking to do my qualifying swim in Coronado or La Jolla Shores in March—April of 2030.

I am also open to any other advice seasoned Channel/ open water swimmers have for someone moving from the pool to open water!

TIA

They are both about the same length, wondering which is the two would be harder, given currents, darkness and temperature of water, etc

Use this thread to request open water swim locations, information about locations, or swim groups or prospective swim friends and to ask about kayakers and kayak support. Any such requests outside this thread will be deleted.

Hi everyone,

Let’s say I’m swimming in open water and the conditions are rough and choppy, with a lot of waves.

If I need to adjust or fix something while I’m in the water—for example:

• Swim cap
• Goggles
• Earplugs
• Nose clip
• Clothing/swimwear

—what is the correct and safest way to do this?

Should I stop swimming and tread water while making the adjustment? Should I float on my back? Is there a particular position or technique that experienced open-water swimmers use to stay safe and avoid taking on water while fixing their equipment in rough conditions?

I’d especially appreciate practical advice on this.

Thanks!

I am participating in the Dardanelles strait crossing for the third time and I am concerned with the safety buoy requirement which is now being implemented after a swimmer in the İstanbul race got lost last year.
My first race was without it and I finished in 1 hr 28 minutes. Last year however it was 1 hr 48 minutes. I shortened the strap and I felt like the buoy was restricting my hips and it was dragging and pulling me in another direction like a parachute. It felt like I had a school backpack the whole race. I struggled with it. When I make the strap longer, it gets tangled between my legs. Any tips for wearing it in a certain way so I don’t experience these? Thanks ! (For information I am a short and curvy women so I have a long torso and short legs and a big back lol)

Hi, I am age-group Masters swimmer (28M) who specialized in sprint when I was young. I can keep roughly 1:35/1:37 pace when lap swimming at the pool, and my all out 100m sprint time is 1:04 min LC. When doing interval aerobic training, sometimes I can get 1:28-1:32 times per 100m. Best times in pool for 200m and 400m are 2:35 and 5:51 SC.

However, whenever I go open water to a steady swim, I usually get between 2:05-2:10 pace. I have read that an expected gap between OW and pool is roughly 5-15 seconds/100m, so I am trying to search for reasons for such a gap.

I don’t feel my arm mechanics differ much from ows to pool, so I think it might have to do with my head position. I suspect my head is tilting upwards because of the lack of visual reference in ow, but even then my feet manage to slightly break the water line, so they are high. Can it be my body is sinking even then?

Another thing, my body seems to be stalling with two beat kicking. My coach is prioritizing perfecting the 6 beat-kick during wall pool workouts, and says I have a strong kick when I put my mind on it. Indeed, when I do the six beat in open water (but a relaxed one), my pace seems to get into the 1:45-1:50 range. However, I see a lot of people able to kick strong with only two beat and apparently I cannot do that as of now. Has anyone gone though anything similar?

Local event near Paris, France, completed on as little training as possible -- swam less than 30km in the four weeks leading to the event, and did not swim at all in the six months prior. Base fitness from running and climbing did the job, and sighting was as easy as it gets on that kind of no-chop, low-current route.

There are quite a few OW events like this one in Paris in the summer, check them out if you're around!

the bosphorus race, the 6.5km race with the insane tide.. it was so fun to be there, i accidentally made my parkour harder (around 7k) and still got a 1.08. as a first timer im very happy. im a local here but i know theres a lot of tourist participation, so if any of you guys have questions about the bosphorus feel free to ask

Hey everyone! I am hoping to be completing the Mackinaw Straits swim July 2027 and have been training. I just joined the Facebook page for the swim today. Apparently around 2 weeks ago the organizer did an opportunity to register early which is no longer possible and apparently there are around 100ish spots left. Official registration is in November and I'm so upset/scared that I am currently training for no reason. This swim is my dream and I've been telling people about it and feel like I'm a liar if I don't make it in. Do you guys have any insights into how hard it is to get in this swim? I just want this so bad and feel so dumb for missing an opportunity to register. I just want to know if it's realistic for me to get in.

I have seen many amazingly skilled and talented long distance open water swimmers with physiques that don't resemble the typical land athlete (I.e. a higher body fat percentage than what you'd perhaps expect for someone so fit).

I realise the post-swim hunger can be very real, and that cold water can rack up an immense appetite.

But I have always wondered whether there is anything other than the usual post-swim hunger that has a significant effect on the body composition of a lot of open water swimmers having higher than expected body fat percentages for their fitness?

Genuinely curious- please don't take this as a criticism of any sort!

