https://community.usms.org/swimming/f/general/1824/freaked-out-in-open-waterHi Gang! Thought of this organization so much while on vacation last week--as I was in Destin, Florida, and had a few days of nice clear ocean water. Yet, I still can&#39;t manage to get the guts to go out and swim open water...in fact, if no one elseen-USTelligent Community 12https://community.usms.org/thread/8315?ContentTypeID=1Mon, 08 Sep 2003 15:53:33 GMT3187ac58-ba85-4314-b79a-c45cd885e09a:f618c81e-4783-4b3d-9591-dfcadd74234cFormer MemberHaving just returned from a fun-filled time at the Maui Channel Swim and the Waikiki You Can&#39;t Get Much Rougher Water Than This Swim/Torture (no I didn&#39;t finish) I can tell you that various teammates have strong fears of various open water matter . . . sharks . . . jellys (my personal bugaboo) . . . not seeing bottom . . . and so forth. The way that I see my teammates deal with it is simple denial followed by getting in the water with their teammates. For myself, after watching the &quot;box jelly&quot; disaster special on Discovery or TLC (which I don&#39;t recommend before the Maui Swim as it takes place in the Auau channel) and getting freaked out on that, I &quot;just did it&quot; recognizing all the times that I&#39;ve been swimming and have not gotten stung (and the once or twice that I have been and nothing bad happened other than minor irritation), all the people who swim each year without being stung (or bit if sharks are your favorite worry) and the fact that, as one of my teammates says: &quot;You don&#39;t have to be the fastest swimmer to avoid the sharks, just faster than someone.&quot; Kidding aside, swimming with a buddy seems to be the best way to overcome fears . . . and makes good sense for everyone anyway. So find a friend to swim with, talk/joke about and confront your fears . . . and just do it. (Hope Nike doesn&#39;t sue). carl<div style="clear:both;"></div>