I'm hoping to swim in open water some day. Just read some articles about what to pay attention to and all sorts of accidents that can happen--losing goggles or cap when the race just started, for example. Some people bring an extra pair of goggles and wear them on their ankles or necks??
It will be interesting to hear what kind of accidents people have actually experienced in OW swimming--goggles/cap accidents, cramps due to cold water, losing direction, animal bites, needing rescue... And if you had the rare chance to see what the inside of the stomach of a shark was like that would be exciting to hear :D
Parents
Former Member
I was swimming in a unfamiliar lake at night. No moon out, so I left a lit flashlight on the shore where I started (and left all my clothes). The night was very dark.
The shore was not visible, except for my light. The swim was really gratifying. Until I came back to my little light house.
The shallow beach was sharp rocks covered in slime, so I was was "walking with my hands" to get back to shore after my swim.
(Yeah, I know. This all falls in "highly not recommended behavior" category.)
What felt like a crab apple or a piece of wood thrown from shore hit me in the forehead, sharply.
Now, little lake critters don't scare me. However, drunk redneck teens between me and my wallet, clothes, and car keys seemed the most likely possibility. They do scare me.
Particularly if they think an amusing way of saying "howdy" is to throw something at a person. So I was really freaked out getting my naked body out of the water.
Luckily, there were no people around. Or if they were, they did an excellent job of hiding silently in the bushes as I pulled on my trousers.
I never did figure out what hit me. I guessing a frog or some fish was attracted by the light then, terrified by a mssive blubbery THING (me ), was trying to make an escape.
I seemed to go through a period where, whenever I went into water, something would nibble on me. I confined myself to lakes during that time.
Mick
I was swimming in a unfamiliar lake at night. No moon out, so I left a lit flashlight on the shore where I started (and left all my clothes). The night was very dark.
The shore was not visible, except for my light. The swim was really gratifying. Until I came back to my little light house.
The shallow beach was sharp rocks covered in slime, so I was was "walking with my hands" to get back to shore after my swim.
(Yeah, I know. This all falls in "highly not recommended behavior" category.)
What felt like a crab apple or a piece of wood thrown from shore hit me in the forehead, sharply.
Now, little lake critters don't scare me. However, drunk redneck teens between me and my wallet, clothes, and car keys seemed the most likely possibility. They do scare me.
Particularly if they think an amusing way of saying "howdy" is to throw something at a person. So I was really freaked out getting my naked body out of the water.
Luckily, there were no people around. Or if they were, they did an excellent job of hiding silently in the bushes as I pulled on my trousers.
I never did figure out what hit me. I guessing a frog or some fish was attracted by the light then, terrified by a mssive blubbery THING (me ), was trying to make an escape.
I seemed to go through a period where, whenever I went into water, something would nibble on me. I confined myself to lakes during that time.
Mick
