Drafting in Open Water Swims

Originally posted by Maryyyyyy I did a 2KM in the sea last Sunday, and had someone touching my toes the whole way. I don't mind someone drafting (and I definitely took advantage of drafting a few people the first KM), but I HATE having my toes touched! Stay in my wake, but DON'T TOUCH ME!! I absolutely HATE having my toes touched (for instance when circcle swimming.) So I really work to avoid doing that to others. In a circle swim I have two options when someone touches my toes -- speed up or stop and the next wall and let them pass. The thing about drafting is that you swim faster than you normally would. So if I stop and let the swimmer pass, I can find myself in the position of touching his/her toes. Now the swimmer who has passed me isn't as fast as when they were drafting, and I am a little faster... Two swimmers of equal capability are going to find themselves in this frustrating leapfrog. In open water, were I to find myself on the back end of that toe-touching leapfrog, I would move a bit to one side or the other. If the draft helps me gain on the front swimmer, I can move up all I want without touching anyone's toes. And if I move up so much that I lose the draft, it's up to me to supply the power to stay next to the other swimmer, else I'll fall back into the draft again. But at least I won't be touching anyone's toes! And if someone is touching my toes, I can move to one side or the other and let the other swimmer move up on me without touching me. If he moves over too and insists on touching my toes, then I will do something drastic like a momentary slowdown followed by a strong kick next to his ear (or, if it happens to work out that way, a strong kick to his head.) I gave him a gentlemanly chance to change the situation, so what happens after that is fair game.

Originally posted by Maryyyyyy I did a 2KM in the sea last Sunday, and had someone touching my toes the whole way. I don't mind someone drafting (and I definitely took advantage of drafting a few people the first KM), but I HATE having my toes touched! Stay in my wake, but DON'T TOUCH ME!! I absolutely HATE having my toes touched (for instance when circcle swimming.) So I really work to avoid doing that to others. In a circle swim I have two options when someone touches my toes -- speed up or stop and the next wall and let them pass. The thing about drafting is that you swim faster than you normally would. So if I stop and let the swimmer pass, I can find myself in the position of touching his/her toes. Now the swimmer who has passed me isn't as fast as when they were drafting, and I am a little faster... Two swimmers of equal capability are going to find themselves in this frustrating leapfrog. In open water, were I to find myself on the back end of that toe-touching leapfrog, I would move a bit to one side or the other. If the draft helps me gain on the front swimmer, I can move up all I want without touching anyone's toes. And if I move up so much that I lose the draft, it's up to me to supply the power to stay next to the other swimmer, else I'll fall back into the draft again. But at least I won't be touching anyone's toes! And if someone is touching my toes, I can move to one side or the other and let the other swimmer move up on me without touching me. If he moves over too and insists on touching my toes, then I will do something drastic like a momentary slowdown followed by a strong kick next to his ear (or, if it happens to work out that way, a strong kick to his head.) I gave him a gentlemanly chance to change the situation, so what happens after that is fair game.