I just kinda learned how to really swim this year and I'm having a blast with it. Monday, I decided to try to ease myself into swimming in open water within the somewhat friendly and safe confines of Aquatic Park (San Francisco).
I was OK with the temp (about 50) after a few minutes but what really unnerved me was the total lack of visibility. I could see my hands but that was about it. It freaked me out a little so I just swam parallel to shore in about 6 feet of water.
Is this just something that I will get used to??? I hope so. I also felt a little disoriented/dizzy when I got out...
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! ;)
Hi Jeffy - if you can be at Aquatic Park Mondays at 6:00 p.m. there's a coached open water group swim (one for advanced/intermediate and one for beginners). It's a $10 drop-in fee and you can get more information at www.swim-art.com.
It's a great way to get the experience and build the confidence you need. By the way, people have been swimming in the Bay since 1873 (yes, 135 years) and no one's even seen a shark. Nothing to worry about and each time you go in you'll gain more confidence - especially if you're with a group.
when I was a kid, I lived in Guam, and I can say that to some point you should be happy you don't see everything under you. in some of our ocean swims I saw things that scared the crap out of me, made me swim faster just to get out of the water. Now that I am older I now know the things I saw were not really all that bad. The water we swam in was not much deeper than 15-20 ft and it was crystal clear.
nowadays, I am swimming in a lake, where I can not see my hands all the time, I get super freaked out.
I have an over active imagination so for me it's hard to relax in open water. but I manage to swim about 3000-5000 2-3 times a week in the summer months.