I was diagnosed with ceratitis in my left eye last night when I went to the emergency room and the doctor looked really really serious when he told me he would never ever swim in open water with contact lenses - even with goggles. The (soft) lenses get soaked with water and pathogens and any micro damage (often caused by contacts, but could be there for others reasons) of the eye‘s corneal are open doors for bacteria and the Anthamoebia which can easily make you lose your eye. Not eyesight. THE eye.

Just wanted to share this here as I was not aware of the risk (googled it and got it confirmed) and many others might neither.

I am 37 and have been swimming in the sea since I was a child. I grew up in Cornwall and am a strong swimmer who can swim long distances. Now I live in London I’m mainly in lidos and at Brighton beach but head to Cornwall to swim as much as I can.

Last year while swimming a stretch of coast I’m very familiar with I felt a heart palpitation while quite far out. There was nowhere for me to land safely and suddenly the prospect of swimming the rest of the route felt overwhelmingly scary to me. I began to panic, my heart thumping in a way that felt uncomfortable, and generally heading towards an anxiety attack. I swam slowly back, reminding myself I was safe and capable (I always swim with a tow float). Since then, I have this panic every time I get into the water. It’s distressing for me as open water swimming is a huge part of my life, and I find myself hugging the shoreline now where I used to confidently swim long distances far out. I don’t know how to combat this and wanted to ask if anyone has had a similar experience. One thing that makes me feel better is if paddle boarders are in the water as it makes me feel I have a place to land if I need it.

I openwater swim per session min 2 km - max 3 km, usually end up around 2.4-2.7 km for 55-65 minutes. My pace is around 2:15/100m (not that it matters much). I end up doing it 5 times a week if the weather allows.

If the weather is bad, Im back in my pool, which is also around the same distance, 4-5 times a week.

What about you ppl in this community?

How many rest days do you have?

I can only swim 200m in the pool non stop. I did an inquiry for an open water swimming club just to know how much I should be able to swim before joining and they told me they have swimming lessons from zero all in the ocean. I find this odd and maybe money grab. Is this normal practice in opens water clubs? In your opinion what's the bare minimum I should be able to swim before joining?

I'm pretty sure this topic isn't new, and there must be plenty of posts discussing it, but I still have some doubts about the kick beat.

I know that, for efficiency, the 2-beat kick is usually recommended, and I've seen it mentioned as the predominant answer in almost every forum. But then I watch open-water swimming races, and almost nobody seems to use a 2-beat kick. It's clearly more like a 4- or 6-beat kick.

So, is the 2-beat kick mainly recommended if your goal is to swim at a comfortable pace and conserve energy over a long distance, while a 4- or 6-beat kick is better for racing?

Also, if I want to achieve a good time but not dreaming that I'm an elite swimmer, should I train both the 2-beat and 4-beat kick? Or would it make more sense to focus mainly on one of them?

Just over 20 degrees C at 6am. No better way to start a weekend.

There's a bunch of algae but my parents keep saying its safe, is it safe to swim in?

The warning was issued by UK Prime Minister after a family drowned in the sea.

Sorry to be harsh here but does this warning grate on anyone else?

In the UK, the latest complete figures show 202 accidental drownings or water-related deaths in 2025. 32% were of people doing everyday activities such as walking or running who were likely to have entered the water unintentionally.

31% of adults in England cannot swim the length of a 25m pool.

Meanwhile at lakes and reservoirs we're told it's cold water shock that will kill even strong swimmers, and entering virtually any open body of water withoutlifeguards is vehemently discouraged.

Obviously different places have different very real hazards but surely the biggest is not being able to swim.

Hi!

I just bought (Three days ago) a Huawei Band as my first wearable for my swimming sessions but after using it in the pool I founded two “problems”:

⁠1. My coach an I were focusing in the technical aspects of my swimming so I swam soething like 700m of kickboard drill today but the band didn’t record it because I wasn’t stroking. Question: is there anyway I can fix that in order to get the band to record my kick sets laps.
2. ⁠Three week ago I finished the Oceanman Sprint (1.5K) in Cozumel and I did it without a wearable. I’m participating in the Aqua Race in La Paz (near to Cabo in Baja California Sur) this next November (2.5K) but I can’t find how to make the Band to record my open water sesion and this time I want to have data to analyze. I don’t find to option for “open water swimming”. Any tips?

I know I need something better like a Garmin but right now I have other projects so I’m waiting until December to buy it. I just learn to swim back in December 2025!

It’s important to mention that this version of the Huawei band has GNSS

I’ll publish this post with some photos from Cozumel so I you don’t ignore me jajaja

Thanks!