Drafting in Open Water Swims

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!!

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.

Did a 2KM race yesterday. The young kids (up to 44 years-old) did the race in the morning, and us ol' folks (45+) did it in the afternoon. We were lucky because the wind picked up (as usual in the afternoon) so we got some waves and currents to play in out there! Gorgeous day! Anyway, in the morning 2 male friends of mine vied for 1st place overall... One lost by 9 seconds. When I asked him about it he told me that the winner had totally cheated him by using his drag for the first 1500m, then pulling out and sprinting the last 500. I said, "hey, that's OW swimming" ie: don't complain, loser! He moaned at me, "no! I gave him the sign to change positions, we should have changed positions! He should have dragged me for awhile!!" OK, I'm with the winner on this one. All's fair in love, war, and using drag in OW swimming. What do you all think?

Originally posted by Maryyyyyy ... He moaned at me, "no! I gave him the sign to change positions, we should have changed positions! He should have dragged me for awhile!!" What is "the sign" to change positions? Seems to me, if I want to get behind someone, I should swim slower than he is (or just stop outright) and get behind him!

Last year I did two open water events 1 week apart. The Alcatraz Sharkfest and the OW Championships in Oregon. After a good showing at Alcatraz, and the travel stresses up and down Oregon, I was toatly wiped out for the Oregon swim and drafted behind one guy for all but the first leg. I tried a couple of times to get in front of him to take my turn at the front but could never gain any ground. At the final sprint a third guy who was drafting behind me tried to overtake both of us. I was thrilled that the guy who led us in stayed ahead and beat us both. I would have felt way to guilty if i passed that guy who pulled me along. Moral: Be a good sport and take a turn at the front (if you can), if you plan to challenge at the final.

You are a gentleman, if it were me and I was racing for money, I would draft off anyone I could but to let somone draft off me, not a chance... Abou Heif asked me to let him draft off me and of course I refused. But you being a tri athlete you have to reciprocate because of the other two legs, bike and run.

Originally posted by Guvnah What is "the sign" to change positions? Still waiting for the sign. Need to know by this weekend, else someone might give me "the sign" and I ignore it out of ignorance.

Hey Guvanah If you ignore the sign swimming near me I'll give the same sign I give to careless drivers when they pass me and cut in.