Have you swam any OW where you could see the bottom? Where was it and how deep was it? What was down there? See anything interesting?
Massively interesting stuff!
In lakes, pondweed, fishies, ledges, underwater springs... In Lake Michigan off Chicago there are many structures left over from two world fairs that nobody removed. Old pilings and walls that were presumed to be sufficiently underwater forever. With very low water levels (some sandy beaches have appeared that used to be only sandy bottom under 4-6 feet of water), one can easily run into these structures.
VB
Lake Edith in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
The water was probably 12 feet deep and crystal-clear. I could see the rocks on the bottom of the lake.
The better scenery came every time I turned my head to breathe - a spectacular view of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Anna Lea
In my o.w. races, I rarely see more than a couple feet down, except in shallow water... and even then, in one lake, things were so murky that I stayed on the deep side of the course only b/c the less I saw the better I felt. ;)
But I've enjoyed the way the sun plays on the surface so there's a prism of light piercing the water as I look down sometimes, and gulls that swoop down nearby. I think the thing I most enjoy about open water is the feeling of freedom, of real air/water, not an artificially controlled environment.
I like to swim at the La Jolla Cove in So. California. I swim out to the 1/2 mile bouy. The underwater view is spectacular,..in the swallow water, many garabildi, an orange fish,..lots of bait fish,..as you get out a ways, the kelp stalks are waving in the current, its like flying over a forest, I`ve had mackrel dart past me chasing bait fish,...a month ago I swam onver 2 4' tiger sharks,..they were hurrying away from me. Part of the thrill of this swim is watching the rays of sun piece the depths revealing the octipus` garden in the shade. Life is grand!
Ron
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Ron those are leopard sharks! Tigers are scarier and not around here!
Try swimming over the canyon (towards B and beyond) on a clear day like today & watch the bottom drop out from under you, it makes for some weird vertigo!
In Alsaka I saw Salmon swimming under me, I often see sea lions spinning under me, in the catalina channel I didn't see them becuase it was night but the bumped me so I'd know they were there. I saw dolphins under water but didn't see the bottom until I could actually stand up.
No, you can't see the bottom around here. You'd have to be in extremely shallow water (2 feet, maybe?) to see anything. In fact, when I do see something - usually seaweed or rocks - it freaks me out!
sd
Where is "towards B and beyond"?
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If you look on any marine chart you will see 5 buoys marking off the marine reserve. They are yellow but this year they used stick buoys that are kind of hard to see. The closest to the cove is A then b c is between the cove & the peir and quite far out to c, d and e complete the cresent between the cove & the peir. Few people swim to C its far out, over the canyon (so the water is black) and i think it must be haunted. You can see them on this map: www.lajollacoveswimclub.org/.../courseMap.pdf
Our local lakes are quite silty, but once when I went swimming on a day too chilly for the beach crowd, I found a $5.00 bill, about 4 feet down. (Does this mean I have to turn pro? :bouncing:)
My first salt water experience was La Baulle (I think I've spelled it right) on the coast of Brittany. It was a choppy day, and a sandy beach, so no visibility. The Caribbean is variable, on a calm day you can see about 10 feet down, but any waves or wind and you lose it.
For clear water, I've never seen the like of the Croation/Dalmation coast (on the Adriatic). The visibility 10 or 12 feet down was the same as 4 feet down in the Caribbean. Because the whole area is limestone, it has a turquoise tint. No sandy beaches there - it's all rocks, which could explain the clarity.
